Hedge funds bet against Scottish turbine company as Trump attacks ‘windmills’

US president Donald Trump has criticised UK’s net zero policy and described North Sea oil as ‘highly taxed’ - BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP

A major North Sea energy supplier has become the most shorted company on the UK stock market amid attacks from Donald Trump on offshore wind turbines.

Ashtead Technology, which rents equipment to offshore oil, gas and wind projects, has 7.5pc of its shares in the hands of hedge funds, which have sold them short to profit from an expected share price decline.

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Hedge funds short companies when they think their share price will drop, selling shares and then buying them back at a lower price to profit from the drop in value.

According to data from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), funds including Ken Griffin’s Citadel, Acadian Asset Management and GLG Partners have shorted Ashtead as they bet on a further share price swoon in future.

Shares have already fallen 39pc this year amid bleak prospects for the North Sea.

The bets against the group have also escalated in recent days, with Acadian increasing its short position in the group.

It coincided with Mr Trump singling out the UK’s net zero policy, saying wind turbines were ruining the landscape and criticising high taxes on North Sea oil.

“I want to stop seeing them ruining that beautiful Scottish and English countryside with windmills and massive solar panels that go seven miles by seven miles, taking away farmland,” the US president told the UN on Tuesday.

Mr Trump described North Sea oil as “so highly taxed that no developer, no oil company can go there”.

“They’ve given up their powerful edge, a lot of the countries that we’re talking about, in oil and gas, such as essentially closing the great North Sea oil,” he said.

Victoria McCulloch, an analyst at RBC Capital, said a dearth of North Sea energy services companies for short-sellers to focus on was part of the reason for the high short interest in Ashtead.

She said the impact of Mr Trump’s tariffs and decreasing oil prices had forced Ashtead to cut revenue guidance earlier this year.

Net zero targets and windfall taxes have hammered offshore oil and gas activity in the North Sea, with projects stalling in recent years as successive governments prioritise net zero over oil and gas.

Last month, Jim Johnson, the chief executive of oil group Hunting, said he had been forced to close four of the company’s five UK centres including its main Scottish site because the Government had destroyed the North Sea offshore oil industry.

He said the closures were directly linked to government windfall taxes and over-zealous regulations imposed on the industry to reach net zero.

A spokesman from Ashtead Technology said: “As we look to move up to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, expected on Oct 6, we are wholly focused on executing against our proven growth strategy and assisting our customers with their critical subsea operations, with the support of our long-term shareholders.”

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Citadel and Acadian were contacted for comment.

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