I was hoping this would be easy to do
ie. find Fiat (preferably GBP)/Alt coins exchange with multiple pairs
Other than BTC and ETH this seems to be a lot of hassle
and the idea of having to convert several times to find a pair kills the deal due to fees
any views on this?
I think there can be multiple factors that contribute to this.
1. There isn't so much interest in altcoins as there used to be, so there are more places for fiat-BTC pair, but not with altcoins.
2. It seems to me that people usually buy Bitcoin/Ethereum/USDT with fiat and then exchange it for other altcoins. So there isn't enough demand for altcoin-fiat exchange pairs to be offered.
If you're thinking about investing in altcoins, think again. Maybe the lack of options is a sign that it might not be a good choice. It's fully up to you, but please take a look at Coingecko or Coinmarketcap to see various altcoins and how they've been doing over the last few years.