Marshall Wace hits jackpot by betting against M&S, Ted Baker and Metro Bank

Marshall Wace, London Hedge fund scooped a jackpot yesterday when three of the stocks it was short selling and betting against suffered the sharpest falls on the UK stock market.

Founders Paul Marshall and Ian Wace are on opposite sides of Brexit, made millions of pounds in profits as shares in retailer Marks and Spencer, Ted Baker and Metro Bank all tumbled.

They got the windfall amid hopes of short selling, a strategy used by hedge funds, Marshall Wace, which manages £30bn in assets had the largest single short bets against both M&S and Ted Baker, and a substantial big wager against Metro Bank according to regulatory data. The three stocks ended the day as the worst performing in the FTSE which is home to 636 companies.

M&S slumped 12.5 per cent after unveiling plans for a rights issue and a dividend cut to help fund a joint venture with Ocado. Ted Baker fell 9 per cent after a profit warning and Metro Bank’s shares plunged 26.5 per cent yesterday following a 16 per cent fall on Tuesday after the bank announced  a £350m share placement and said UK regulators were preparing to investigate an accounting error.

Marshall Wace has been betting against M&S for over four years and  against Ted Baker for a year.