London, May 18, 2026, 12:00 BST
3i Group shares dropped again Monday, building on last week’s losses, as the private-equity investor announced its first buys under a £750 million buyback plan. The stock was trading near 2,060 pence in late morning, off about 7%. The FTSE All-Share showed a small gain.
Investors are looking at 3i less as a general private-equity play and more as a listed way to get exposure to Action, the big Dutch discount chain that’s the bulk of its holdings. At March 31, 3i put the value of its 65.4% stake in Action at £23.74 billion, out of a total portfolio of £31.82 billion.
3i shares were trading well under their reported net asset value of 3,030 pence per share on Monday. That discount has become the main pressure: buybacks offer some support while shares trade below NAV, but they don’t address the market’s concerns about Action’s growth.
3i said Monday it bought 701,317 shares for cancellation at a total cost of £15.0 million. The move is part of a £750 million buyback that started May 14. The cancelled shares are taken out of circulation and cut the outstanding share count. Barclays is handling the buyback, which runs through Dec. 31.
Action is still struggling. Like-for-like sales grew 2.4% in the year to May 10, down from 6.8% last year. Net sales for Action in the first three periods of 2026 came in at €4.01 billion with operating EBITDA at €498 million. The operating margin was 12.4%.
3i said cooler weather hurt seasonal categories, with French shoppers still cautious and German footfall dropping as the Middle East worsened at the end of March. The company said trading was steady or better than expected in the Netherlands, Belgium and southern Europe. Action had opened 69 stores in 2026 by May 10 and had €925 million in cash.
3i CEO Simon Borrows called FY2026 “another good year” but said the market is “complex” and flagged higher inflation ahead. Action, he said, continues to offer “quality at the lowest price.” 3i
3i III shares fell as investors reacted to results that showed the group’s dependence on one holding. Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said 3i had “paid the price” for being “too reliant on a single holding”, and said Action’s goodwill with investors “had faded.” London South East
The news is not just about 3i. The Times said B&M and Primark have also faced doubts on softer consumer sentiment and weaker sales, setting Action’s news in a wider story for value retailers instead of a single earnings miss. Still, Action is pushing on, with 3i saying the chain wants to launch in the United States in late 2027 or early 2028.
Stronger numbers showed up in other parts of 3i’s results. The firm posted a FY2026 total return of £5.30 billion, or 22% on starting shareholders’ funds, raised NAV per share from 2,542 pence, and is proposing a total dividend at 84.5 pence. Royal Sanders, its personal-care business, led private-equity value growth outside of Action.
The risk is France and Germany might not recover fast, with inflation lifting supplier and operating costs. If investors cut Action’s value, 3i’s NAV would take the hit. That would make a £750 million buyback look small against a £23.7 billion stake.
3i is in the market for its own stock, but sellers keep coming.
