RE: Issues15 Dec 2025 23:03
Leew, ...... I've seen mental gymnastics before but this has gone to a whole new level;
The statement — "If I had a lot of shares and wanted more, I would do exactly what was done today: turn over larger numbers on both sides of the book to hoover up lower" — is just as ridiculous (if not more so) in the UK market as it is anywhere else. Here's why it falls apart under UK/London Stock Exchange (LSE) realities:1. It's Still Textbook Market Manipulation — Illegal in the UK"Turning over larger numbers on both sides of the book" = artificially inflating volume by buying and selling the same (or similar) shares repeatedly, often to yourself or via coordinated accounts.
This is wash trading or layering/spoofing, explicitly prohibited under:UK Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), inherited from EU and retained post-Brexit.
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules on false or misleading signals and artificial price distortion.
Penalties are severe: Unlimited fines, trading bans, or prison (e.g., recent FCA cases have fined individuals millions for similar manipulative volume tricks).
The LSE and FCA actively monitor for this using sophisticated surveillance systems — unusual balanced high volume on both sides triggers alerts fast.
2. It Wouldn't Help You "Hoover Up Lower" — It Would Likely Do the OppositeSudden spikes in volume on both buy and sell sides signal heavy interest and liquidity, which typically attracts more buyers (algo traders, momentum funds, retail piling in).
Result: Price gets bid up, making your additional purchases more expensive — the exact opposite of buying "lower."
To accumulate cheaply as a large holder, you'd want low visibility: dribble orders via TWAP/VWAP algorithms, use dark pools (e.g., Turquoise, Cboe), or off-exchange block trades. Not light up the tape with fireworks that scream "big player here!"
3. UK Market Specifics Make It Even DumberLSE order books are highly transparent (Level 2 data widely available), so fake balanced volume stands out like a sore thumb.
Many UK stocks (especially mid/small caps) have lower natural liquidity — artificial volume would cause even bigger price swings upward as others front-run you.
Trying to hide accumulation via manipulative volume would just draw regulatory scrutiny faster.
In reality, if someone with a big position wants more shares cheaply in the UK, they:Accumulate slowly and quietly over months.
Use hidden/iceberg orders.
Negotiate off-market blocks.
Wait for natural dips or rights issues.
They don't blast fake volume across the book and risk an FCA investigation while potentially driving the price higher against themselves.So yeah — the statement is pure tinfoil-hat trading fantasy. Sounds clever on a forum, but in actual UK markets it's a fast track to losing money and freedom.
People get nicked banned and fined all the time. Would you really do risk all that over a few grand ? Come on man ! The sale of shares only amounted to 80k i
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