I’m on the hunt for that may have been overlooked by the market. Here are two cheap UK shares I’d add to my Stocks and Shares ISA right now.
An Irish stock
I think that Hibernia REIT (LSE: HBRN) could prove to be an extremely clever buy in the years ahead. Economic growth in Ireland has been driven to a large extent by massive foreign investment a huge number of corporate relocations to Dublin. And I reckon that demand for this stock’s office spaces might surge further as a result of Brexit.
A report by think tank New Financial shows that 135 firms have moved to Dublin since Britain made the decision to leave the European Union. This represents 25% of the 400-plus corporate moves from the UK in recent years, the largest percentage of any European city. And New Financial reckons that the number of companies that have chosen to relocate will “increase significantly” in the years ahead, representing a huge opportunity for the likes of Hibernia REIT.
Hibernia REIT used to be a penny stock. But as I type this low-cost UK share has just popped its head above the £1 marker. Yet I still think that this UK share is a great buy for investors who might be looking to build their portfolio at low cost like me. This is despite the threat that the rise of homeworking in the wake of Covid-19 poses to the company’s operations.
Good to go
Bakkavor Group (LSE: BAKK) is another stock I think is worth serious attention right now. It used to be a penny stock but this UK share has soared in value in recent months as demand for reopening stocks — those companies that stand to gain most from a recovery from the pandemic — has ballooned. At 134p per share, the food-to-go specialist has almost doubled in value over the past 12 months. And it’s up a whopping 66% since the turn of 2021.
Demand for Bakkavor’s products took an almighty whack as Covid-19 spread across the globe last year. Like-for-like revenues dropped almost 5% year-on-year as people stayed at home to work in huge numbers and the volume of people in general seeking food ‘on the move’ slumped. But signs of recovery are emerging as lockdowns ease in the company’s core UK marketplace. Indeed, Bakkavor’s underlying sales were down just 2.6% in the first quarter of 2021.
It’s clear that the Covid-19 pandemic is far from beaten. And a fresh wave of infections in this stock’s territories could derail a solid sales recovery. But I’d still buy Bakkavor for my ISA as the long-term outlook for the food-to-go market remains extremely bright. Lumina Intelligence, for example, believes that “the sector is well insulated for a swift recovery”. And it expects industry sales to grow 41% in 2021 year-on-year to £21.2bn, taking it just below 2019 levels.