A report by The Times notes that the online fashion retailers Boohoo and Asos, as well as Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, J Sainsbury and the online gift business Moonpig are among the top ten most shorted companies, according to regulatory filings with the Financial Conduct Authority.

Others being targeted are the grocery-to-tech company Ocado, and Dr Martens, the footwear firm.

The report notes that short sellers borrow shares in their target business and sell them before attempting to buy back the shares when their value has fallen, returning them to their original owner and profiting from the difference.

The festive period is a key time for the retail sector but closely followed economic trackers, as well as a warning from the fashion retailer Superdry before Christmas, have raised concerns that other chains may issue lacklustre updates in January, according to the report.

Retail sales volumes fell at a fast pace in the year to December, the eighth consecutive month of decline, according to a monthly survey by the CBI. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics, however, showed that retail sales rose by 1.3 per cent in November, far higher than economists’ expectations of 0.4 per cent growth and reversing the flat sales volumes recorded in October, the report concluded.