INVESTMENT FOCUS-From toilets to trainers, search for yield finds unlikely shares

* Adidas (LSE: 0OLD.L - news) , Just Eat (Frankfurt: A1100K - news) among stocks at record highs

* Investors looking beyond yield stocks

* Record Breakers: http://reut.rs/2bnUeXu

* STOXX 600 stocks hitting highs: http://reut.rs/2bnIhB9

* European earnings forecasts: http://reut.rs/1VUGDqw

By Alistair Smout

LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - European equities have defied the gloom and doom predicted after Britain voted to leave the European Union, and record-high gains by stocks like Adidas and Just Eat suggest investors are looking for growth anywhere they can find it.

As interest rates turn negative, economic growth slows and inflation remains stubbornly low, investors have turned to dividend-yielding stocks. And that has led them to companies that have market-beating earnings growth, are cash-rich or look like successful turnaround stories.

Among them are Swiss company Geberit (LSE: 0QQ2.L - news) , whose hi-tech toilets have soared in popularity in Europe, German sportswear company Adidas, which was all but written off two years ago, and online takeaway company Just Eat, which gets more than a third of its revenue from pizza deliveries.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) of all three have climbed to record highs in recent weeks. Earlier this month, more than 16 percent of the STOXX 600 was trading at highs for the year, the highest ratio since last April and above the average over the past decade.

The search for yield has pushed investors into safe havens like Nestle (Swiss: NESN.VX - news) , Unilever (NYSE: UL - news) and AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN - news) . But the rush into so-called defensive sectors has also pushed up their valuations, leading investors to look further afield.

"Getting pigeonholed into certain style of trade is risky in this market," said Trevor Fitzgerald, who helps manage a portfolio of small and mid-sized European stocks at Mirabaud Asset Management.

Fitzgerald's fund, which seeks out lesser-known stocks, says companies that can't meet forecasts get punished more severely than usual, pointing to investor skittishness.

NICHE AREAS

On the other hand, turnaround stories, companies cutting costs and debt and those operating in niche areas and re-investing in the business get rewarded.

Adidas, which risked falling too far behind behemoth Nike , has revamped its clothing range, shed underperforming businesses such as golf and signed deals with top teams and players. Its shares are up nearly 150 percent in the past year.

Online takeaway firm Just Eat is up more than 40 percent from its post-Brexit lows as investors found the company's asset-light, fast growth attractive in an otherwise sluggish market.

Mirabaud's Fitzgerald, who owns Just Eat shares, says the company should be seen as a specialist payments company that helps other businesses keep costs low and reach more customers.

Geberit's "shower toilets" are proving particularly popular in new homes in several European countries.

With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) broader markets flattening and overall European earnings staring at another year of no growth, stockpickers chasing safe but expensive stocks could be missing out on better returns elsewhere.

"There is the hunt for yield, and the hunt for dividend. However, the polarisation is becoming more and more extreme", said Andrea Williams, senior European fund manager at Royal London Asset Management.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout, Editing by Vikram Subhedar and Larry King)