Investing in water as drought digs deep

Published on by in Business

Investing in water as drought digs deep

Drought conditions in the South East and East Anglia – with other areas expected to follow – will bring misery to many gardeners but could create opportunities for investors. Soaring sales of water butts are just one of the examples of how hosepipe bans, due to take effect on April 5, are changing consumer behaviour, with the potential to boost profits in some sectors. One specialist supplier of water butts, Straight, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) saw its share price rise by 19pc last month. But they gave up some gains today, falling by 2pc on profit-taking, and it should be noted that shares in this stock market tiddler remains high risk, having fallen by 50pc over the last year. Bigger fish in the water sector – such as the utility companies Pennon and Severn Trent – have proved better bets. The Daily Telegraph’s Questor column tipped Pennon in January this year when shares could be bought for 639p. They trade today at 720p. Read more: http://j.mp/ICTUQI

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