Looking for top UK shares to buy in 2021 and hold for the long-haul? Here are two London-listed beauties (and one five-star international stock) I’d buy in my own Stocks and Shares ISA. I reckon they could eventually help investors treble their money.
#1: A gaming great
Getting exposure to the video games sector could prove an inspired idea for 2021. The industry is growing at a jaw-dropping pace and provides exceptional profits opportunities for the world’s best developers. Analyst Neil Campling of Mirabaud has commented that “with physical and digital routes to market, and players buying add-ons, if you get it right, the margins mean it can be a licence to print money.”
I’d buy shares in software services provider Keywords Studios to capitalise on this fast-growing entertainment segment. The UK share boosted its profits outlook further this month with the acquisition of specialist public relations firm Indigo Pearl and audio recording expert Jinglebell.
Keywords Studios isn’t a classic value share by any means. It trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 46 times today. However, this is a fair reflection of the tech titan’s long-term profits outlook, I feel. Annual earnings are expected to jump 10% this year and 21% in 2021, City forecasters reckon. The bidding war for UK share Codemasters Group by some of the world’s biggest games developers illustrates how huge the games market is set to become.
#2: Parcels powerhouse
The terminal decline of the letters market has hung over Royal Mail like a bad smell for donkey’s years. I’ve long argued, though, that Britain’s oldest courier has a bright future because of the fast-growing online shopping sector. The Covid-19 tragedy has boosted this market still further as new clickers come on board and companies boost e-commerce investment to court existing shoppers too.
Royal Mail now sources more revenue from packages than it does from letters. And it can expect sales to rise at breakneck speed at home, as well as in Europe and America where its GLS division operates. This share trades on a reasonable forward P/E ratio of 15 times, making it a great way to play the e-commerce theme.
#3: Another top UK share for the e-commerce explosion
It’s not just the couriers that stand to gain from the e-commerce boom, of course. UK shares that allow the parcel movers to get packages from seller to buyer also stand to make a mint. This is where Tritax Eurobox, a business that owns logistics and warehousing facilities on mainland Europe, comes in.
I own shares in its UK-focu-sed cousin Tritax Big Box. But I’d happily buy shares in its continental relative too, as online sales in territories like Germany and Poland are growing rapidly. Tritax Eurobox’s forward P/E ratio of 22 times isn’t cheap on paper. But don’t despair, a chunky 4.5% dividend yield helps offset this figure.