London, April 24, 2026, 18:06 BST
3i Group plc extended its losing streak to three sessions on Friday, slipping 1.83% to finish at 2,627.50 pence in London. Selling pressure weighed heavier here than on the broader FTSE 100, which lost 0.75%. That move leaves 3i shares sitting 41.57% under their 52-week high, per market data.
Timing is key. 3i reports full-year numbers for the period ending March 31 on May 14, giving investors almost a month to digest fresh trading data from Action—the Dutch discount retailer that now dominates the group’s valuation.
Action isn’t just one more name in the portfolio. Back in March, 3i described Action as its biggest holding in a capital markets update. The firm itself leans into private equity and infrastructure, centering on northern Europe and North America.
Action posted net sales of €3.7 billion for the first 12 weeks of 2026, a jump of 14.5% on the year. Like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new stores, climbed 4.0%. Growth in France barely moved at 0.9%, compared to 5.8% across the retailer’s other markets. 3i pointed to cold weather and snowfall as factors that kept store visits down in parts of northern Europe.
The weaker mix is now front and center. RBC Capital Markets pegged recent like-for-like growth at roughly 3%—“a little softer than our lower-end expectations,” the bank said in a March note cited by Investing.com. Investing
3i left Action’s 2026 targets intact. The retailer is still aiming for 4% to 5% like-for-like sales growth, plans at least 400 net new stores, and is sticking with a 14.8% EBITDA margin. EBITDA—earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation—remains the company’s preferred operating profit metric.
3i isn’t backing off its ambitious roll-out. Action, the company’s retail giant, estimates it can still add around 4,650 stores across its current and targeted European regions. That would build on the 3,302 outlets it expects to operate by the end of 2025. In addition, the company has its sights set on the U.S., targeting an opening in the south-eastern states by late 2027 or early 2028.
The message from management hasn’t shifted. Simon Borrows, chief executive at 3i and chairman of Action, highlighted at the March seminar that Action’s expansion across borders and “sector-leading like-for-like growth” distinguish it from competitors. Seeking Alpha
The market stacks Action up against names like B&M, Dollarama and Pepco Group—those are the peers 3i highlighted in its seminar deck. According to 3i, Action has beaten the group’s average on store growth, like-for-like sales, net sales, and operating EBITDA, both over the past five years and in the last 12 months.
There’s a danger here: France might remain soft, traffic could lag, or rolling out new stores might start to strain execution. Action flagged “high geopolitical uncertainty” and said that made offering a confident outlook tough. Over at 3i, the group cautioned that fallout from the Middle East could heap even more pressure on its portfolio. 3i
3i reported that Royal Sanders, along with most of its private-equity holdings, remained steady, and infrastructure assets kept performing solidly. But investors are zoning in on a single point: can Action still grow quickly enough to warrant 3i’s hefty valuation?
