![\"Happy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8b7e6b3d416efa7b50bef50fbc4f3fb.jpeg\")
Image source: Getty Images <\/p>\n Image source: Getty Images <\/p>\n
Savvy investors can significantly boost their returns from UK shares at times like these. When stock markets are volatile, companies with incredible long-term potential often fall alongside more vulnerable ones. Picking these up at today\u2019s dirt-cheap prices can deliver mammoth returns over time.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been searching for UK bargain stocks myself, and three have recently caught my eye: Serabi Gold (LSE:SRB), Crest Nicholson (LSE:CRST), and NCC Group (LSE:NCC).<\/p>\n
Gold stocks like Serabi Gold have come under pressure as bullion prices have retraced. This particular one\u2019s down 13% over the last month, as a resurgent US dollar has hit gold demand by making it more expensive to buy and hold.<\/p>\n
Yet underlying demand for the shiny safe haven remains strong. World Gold Council data shows global holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rose by 61 tonnes in Q1. I\u2019m not surprised.<\/p>\n
Gold is traditionally in high demand when inflation rises and geopolitical crises emerge, and so could continue recovering in price. I also expect central bank gold demand to keep rising as institutions diversify away from the dollar.<\/p>\n
Investing in mining stocks can be risky given the operational challenges they encounter. But on balance, I think there\u2019s scope for Serabi shares to rebound, helped by its rock-bottom valuation. At 300p, its price-to-earnings (P\/E) ratio for 2026 is just 6.1 times.<\/p>\n
Those gold-boosting inflationary pressures threaten to have an opposite effect for Crest Nicholson. Housebuilders like this are highly sensitive to interest rates and their impact on buyer affordability.<\/p>\n
Accordingly, Crest\u2019s shares have dropped 12% over the last month. But I think this represents an attractive dip buying opportunity to consider. At 110.6p per share, the builder\u2019s P\/E-to-growth (PEG) multiple is 0.1 for this financial year (to October 2026).<\/p>\n
That\u2019s miles below the value watermark of one. And it remains ultra-low for the following two fiscal years, at 0.3.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m confident Crest Nicholson shares could recover steadily over time, driven by rising demand for newbuild properties as the UK population expands. Government plans for 300,000 new homes a year provides an enormous earnings opportunity.<\/p>\n
Tech spending by companies can slump when economic conditions worsen. But have fears over NCC\u2019s future profits been overblown? I think perhaps so \u2014 the cybersecurity company\u2019s dropped 11% in value over the last month.<\/p>\n
With cyber attacks becoming more numerous and advanced, having software that protects against such threats isn\u2019t a luxury. It\u2019s a necessity. According to UK Finance, \u201c52% of global organisations report that their average ransomware payout now exceeds their annual cybersecurity budget\u201c.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image source: Getty Images Savvy investors can significantly boost their returns from UK shares at times like these.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5730,5734,5735,5733,5731,5,6,5732],"class_list":{"0":"post-12131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-crest-nicholson","9":"tag-gold-demand","10":"tag-gold-stocks","11":"tag-ncc-group","12":"tag-serabi-gold","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-world-gold-council"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116390642509443856","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}