Five to buy
Beeks Financial Cloud
Interactive Investor This technology firm provides financial-services companies with the digital infrastructure (such as cloud-computing and analytics) they need to run their operations. News of major progress on contracts has seen the shares surge by 50% this month and may herald an “inflection point”. Switching providers is a headache, so in this industry, clients tend to stick with their contracts and earnings are reliable. That could eventually open the way to a rerating or a takeover by a bigger industry player. 140p
Burberry
Shares This luxury brand is “firmly out of fashion” with investors after two recent profit warnings. Faltering global demand remains a headwind, but on 15.9 times 2024 earnings the shares trade at a huge discount to the level of 40 they hit as recently as 2021. Trading has remained robust in Japan – where consumers are particularly fond of British brands – while a Chinese recovery or a reintroduction of VAT-free shopping for tourists visiting the UK could eventually be catalysts for a recovery.
Meanwhile, enjoy the 4% dividend yield. 1,294p
Next
The Telegraph Next has embraced e-commerce rather than fighting it by investing heavily in warehousing and logistics, giving it a strong competitive position. It also bodes well that consumers could become more confident as wage growth outstrips inflation and interest rates look poised to fall. On 14.5 times forecast earnings, Next’s shares are far from the high street’s cheapest – but on a “risk/reward basis” they are one of the sector’s best picks. 8,366p
Renishaw
Investors’ Chronicle An 18-month slump in demand for global semiconductors has made for tricky trading at Renishaw, which provides precision-manufacturing equipment to the chip sector. But things are now looking up, with double-digit increases in profits expected for the second half of the year; new business lines in industrial automation and data should also help lift revenue. A rally has pushed the valuation back towards historic averages, but there could be further upside to come as new manufacturing capacity that was built during the chip slump comes online. 4,044p
Rent Guarantor
The Mail on Sunday Ever more Britons are renting, but up to a fifth of potential tenants have trouble sourcing all of the required paperwork, such as character references or employment checks, for landlords. Rent Guarantor provides landlords with a year-long guarantee that rent will be paid, scre
