London, June 13, 2026, 22:02 BST
- 3i Group shares were up 3.78% to £23.09 on Friday, ahead of the FTSE 100, which added 1.63%.
- The stock is still well under its 52-week high, so investors are watching the valuation of Action, which is 3i’s biggest position.
- 3i’s next big event is its Q1 performance update, set for July 23, 2026.
3i Group plc shares bounced 3.78% to £23.09 on Friday, ending the week higher as the broader London market also gained. The stock outpaced the FTSE 100’s 1.63% jump for the day after adding 1.74% on Thursday. Even with the two-day rally, shares remain down 48.65% from their 52-week high of £44.97 set on October 27, 2025.
3i’s rally is worth noting. The company is a listed private-equity and infrastructure investor, and the share price often gets measured against its net asset value, or NAV, basically the estimated value of what it owns minus debts. AJ Bell data put 3i at about a 24% discount to its estimated NAV, so the shares are trading much lower than the group says its assets are worth. That discount can suggest 3i is cheap but also points to doubts about the value of private holdings.
Friday’s gain looked like a relief bounce rather than a reaction to fresh news. 3i’s investor page still showed the last financial update as the May 14 full-year numbers. The next is due July 23. The most recent buyback notice said the company bought 5.8 million shares for cancellation, paying £127.5 million as part of its £750 million buyback plan. Buybacks cut share count and can boost per-share value when shares trade below NAV.
Action is still the big story for 3i. The group’s 65.4% stake in the discount retailer was valued at £23.74 billion as of March 31, 2026, out of a total investment book of £31.82 billion. Like-for-like sales at Action, which don’t count new stores, slowed to 2.4% so far this year, down from 6.8% a year ago. France and Germany sales were flat. The sharp drop in May followed that weaker growth.
3i’s shares are now trading well below NAV, even as the firm keeps posting solid numbers. The group reported a 22% total return for FY2026 and said NAV per share hit 3,030p. It announced a total dividend of 84.5p per share and a £750 million buyback. “FY2026 was another good year for 3i,” Chief Executive Simon Borrows said. Action opened 69 stores so far this year through May 10, making a second-half bounce something investors will look for. 3i
The bear thesis is that the discount is justified. 3i uses an 18.5x run-rate EBITDA multiple to value Action, EBITDA being earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation—standard shorthand for operating cash profit. 3i said if Action’s post-discount multiple moves by 1.0x, it would change the value of the investment by £1.5 billion. At March 31, 97% of 3i’s investment assets were unquoted, so confidence in valuations carries extra risk.
3i at Friday’s price may tempt investors betting Action’s sales dip won’t last and the NAV discount will shrink, but the shares still carry risk and aren’t just a bargain. The next big trigger is the Q1 update set for July 23, where the market will zero in on Action’s like-for-like sales, margins, new stores, France and Germany numbers, and buyback pace. The stock also goes ex-dividend on June 18, with a dividend paid out July 24, but those are likely to be less important than the Action numbers.
