LONDON, March 11, 2026, 16:57 GMT
3i Group plc gained 21 pence, up 0.72% on Wednesday, but the move followed a dip to 2,887 pence earlier—its lowest mark in a year. Despite the lift, shares are still trading far from the 12-month high of 4,496 pence.
The shift is notable: 3i now sits under its estimated net asset value, or NAV—the post-debt value of its portfolio. According to Hargreaves Lansdown, estimated NAV stands at 3,030.72 pence, while the shares trade at a 3.42% discount. That’s a reversal from the stock’s 12-month average premium of 40.26%.
The market’s bounce proved shaky. By late morning Wednesday, Reuters noted the FTSE 100 slipped 0.6%, as energy prices swung on ongoing Middle East tensions. Just the day before, London’s blue-chip index had surged 1.6%—optimism briefly surfacing on speculation the conflict might de-escalate. “There is a chance that the Iran war will not be done and dusted quickly,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, speaking to Reuters. Reuters
3i hasn’t had much to complain about in its own results. In January, its third-quarter update showed Action—the group’s largest holding—pulling in 16 billion euros of sales and 2.367 billion euros in operating EBITDA for 2025. Diluted NAV per share hit 3,017 pence as of Dec. 31. Operating EBITDA strips out interest, tax, and some non-cash items.
The group said it put some of the 944 million-pound cash it got from Action’s October capital restructuring toward boosting its ownership in the retailer to 62.3%. Chief Executive Simon Borrows called the start to the last quarter a “good” one. As of December’s close, 3i was sitting on 995 million pounds in gross cash and had gearing at 1%. 3i
The mood didn’t improve across the sector. Shares of CVC Capital Partners dropped 6.9% on Wednesday after the firm flagged that its near-term performance-related earnings—those fees that hinge on investment gains—are likely to disappoint analysts’ forecasts. Chief Executive Rob Lucas called realisations “lumpy and slightly unpredictable,” speaking to reporters. Reuters
KKR CFO Robert Lewin flagged that the group’s listed private credit fund is feeling the pinch from segments of the U.S. credit market coming under stress. Lewin pointed out that certain companies might “underperform” or even get “disintermediated” by artificial intelligence. For investors, that’s triggering a fresh look at valuations throughout the listed alternatives space—not just at 3i. Reuters
Still, the risk to 3i remains obvious. The company flagged France as a trouble spot for Action late last year, with same-store sales sliding by mid-single digits in October and November, then stabilizing in December, and picking up again in early January. But if that bounce fizzles—especially while oil and gas keep inflation sticky—the shares could remain under pressure. This week saw Standard Chartered and Morgan Stanley delay their Bank of England rate-cut forecasts to the second quarter, a change that can drag on private-equity valuations and complicate exit timing.
