I’ve been buying plenty of stocks this year, particularly UK shares that I’ve tucked away in my Stocks and Shares ISA during 2022’s extreme market volatility.
Here I’ll talk through (in no particular order) seven of the British stocks that I’ve acquired for my shares portfolio.
1. Spire Healthcare Group
As NHS waiting lists soar the private healthcare sector is booming. This is why I bought Spire Healthcare shares for my ISA. It operates 39 private hospitals and eight clinics across the UK. And revenues here jumped 7.1% in the six months to September thanks to strong demand for private treatment. Despite the risk of medical staff shortages, I’m glad I bought it this year.
2. Ashtead Group
Rental equipment business Ashtead is vulnerable during economic downturns when construction activity tends to sink. But the company’s drive to build market share during the 2010s made it the best-performing UK share during the 2010s. And I’m confident that its enduring thirst for acquisitions should allow to keep growing profits in the short-to-medium term.
3. The Renewables Infrastructure Group
Profits at renewable energy stocks can suffer badly in cloudy and calm conditions. However, owners of green energy assets like The Renewables Infrastructure Group still have terrific long-term potential as the world weans itself off fossil fuels. This particular stock owns wind, solar and battery storage assets across Europe.
4. Persimmon
Housebuilders are under threat as mortgage costs rise and the British economy wilts. That said, I believe UK shares like Persimmon should still deliver terrific long-term returns as the country’s housing shortage grows. I expect property prices to keep rising strongly as the population grows and weak homebuilding activity persists.
5. Primary Healthcare Properties
I bought Primary Healthcare Properties as a lifeboat in these uncertain times. As the name tells us, it operates medical centres like GP surgeries and it currently has 512 on its books. Demand for these properties are constant at all points of the economic cycle, and rents are guaranteed by government bodies. I bought it even though changes to NHS policy could damage future earnings.
6. Bunzl
I bought more Bunzl shares this year because of the company’s exceptional resilience in tough times. It has a great record of growing earnings thanks to effective acquisitions. The broad portfolio of essential products it supplies to multiple markets across the globe also gives it strength. Despite rising cost pressures I think it’s a top buy.
7. Target Healthcare REIT
Real estate investment trust Target Healthcare REIT is the third UK healthcare share I’ve bought in 2022. It owns and operates care homes, a sector that’s primed for strong growth as Britain’s elderly population rapidly expands. A lack of acquisition targets could hamper its growth plans, but I still expect the business to deliver huge returns over the long term.
