Stocks with a price below £1 represent an attractive opportunity for some. Investing in undervalued stocks can provide significantly more profit potential than more established stocks and indices. But penny stocks also bring greater risk. And with so many to choose from, how can you tell a winner from a dud?
This guide shortlists and analyses some of the most promising stocks under £1 from a range of sectors and industries. You'll also find out where to invest in penny stocks and whether they're worth it.
Leading Stocks Under £1 for UK Investors
Western Forest Products
Founded in 1954, Canada-based Western Forest Products is a lumber company engaging in sustainable forest management, value-added lumber remanufacturing, and timber harvesting.
Over the last 12 months, its valuation peaked at £1.45 and the lowest it reached was £0.64 in November 2022. Early into 2023, it scored a steady growth in value and was forecasted to double within the year. As far as the traditional metrics are concerned, it ranked better than 85% of its competitors.
Integrated Diagnostics Holdings
Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH) is a healthcare company that specialises in developing and commercialising diagnostic tests based on its proprietary technology platform, which uses a combination of antibodies and antigens for diagnosis. The tests are designed to prioritise affordability and simplicity to be used across the developing world.
The company’s stock valuation ranged between £0.50 and £1.09, and its earnings are forecast to grow 21.67% per year. The company is also estimated to be traded 78% below its fair value. This makes one of the best choices to trade penny stocks.
Vyant Bio
The small market cap company Vyant Bio was founded in 1999 in New Jersey, and specializes in drug discovery technologies, aiming to improve the development of advanced therapies in precision medicine.
The stock has been on a steady decline over the last year in the stock market, after its peak of about £6.46 in March 2022, and may have found its bottom at £0.53 closing 2022. The company has trials set for the first quarter of 2023, and its success largely depends on its proceedings – if things don’t go south, the revenue is projected to grow over 100%. This makes one of the best choices to trade penny stocks.
Intouch Insight
Intouch Insight offers customer experience management products and services helping clients quantify customer satisfaction and understand market trends through surveys, mystery shopping, operational and compliance audits, and event marketing automation solutions.
The stock is extremely volatile and due to its small market cap, very risky. Yet, the company has become profitable – its earnings scored a 49.5% growth over the last five years compared to the industry average of 19%. You can start trading penny stocks with a smooth experience with Intouch Insight.
Sesen Bio
A late-stage clinical company, Sesen Bio focuses on improving, developing, and commercialising targeted fusion protein therapeutics for the treatment of prostate cancer.
Once traded for around £4.85, the value of the stock plummeted following the company’s failure to obtain FDA approval. It remains a risky buy and adheres to the general volatility of biotech outfits. That being said, with the merger with Carisma Therapeutics looming, the stock may experience new highs over the course of the year.
Anemoi International Limited
Anemoi International Limited is a private company that specialises in the design, development, and manufacture of wind turbine technology. The company focuses on developing small-scale wind turbines designed for use in urban and suburban areas.
The stock has experienced a fairly volatile period, with a 52-week range of between £0.72 - £3.4. While the company lacks a meaningful market capitalisation, its revenue grew by 1734% over the past year.
Gee Group
The Illinois-based company specialises in staffing services and solutions for IT, finance and accounting, engineering, legal, and healthcare industries. The penny stock may promise high returns at certain points in the year due to its cyclical nature and the state of the current labour market. It is currently estimated to be traded 90% below its fair value.
The company’s financials also paint an optimistic picture. With a P/E ratio of 2.82, it ranks better than over 90% of its competitors, and its debt-to-EBITDA ratio is similarly better than over 90% of its competitors. The company also received an 'unlikely to bankrupt' rating from Altman Z-score.
Tritax EuroBox
Tritax EuroBox is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses on investing in and managing logistics and distribution warehouses across Europe. The company's portfolio includes properties located in key logistics markets in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
The company’s stock plummeted by 44% over the course of a year and is now currently traded at under £1. Yet, the company supports a substantial dividend yield rate of 6.46%, which may attract dividend investors.
Cybin Inc.
The Canada-based biopharmaceutical company focuses on the development of psychedelic-based therapeutics to be used in the treatment of various mental health diseases including anxiety, depression, and addiction.
Its 52-week range was £0.21 and £0.94. Its revenue shrunk over the past year, but the company is currently focused on the research and development phase and its board is critically favoured by major analysts. With the rehashed interest in psychedelic treatments, it may be a valuable buy.
Organigram
The Canada-based company is a medical and recreational cannabis producer that is looking into expanding its operations on a global scale. This Penny stock currently has three cultivation facilities including an edible manufacturing site, an indoor growing facility, and a greenhouse facility, and uses a proprietary system to optimise cultivation and harvesting.
The company is still expected to be profitable, yet its net sales have grown over 15% and holds a strong financial profile with its debt-to-EBITDA ratio ranking better than 99% of its competitors. Its 52-week range was between £0.57 and £1.51.
Where to Buy Stocks Under £1 in the UK?
Not many brokers list stocks under £1, but some major investment platforms like eToro, IG, and Freetrade include them in their offerings.
1. eToro - Overall Best Trading Platform for Stocks Under £1
Combining no-commission trading with top-notch usability, eToro is among the best platforms for trading low-cost securities. While its trading tools may come across as underwhelming to an advanced trader, the trading platform covers all the bases and provides a unique focus on social trading.
