SHARE PUNT OF THE WEEK

PRICE: 139.8p

WHAT IS IT? Strix is the world’s leading manufacturer of kettle safety controls. These controls shut the kettle off once the water has boiled, the water level is too low or when the kettle is lifted from its base. The company also has a line of water filtration products, called Aqua Optima, as well as a Turbo Toaster that toasts bread in under 60 seconds. The Isle of Man-based firm, which employs more than 800 staff, claims to have a 38pc share of the global kettle control market and has sold more than 2bn units.

WHAT’S THE LATEST? The business reported a 2.9pc increase in revenue to £91.3m last year, while pre-tax profit grew a healthy 5.6pc to £28.3m. In March, the AIM-listed company signed a deal to stock five of its water filtration products in 1,000 Boots stores across the UK and Ireland.

WHO BACKS IT? Neil Woodford, one of Britain’s best-known fund managers, is the firm’s largest shareholder, owning more than 9pc of its shares. Other big names include Schroder, Old Mutual Global Investors and Blackrock.

WHY SHOULD YOU INVEST? Russ Mould, of broker AJ Bell, said: ‘It has steady operating margins, good free cash flow and the float last year paid down a lot of its debt. We are not talking about a massive growth stock but it is a decent income play. Basically, it is a solid business based on intellectual property, in a regulated market that has lots of demand.’

...AND WHY YOU SHOULDN’T As with any smaller company, there are risks involved. You won’t get the depth of reporting that you would with a large, FTSE 100-listed company. And the share prices of smaller companies tend to be more erratic.