My cautious recommendation would be a Kanile'a Islander, my favorite economy to mid-range line. However, over the years, Kanile'a has reduced the string spacing from 30mm to just 28.5mm (little more than the 27mm which is most prevalent with standard 1-3/8" [35mm] nuts), and I have a couple of Islanders that came with just a 27mm spacing. Conversely, I have some 35mm-nut ukes that have the same or greater string spread as on wider-nut ukes. That no one comments on the spread on these models suggests that most people are relatively clueless about what impact the nut width and/or string spread actually has. It's more likely that their "experience" is not at all objective, but rather is based mostly on their preset expectations (confirmation bias) and other factors like neck profile which they don't sufficiently take into account. Because nut width is the most advertised factor, people just assume any difference they think they feel must be attributable to that.
Curiously, people seldom mention how the string spacing varies going up the neck—largely a function of the spread at the saddle. On all ukes, this dwarfs the modest spread difference at the nut. If your friend plays up the fretboard, saddle spread is likely to be a more important factor than the nut width or spread at the nut.