The trading mechanism is supported by advanced charting capabilities provided by ProCharts, which allows assessment of historical performance and a glance comparison, and a news feed that comes with subscriptions to leading publications like the Financial Times or Wall Street Journal. eToro also has forex trading on its platform which makes it the best forex broker for beginners as well. You can also find our eToro Review UK which we curated for further information about the platform.
Account minimum deposit | £40 |
|---|---|
Fees | |
Commission | 0% for stocks and ETFs, 1% for cryptocurrencies |
Smart Portfolio Management | 0% |
Inactivity Fee | £8 for after a year |
KYC Required | Yes |
Demo Account | Yes |
Stock Price | Free |
Investment types | CFDs, Commodities, Stocks & Shares, Cryptocurrency, Forex |
App Store Rating | 3.8 / 7,750 ratings |
2. IG - Best Platform for Research Amenities for Trading Stocks Under £1
Bringing together affordability and quality, IG offers industry-grade trading mechanisms for the fraction of the cost. Its platform is highly configurable, and besides a traditional stocks screener, it includes far-reaching portfolio analysis tools, access to ProRealTime advanced charting platform, and access to MetaTrader 4 for automation. Its research and analysis amenities, supplemented with a constant stream of market news and analysis come in handy when screening AIM stocks.
| Name | Score | Visit | Disclaimer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 8.9 | Visitig.com | Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. |
Account minimum deposit | £250 |
|---|---|
Fees | |
Commission | From 0.5% |
Smart Portfolio Management Fee | 0.72% per annum for below £50,000, and 0.22% per annum for above £50,000. |
Custody Fee | £24 per quarter, reduced by commissions paid per trade |
KYC Required | Yes |
Demo Account | Yes |
Stock Price | Free |
Investment types | Stocks & Shares, CFDs, Forex |
App Store Rating | 4.6 / 25,771 ratings |
3. Freetrade - Platform with the Best Interface to Trade Stocks Under £1
Freetrade’s award-winning online platform supports a modern, sleek, and robust interface that has a familiar feel to it and is incredibly easy to navigate. Besides AIM-listed and other penny stocks, the platform also offers fractional shares for further exposure to low-cost securities and maintains a commission-free structure for all its offerings.
Freetrade disclaimer: The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest.
| Name | Score | Visit | Disclaimer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 7.6 | Visitfreetrade.io | The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. |
Account minimum deposit | £0 |
|---|---|
Fees | |
Commission | 0% |
Overseas Dealing | Spot rate + 0.45% |
KYC Required | Yes |
Demo Account | No |
Stock Price | Basic – £0, Standard – £4.99 per month, Plus £9.99 per month |
Investment types | Stocks & Shares, Commodities, Penny Stocks |
Freetrade disclaimer: The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest.
Why Are Some Stocks Valued Below £1?
Stocks that are valued at less than £1, and have a market cap below £100 million are referred to as penny stocks. These types of stocks are typically traded through the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange with fewer restrictions on listings. They are often associated with smaller or newer companies that have low liquidity and fewer investors willing to buy their shares.
As a result of this low liquidity, it can be difficult for investors to sell their stocks or find stock prices that accurately reflect the market. Given the small company structure, market cap, and low liquidity, penny stocks are considered speculative securities that carry additional risk.
Companies whose shares are valued below £1 tend to be unproven, have less information available about them, and don't need to meet the same standards as more established companies on major exchanges. They often have low liquidity, which can make their prices more volatile and susceptible to manipulation.
What's more, penny stocks can be a target for scams. So always use caution and do your own research.
Pros and Cons of Investing in Stocks Under £1
Before investing, it's crucial to know the benefits and risks involved in trading stocks under £1.
- Funding for Smaller Companies – By purchasing penny stocks, investors can help smaller companies through pool funding from the public and grow in time.
- Potential for Growth – During the early 2000s, an Apple stock was traded for 80 cents per share. Although it doesn’t happen frequently, small companies with stocks valued under a dollar theoretically can grow into blue chip companies.
- Cheap Price – The obvious attraction is the low cost. A trader can buy shares in bulk with relatively small capital, like £500 for 1,000 stocks by 50 pence a share. If the price climbs up to £2, they go home with £1500 in profit.
- High Risk – Cheap stocks are mainly speculative due to opaque or very little to no company history, especially if they are not listed under major exchanges, thus carrying a high risk of investment loss.
- High Volatility – Low-cost securities are traded among a handful of investors, meaning that any price swing can be quite steep. Therefore they require constant monitoring from investors to keep their losses to a minimum.
- Susceptibility to Manipulation – Low liquidity allows opportunities for price manipulation like the pump-and-dump scheme, where investors are lured into buying a stock only for scammers to cash out once its value spikes.
Looking for more information before investing? Check out the guides below
Is Investing in Stocks Under £1 Profitable?
Technically speaking, any asset can be profitable to invest in – but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be. Stocks under £1 are attractive to many due to the ability to own numerous stocks for a very cheap price and even a small hike in value will generate a valuable return. But due to their volatile nature, a £0.90 share can go down to £0.45 quite quickly and the trader may lose half of their investment.
All in all, low-cost securities are not for the faint-hearted; it requires a high-risk tolerance and possibly a great commitment to identify, monitor, and place trades at the right time.
