LONDON, March 30, 2026, 19:12 BST
- Simon Borrows, along with family trusts, picked up 350,147 shares of 3i at £25.55 apiece on March 26, a regulatory filing revealed.
- Following a 17.66% drop in 3i shares last Thursday, the purchase totaled approximately £8.95 million.
- Action—still the largest position in 3i’s portfolio—reiterated its 2026 outlook: 4%-5% in like-for-like sales growth, plus a minimum of 400 net new stores.
Simon Borrows, chief executive of 3i Group, snapped up almost £9 million worth of shares following last week’s sharp decline in the FTSE 100 investment company. According to a regulatory filing released Monday, Borrows and family trusts tied to him acquired 350,147 shares at £25.55 apiece on March 26.
This shift carries weight since 3i’s stock tracks closely with Action, the Dutch discount retailer that dominates its portfolio. Shares slumped 17.66% on Thursday, triggered by Action’s latest figures: like-for-like sales up just 4.0% for the first 12 weeks of 2026. Full-year guidance? No change.
The link is clear: 3i’s capital markets seminar materials put Action’s carrying value at £22.4 billion as of December, with cumulative distributions to 3i totaling roughly £5.8 billion since they took it on. Annual results land May 14.
On Monday, 3i’s investor relations page listed shares at 2,358 pence—up 1.5% for the day, though they’re still trailing Borrows’ entry point of 2,555 pence. The stock is now just a bit higher than Thursday’s close at 2,299 pence.
Action notched up €3.7 billion in net sales over the first 12 weeks of 2026, a 14.5% bump from the same stretch last year. France—still the chain’s largest market—managed like-for-like growth of just 0.9%, while the rest of the group clocked in at 5.8%. 3i said shareholders can expect another dividend payout in the next few weeks.
Action is sticking with its 2026 goals: 4%-5% like-for-like sales growth, at least 400 net new stores, and a 14.8% margin. The company also laid out plans to debut in the southeastern U.S. by late 2027 or early 2028. “One of the fastest growing regions,” said CEO Hajir Hajji on why they picked the area. 3i
3i’s seminar deck stacked Action up against discount rivals like B&M, Pepco Group, and Dollar General—public comparables investors typically weigh when scanning Action’s sales figures.
The short-term view remains murky. 3i reported France lagged a bit behind forecasts during the opening 12 weeks, while snowfall and cold weather weighed on store traffic up north. Geopolitical jitters are clouding any solid guidance for 2026. On top of that, the U.S. launch brings fresh execution risks. Still, Hajji argued Action is “strong and sizable enough” for the expansion without losing focus on Europe. 3i
3i reported solid performance across most of its private equity and infrastructure assets. Investors won’t have to wait long for the next big update: May 14 brings fresh data on France’s recovery and whether Action has managed to sustain its brisk sales from earlier this year.
