Tip of the month

My tip this month is Britvic, the soft drinks company, for four strong reasons that should see its share price hit 600p in 2010. First, Britvic has just made an astute purchase in buying France's Fruite, which has a portfolio of highly popular fruit syrup brands, fitting in snugly with Britvic's Robinsons products. Britvic's other successful brands in the UK include Tango, Pepsi, 7UP and J20.

Second, Fruite is a leading soft-drinks player in France where it records 91 per cent of its sales. It has strong brands across the Channel, and the merger offers the opportunity to introduce Britvic products into France and Fruite brands to the UK.

Third, the French company is long established, enjoyed revenues of £220m in 2009 and has grown annual sales at 10.6 per cent in recent years. And, finally, Britvic announced healthy interim results, with revenues up nearly five per cent to £505m and pre-tax profits rising almost 40 per cent to £27.8m.

Buy Britvic shares at the best price and install a 20 per cent stop/loss trigger to guard you against any major market fallbacks.

Stockmarket and alternative investments can fall as well as rise in value. Readers should consult their own professional advisers.