New Year Share Tips: City experts reveal the stocks that could make you a FORTUNE in 2025, from a drinks brand to a tech firm and an insurance giant that’s ridiculously cheap

But the appointment of Roger White, formerly of AG Barr, is a huge step for a firm with scope for self-help, via investment in its premium cider and beer brands, cost efficiency in distribution and perhaps more dramatic action to simplify the group structure.

ME Group isn’t one you’ll get excited about when we tell you what it does – communal laundry and photo booths being its main revenue. But that is providing resilient revenue streams, predictability, many growth opportunities in its rollout and attractive return on capital.

The power of C&C’s drinks brands, such as Bulmers, Magners and Tennent’s, has been tested by rotten British weather, the cost of living crisis and self-inflicted wounds, notably a bungled software implementation and productivity programme at the Matthew Clark drinks distribution business. As a result, the shares are no higher than they were in 2009.

Synopsys develops software to develop superior microchips that power everything from phones to artificial intelligence systems. US-listed, it operates against a backdrop of political tension, as Washington and Beijing clash in a race for computing superiority.

‘Expect volatility to reign in 2025,’ says Emma Wall at Hargreaves Lansdown. ‘But, while it can be difficult to manage the emotional rollercoaster of a volatile investment market, it also creates opportunities.’

For the cautious: BT

Current price: 144p

Read More Where you should invest your money to set yourself up for a prosperous 2025, by JEFF PRESTRIDGE

For the brave: C&C

Current price: 146p

Change in 2024: down 2pc

It won’t be straight forward, however, and another year of volatility is very much on the cards as Donald Trump returns to the White House, Germany and France face further political upheaval and investors grapple with geopolitical events in the Middle East, Ukraine and beyond.

Given the stratospheric growth Nvidia has seen this year and the recent wobble in the share price, questions have been raised about its prospects. But this chip giant, which has revolutionised management of artificial intelligence workloads, has a technological edge which makes it hard to beat.

This US-listed firm is a leading player in the life science tools market. It produces scientific instruments, lab equipment, consumables as well as reagents for life sciences, pharmaceutical, biotech and diagnostics research. It is also a leader in contract research and drug making.

So which stocks should investors take a look at? We asked City experts for their tips for 2025.

Each one recommends a share for brave investors who are willing to take a risk, and one for the more cautious.

 

Amish Patel, head of equity research at Charles Stanley

For the cautious: THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC

Current price: $518.80

Change in 2024: up 17pc

 

Experts: Abby Glennie & Amanda Yeaman, fund managers at abrdn

Hargreaves Lansdown’s Susannah Streeter suggests Nvidia shares for investors feeling brave

Change in 2024: up 123pc

There is scope for net borrowing to come down, too, and less risk can mean a higher share price.

Lockdowns and the pandemic fooled management and shareholders into thinking spirits had entered a new era of rising demand and ‘premiumised’ prices. Reality has since set in, thanks to the cost of living crisis, and Diageo’s share price has tumbled back to 2020 levels.

Photo.ME, which is especially strong in mainland Europe and operates in 19 countries where passport photos can’t be taken with smartphones, is the cash cow of the business and delivers strong margins.

‘UK stocks feel unloved, and unloved can mean cheap,’ says Russ Mould

GSK’s strength lies in its research and development pipeline, which delivered 11 positive late-stage clinical updates year to date, with five major product approvals expected next year. Its newer treatments are a key part of GSK’s future. The smaller oncology division is growing rapidly, with promising growth drivers in both existing treatments and the development pipeline.

But a 25-year streak of growth in the annual dividend is testament to the power of the drinks giant’s portfolio of brands, which would be nigh-on impossible to replicate even at the company’s current £58bn stock market valuation. If chief executive Debra Crew cannot get a better tune out of the business, then an activist investor may do it for her.

GSK is becoming a dependable name for raising and meeting share price predictions. And the pharmaceutical firm shows signs of continuing to be a steady performer. Litigation risk over its Zantac heartburn drug has eased, and HIV treatments remain a cornerstone of its performance, contributing 20pc of revenues.

Goldman Sachs analysts believe that the FTSE 100 will end 2025 at 8,500 points, while Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, reckons the blue-chip index will hit 9,000 in 2025 – a rise of 10pc.

Following tips always involves the risk of losing some or all of your money, so it’s a good idea to do your own research before investing.

‘UK stocks feel unloved, and unloved can mean cheap,’ he notes.

 

Expert: Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell

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