After I’m looking for the ‘finest’ UK shares to assist me retire wealthy, I don’t really search for one magic inventory. I give attention to corporations that carry out properly via good occasions and dangerous, and preserve investing when others are slicing again.
Usually they’re the type of ‘boring’ corporations that quietly preserve hospitals stocked, cabinets crammed, or factories operating – yr after yr.
For me, the best candidate is a enterprise that stays worthwhile in a downturn, maintains stable money move, and nonetheless has room to develop.
That’s often a greater path to lengthy‑time period wealth than chasing this month’s hyped-up tech pipedream.
So what are we searching for?
Each firm will get hit by shocks. What issues is whether or not administration has deliberate forward and left themselves room to manoeuvre.
After I have a look at UK shares with long-term potential, I wish to see:
- Thick order books or recurring income that don’t disappear when the economic system slows.
- Robust money technology and wise debt ranges, so it isn’t begging the financial institution for lifelines.
- Entry to dependable financing, which lets it preserve investing when weaker rivals are compelled to retreat.
- A transparent historical past of utilizing downturns to win new prospects or develop market share.
That mixture is highly effective. It’s how some corporations really come out of a disaster stronger than they went in.
One good instance
One FTSE 100 identify that matches this template properly is Bunzl (LSE: BNZL). It’s a distribution and outsourcing group that provides on a regular basis necessities resembling packaging, cleansing and hygiene merchandise, medical consumables and PPE.
It provides foodservice, grocery, healthcare, cleansing and retail shoppers throughout greater than 30 nations worldwide. As a result of these merchandise are non‑discretionary, a single weak sector or area sometimes doesn’t knock the entire group astray.
In 2008, through the international monetary disaster, it managed to develop income by 17% and working revenue by 15%. Within the Covid interval, income rose 9.4% and working revenue elevated 20.9%.
Over time that resilience has translated into laborious numbers: in 2024, Bunzl generated income of £11,776.4m and adjusted working revenue of £976.1m. It additionally reported money conversion of 93% and a return on invested capital of 14.8%, indicating earnings are backed by actual money, not accounting tips.
Nonetheless, no inventory is risk-free. As a worldwide provider, it faces international change swings, regulatory dangers, and provide chain disruption. It’s navigated these challenges properly prior to now however there’s no assure that may proceed.
Nonetheless, with big scale, a diversified buyer base, and a protracted document of acquisitions, its long-term potential is tough to disregard.
Placing it collectively
Nothing is a assured money-maker, and no single share will make a millionaire by itself. However by specializing in corporations which can be resilient, money‑generative and opportunistic in downturns, an investor can tilt the percentages of their favour.
Bunzl is only one instance to think about. One other UK identify with comparable qualities is Unilever, which delivered €60.8bn of turnover in 2024 however is at the moment going via a troublesome turnaround section. Diageo can also be a well-liked selection amongst wealth compounders, however regardless of a large international market share, altering shopper habits have hit its backside line.
That’s why diversification is so essential – markets are continually shifting, and yesterday’s golden ticket could possibly be tomorrow’s lifeless weight. For that motive, Bunzl is excessive on my watchlist for 2026.
Do you have to make investments £5,000 in Bunzl Plc proper now?
When investing knowledgeable Mark Rogers and his crew have a inventory tip, it may well pay to hear. In spite of everything, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor e-newsletter he has run for practically a decade has supplied 1000’s of paying members with prime inventory suggestions from the UK and US markets.
And proper now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout shares that buyers ought to think about shopping for. Need to see if Bunzl Plc made the listing?
Mark Hartley owns shares in Diageo and Unilever.
