LONDON, March 27, 2026, 13:07 GMT
3i Group shares rose 2.9% to 2,367 pence by 12:46 GMT on Friday, clawing back only a sliver of Thursday’s 17.6% rout, after investors dumped the FTSE 100 private equity firm’s stock on softer 2026 guidance from Action, its biggest holding. 1
The reaction matters because Action sits at the centre of 3i’s value. The firm’s annual report showed Action made up 76% of its private equity portfolio value at March 31, 2025, and 3i said in January its stake was set to rise to 65.3%, leaving the parent highly exposed to any change in the retailer’s growth. 2
At Thursday’s seminar, 3i said Action expected like-for-like sales – sales at stores open at least a year – to grow 4% to 5% in 2026, while opening at least 400 stores and keeping its margin at 14.8%. In the first 12 weeks of 2026, net sales rose 14.5% to 3.7 billion euros, but like-for-like growth slowed to 4.0%; outside France it was 5.8%, while France managed 0.9% and snow and cold weather hurt store traffic in northern Europe. 3
The selloff pushed 3i to more than a two-year low on Thursday. Barclays then cut its price target on Friday to 4,455 pence from 4,810 pence, while keeping an “overweight” rating – broker shorthand for expecting the shares to beat the sector. 4
Management also used the event to sketch a U.S. entry. Action plans its first store in the southeastern United States by late 2027 or early 2028, will start with about 20 stores across North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, expects to invest 350 million to 400 million euros through 2030 and aims for around 100 U.S. stores by the end of that year. Chief Executive Hajir Hajji said the group picked the region because it was “one of the fastest growing regions” and added Action was now “strong and sizable enough” to make the move while keeping focus on Europe. 5
But that move adds fresh risk. Reuters noted past attempts by European retailers including Tesco and M&S to crack the U.S. ended in failure, and 3i warned the Middle East crisis could still create new pressure across its portfolio. 5
Action’s scale explains why the share price reacts so sharply. 3i said the retailer generated 16 billion euros of sales and 2.367 billion euros of operating EBITDA in 2025 – a profit measure before interest, tax and non-cash charges – and added 384 stores; 3i valued its 62.3% stake at 22.38 billion pounds at Dec. 31 using an 18.5-times run-rate EBITDA multiple. 3
3i is due to report full-year results in May, its next scheduled update after Thursday’s Action seminar and portfolio update. 6
