The coronavirus continues to impact everyday life, but some UK shares have ‘benefited’ — for lack of a better word — from the social changes. Even with the vaccine rollout now under way in the UK, the pandemic is far from over, boosting these businesses’ performance even further.
The pandemic won’t last forever though and hopefully will be over soon. But even after Covid-19 is beaten, I believe these 10 UK Shares will be bigger than ever in 2021 and beyond.
UK biotech shares are leading the fight against Covid-19
The early struggle to find a vaccine would have been harder if it weren’t for innovations in biotechnology. Today there are several approved vaccines, most of which began their distribution in late 2020, and several treatments too, all thanks in part to these three UK shares.
Bioventix manufactures specialised antibodies used in blood tests to diagnose Covid-19. It helped to reveal just how widespread the virus has become as well as to identify mutations. Oxford Biomedica partnered with AstraZeneca to develop a vaccine that doesn’t require sub-zero storage temperatures. And lastly, Hikma Pharmaceuticals signed a supply agreement for Gilead Sciences’ Remdesivir – a treatment for severe cases of Covid-19.
Digital payment solutions for a cashless society
The increased awareness of how easily transmissible the virus is has encouraged card-based payments over cash. But unlike cash, digital payments require retailers to have the right hardware to accept these types of transactions. And two UK shares have caught my eye.
PayPoint is a payments processor for retailers. The firm enables its clients to accept digital payments as well as provide real-time sales analytics via its cloud platform.
Another UK stock within this space is Alpha FX. While it has primarily served as a currency risk management firm, its second business segment handles large international transactions for enterprises. While companies like Visa and Mastercard provide payment solutions for consumers, Alpha FX is trying to do the same for large multinational corporations.
E-commerce vs bricks and mortar
The lockdowns imposed by the pandemic have further accelerated the shift towards online shopping. Yet even with this boost, e-commerce still accounts for less than a third of consumer sales. Needless to say, that is a lot of room for growth, especially for these three UK shares.
dotDigital offers a cloud-based marketing platform to attract and retain customers to online businesses. It’s managed to develop significant advantages over its competitors, primarily due to forming strategic partnerships with Shopify, Microsoft and Adobe.
Other beneficiaries of the shift towards online shopping are warehouse operators – namely Warehouse REIT and Londonmetric Property. After all, online retailers need space to store their products, and as it stands, the supply is struggling to keep up with demand.
Passive income from UK property shares
Unsurprisingly, there’s a correlation between the UK population and the demand for housing. The pandemic has undoubtedly created a lot of disruption for Persimmon and Bellway. However, house prices continue to climb. Most forecasts are pointing to an increase in house prices of 1% to 5% in 2021.
This may only be a short-term boost due to the temporary cut in stamp duty that ends in March. But over the long term, housing remains essential, and I believe these two UK stocks are going to benefit the most.