New Year’s share tips: City experts reveal the stocks that could make you a FORTUNE in 2025, from a drinks brand to a tech company and an insurance giant that’s ridiculously cheap

What’s next for the London stock market? In a steady year of gains, the FTSE 100 rose 5.7% to 8,173 in 2024, while the FTSE 250 rose 4.7%.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs believe the FTSE 100 will end at 8,500 points in 2025, while Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, expects the blue-chip index to reach 9,000 points in 2025 – a rise of 10%.

“UK shares feel unloved, and unloved can mean cheap,” he notes.

However, it won’t be easy and another year of volatility is in store as Donald Trump returns to the White House, Germany and France face further political turmoil and investors grapple with geopolitical events in the Middle East, Ukraine and other countries. past.

“Expect volatility to dominate in 2025,” says Emma Wall of Hargreaves Lansdown. “But while it can be difficult to manage the emotional rollercoaster of a volatile investment market, it also creates opportunity.”

So which stocks should investors be looking at? We asked city experts for their tips for 2025.

Each recommends a stock for courageous investors willing to take a risk, and a stock for more cautious investors.

Following tips always carries the risk of losing some or all of your money, so it’s a good idea to do your own research before investing.

Experts: Abby Glennie & Amanda Yeaman, fund managers at abrdn

For the cautious: ME GROUP INTERNATIONAL

Current price: 205p

Change in 2024: increase by 64%

ME Group is not something that you get excited about when we tell you what it does; communal laundry facilities and photo booths are the main source of income. But that ensures resilient revenue streams, predictability, plenty of growth opportunities in its rollout and an attractive return on capital.

Photo.ME, which is particularly strong in mainland Europe and is active in 19 countries where passport photos cannot be taken with smartphones, is the company’s cash cow and delivers strong margins.

This contributes to financing the rollout within Wash.ME, a 24/7 self-service laundry, a division with even higher margins and plenty of room for growth. The company continues to invest in growth and evolve its offering through the adoption of new technology across all divisions.

For the brave: RASPBERRY PI

Current price: 625p

Change in 2024: increase by 123%

Raspberry Pi has the potential to become one of the most unique technology stocks the UK markets have ever seen. You use the single board computers every day without even realizing it. The company, which listed on the stock market in 2024, has had a good start, but industrial markets, which make up 70% of sales, have been lackluster this year. We expect some recovery in 2025, which will help stimulate growth.

The company’s education and enthusiast customers, which account for 30% of sales, drive strong and stable demand. New product development is also critical to this company, and execution has been strong in this area. It has diversified in sales globally and is also developing its sales strategy.

Expert: Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown

For the cautious: GSK

Current price: 1346.5p

Change in 2024: decrease by 7%

GSK is becoming a trusted name for increasing and delivering on stock price predictions. And the pharmaceutical company is showing signs of continuing to deliver steady performance. The risk of lawsuits over the heartburn drug Zantac has declined, and HIV treatments remain a cornerstone of performance, contributing 20% ​​of sales.

GSK’s strength lies in its research and development pipeline, which has delivered eleven positive late-stage clinical updates to date, with five major product approvals expected next year. The newer treatments are an important part of GSK’s future. The smaller oncology division is growing rapidly, with promising growth drivers in both existing treatments and the development pipeline.

For the brave: NVIDIA

Current price: $137.50

Change in 2024: increase by 185%

Given the stratospheric growth Nvidia has experienced this year and the recent swing in its stock price, questions have been raised about its prospects. But this chip giant, which has revolutionized artificial intelligence workload management, has a technological edge that makes it hard to beat.

It sees a $1 trillion opportunity in upgrading aging data centers and expanding AI infrastructure. This cements Nvidia as a once-in-a-generation company and is forecast to achieve triple-digit revenue growth by 2025. Despite the emerging competition, Nvidia’s technological supremacy and financial strength mean rivals will struggle to take the crown.

Expert: Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell

For the cautious: DIAGEO

Current price: 2537.5p

Change in 2024: decrease by 11%

The lockdowns and the pandemic had thrown management and shareholders for a loop and made them think. They had entered a new era of rising demand and ‘premiumized’ prices. Thanks to the cost of living crisis, reality has now set in and Diageo’s share price has fallen back to 2020 levels.

But the annual dividend growth over 25 years is testament to the strength of the drinks giant’s portfolio of brands, which would be virtually impossible to match even at the company’s current market value of £58 billion. If CEO Debra Crew can’t get a better insight into the company, perhaps an activist investor can do it for her.

For the brave: C&C

Current price: 146p

Change in 2024: decrease by 4%

The strength of C&C’s drinks brands, such as Bulmers, Magners and Tennent’s, has been tested by bad British weather, the cost of living crisis and self-inflicted wounds, most notably a botched software implementation and productivity program in drinks distribution by Matthew Clark. As a result, the shares are no higher than in 2009.

But the appointment of Roger White, formerly of AG Barr, is a huge step for a company with room for self-help, through investment in its premium cider and beer brands, cost efficiencies in distribution and perhaps even more dramatic moves to simplify the group structure. .

There is also room for a decline in net debt, and less risk could mean a higher share price.

Expert: Ben Yearsley, founder of Fairview Investing

For the cautious: BT

Current price: 144p

Change in 2024: increase by 17%

BT has been a disappointment for years, down 64 percent in the past decade. But it now feels like the company is putting many of its problems behind it.

The pension deficit has been reduced and the rollout of fiber optic broadband to homes is now happening at what you could almost call the speed of light. There is also a decent dividend yield of 5.4%.

For the brave: PRUDENTIAL

Current price: 637p

Change in 2024: decrease by 28%

This life insurer’s shares are cheap because of its ties with China: Asia is the main focus these days. But this is a quality company at a ridiculously cheap valuation. The icing on the cake is a dividend yield of 2.6%. At some point the markets will wake up and finally start paying attention.

Amish Patel, head of equity research at Charles Stanley

For the cautious: THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC

Current price: $518.80

Change in 2024: decrease by 2%

This US-listed company is a leading player in the life science instrument market. It produces scientific instruments, laboratory equipment, consumables and reagents for life sciences, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic research. It is also a leader in contract research and drug manufacturing.

With a high level of recurring revenue – more than 80% of revenue comes from services and consumables – this is a quality growth stock with defensive characteristics. Next year, the country will benefit from long-term structural trends in healthcare and from the short-term recovery in the life science instruments market after two difficult years.

For the brave: SYNOPSYS

Current price: $487

Change in 2024: decrease by 5%

Synopsys develops software to create superior microchips that power everything from telephones to artificial intelligence systems. It is listed on the US stock exchange and operates against a backdrop of political tensions as Washington and Beijing clash in a race for computer superiority.

In 2025, it should complete its $35 billion purchase of engineering simulation group Ansys, its largest acquisition ever. Greater computing power requires more complex chips, and companies like Amazon and Google are developing their own custom chips to reduce dependence on third parties like Nvidia.

Synopsys has even embedded artificial intelligence into its own software tools, allowing it to achieve in weeks what might take months for large engineering teams. This increases productivity and also helps solve challenges posed by talent shortages across the industry.