The World Nuclear Symposium has just celebrated its 50th anniversary in London. Once a niche event, it enjoyed record attendance this year, with more than 1,000 delegates flying in from around the globe to see how they could profit from rising interest in nuclear energy.
Nuclear used to be a dirty word, associated with devastation or disaster. No longer. It’s cleaner than coal and gas, and more reliable than wind and solar.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last week declared a ‘golden age of nuclear’ as he and US President Donald Trump agreed multi-billion-dollar deals to boost capacity both here and in America.
Promises, promises… but if all goes according to plan, this should deliver a meaningful boost to UK plc.
Rolls-Royce and Centrica have been named as contributors to a new generation of reactors, but with demand for nuclear energy due to triple over the next 15 years, there should be opportunities for rich rewards across the UK stock market.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump last week agreed multi-billion-dollar deals to boost capacity
Avingtrans
Avingtrans is a case in point. Based near Cambridge, it has been supplying pumps and motors to the nuclear industry for decades, building a reputation for efficiency, expertise and top service.
A trading statement in the summer was upbeat, and results this week should underscore its prospects as growth accelerates.
The UK derives 15 per cent of its energy from nuclear, the US just under 20 per cent. Both are keen to take that higher using so-called small modular reactors (SMRs)
Traditional power stations take years to build, cost billions and often run into delays and budget over-runs. But SMRs are much more compact, and can be built off-site which makes construction faster and cheaper.
Dozens are planned for Britain, and firms such as Microsoft and Google are putting billions into the industry to supply huge data centres, whose energy needs are set to soar as use of artificial intelligence takes off.
Avingtrans is already working with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who set up TerraPower, whose new era reactors need pumps that can withstand corrosive materials and temperatures above 600C.
Avingtrans is one of the few firms that can make these pumps, and boss Steve McQuillan is talking to every other tech giant too. This month it won a £12.5 million deal to supply pumps in South Korea.
Midas recommended Avingtrans three years ago, when the shares were £4. They have since risen to £4.60, but with profit of £8.1 million forecast for this year, rising to £10.7 million in 2026, brokers say the stock should reach £5.80 within 12 months.
Longer term, there is even more potential. Buy and hold.
Traded on: AIM
Ticker: AVG
Contact: avingtrans.plc.uk
Goodwin
Goodwin is on a roll. A sixth-generation family business specialising in advanced engineering, it is known for its nuclear expertise.
From a growing site in Stoke-on-Trent, Goodwin makes containers to hold nuclear waste, works closely with Rolls-Royce and is one of a handful of companies endorsed by the US Department of Defense to supply nuclear submarine components.
The group’s experience and expertise mean it is well placed to benefit from nuclear reactor projects on both sides of the Atlantic.
Chairman Tim Goodwin is optimistic about the future and he enjoys widespread City support.
Goodwin shares have doubled from £50.40 to £107 since Midas tipped the stock two years ago.
That is a lot to shell out, but this is a quality business, run by a family determined to generate sustained growth.
Existing holders may be tempted to sell a few shares at this level, but for long-term investors this is an attractive stock.
Traded on: Main market
Ticker: GDWN
Contact: goodwin.co.uk
Geiger Counter
Geiger Counter is a fund set up in 2006 to invest in firms involved in the development and production of uranium, the key ingredient in nuclear power.
Uranium prices have see-sawed over the past two decades, topping $130 in 2007, slumping to below $30 ten years later and now hovering at between $70 and $80 a pound. That is expected to rise, lifting Geiger Counter shares from 54.2p, as demand already outstrips supply and it takes years for new mines to come on stream.
Uranium mines are still few and far between, as investment in new supply has been minimal since the Fukushima disaster in 2011.
The sentiment is different today. Research shows nuclear plants are safer than other power sources and bolster energy security by cutting dependence on Russian gas.
Geiger owns stock in about 40 firms, with its top investments including Cameco, one of the world’s largest uranium producers, and NexGen Energy, also based in Canada and developing a major mine in the country.
The group has exposure to US and Namibian producers as well as firms involved in building nuclear reactors. Yet its shares are trading at a discount to the value of its assets, an anomaly that should reverse, offering investors a way to ride the nuclear wave.
Traded on: Main market
Ticker: GCL
Contact: ncim.co.uk/geiger-counter-ltd
Yellow Cake
Yellow Cake is also likely to benefit from nuclear’s popularity.
Floated on the stock market at £2 in 2018, the business owns 21.7 million pounds of uranium oxide, acquired over the years via an agreement with Kazakhstan-based Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer.
Uranium which has been converted to uranium oxide – known as yellow cake – is then turned into the fuel used in nuclear reactors.
Yellow Cake’s stockpile is sizeable and boss Andre Lieberman can increase it under the long-standing agreement with Kazatomprom.
Its shares are £5.31 but its stockpile is valued at £5.70 a share, making it an interesting option for investors as demand intensifies.
While Starmer and Trump have bold plans to build reactors, China is already on the case. Ten years ago it had 17 plants, today it has 58, with 30 in construction, all requiring uranium.
Traded on: Main market
Ticker: YCA
Contact: yellowcakeplc.com
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