UK share markets have paused for breath following the stunning rallies of recent weeks. Investors have paused for thought as soaring Covid-19 infection rates, and the return of lockdown measures across the globe, have cast a shadow over the global economic recovery.
The economic outlook remains as clear as mud. But that doesn’t mean that UK share investors like me should stop building their shares portfolios. There remain plenty of top stocks that should deliver meaty shareholder returns regardless of broader economic conditions.
2 top UK shares for ISAs
Here are two top UK shares I’d add to my Stocks and Shares ISA today:
1) Safestore Holdings
Consumer confidence might have taken an almighty whack following the Covid-19 outbreak and the economic downturn. But demand for self-storage facilities remains terrifically strong. This was illustrated in the latest financials released by Safestore Holdings (LSE: SAFE) this week. It said that revenues were up 5.7% in the three months to October, while like-for-like closing occupancy was up 3.2% from the same point in 2019 at 80.8%.
The British self-storage market is booming thanks to a number of factors. And this bodes well for UK shares like Safestore during the coming decade. According to real estate services provider Cushman and Wakefield, a strong housing market and rising need for stock space as e-retailing takes off are a couple reasons why the storage market remains strong. Indeed, it says that “demand continues to outstrip supply” despite the huge investment self-storage operators are making to expand their estates.
This is why City analysts expect Safestore for one to keep growing earnings despite the economic downturn. They expect the UK share to follow a 13% annual earnings rise in the year to October 2020 with a 5% increase this year. The company trades on a high forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 27 times but I think it’s worth every penny.
2) Computacenter
IT services giant Computacenter (LSE: CCC) can look forward to plenty of business coming its way in 2020s. The Covid-19 pandemic has lit a fire under the digital revolution. The rise of e-commerce and the growth in flexible working have attracted plenty of headlines, but they are only two areas that will turbocharge demand for this UK share’s broad range of tech services.
Computacenter’s earnings prospects received another shot in the arm this week too. The government announced it was ploughing an extra £16.5bn into the defence budget, a large wedge of which will be dedicated to the National Cyber Force. Computacenter is already a major services provider to the Ministry of Defence. Its role is only going to get more significant as state-sponsored cyberwars intensify.
City analysts reckon Computacenter’s earnings will rocket 25% in 2020. And they forecast a 2% bottom-line rise next year too. Today this UK share trades on a forward price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of just 0.8. And this makes it too cheap to miss in my book.
