One of the City’s top investors in UK stocks has bought shares in kitchen, sofa and bicycle retailers, defying the conventional wisdom that British households are too stretched to splash out on bigger-ticket items.
Alex Wright, who manages £4.3 billion of UK-focused funds for Fidelity International in London, said the “unloved” UK was one of the most insulated economies from the tariffs chaos and was therefore “strikingly” well placed.
Many economists say the barrage of tax increases and higher bills imposed this month by councils, energy suppliers, water companies, broadband suppliers and mobile phone networks will crimp spending on higher-value non-essential items, but Wright is more optimistic.
“We recently increased exposure to retailers specialising in big-ticket items such as kitchens and sofas, where sales are
