LONDON, July 2, 2026, 19:02 BST
- 3i Group closed up 2.78% at 2,585p, outperforming the FTSE 100’s 1.67% rise.
- The shares stayed roughly 15% under 3i’s March NAV of 3,030p per share.
- About three quarters of 3i’s portfolio value in March was Action, keeping the stock linked to the discount retailer’s sales performance.
- 3i has used £253.6 million of its £750 million buyback as of June 26, according to a filing.
3i Group plc (LON:III) shares climbed Thursday. But despite the move, the stock still trades well below the group’s most recent reported portfolio value. The gap remains, even after a buyback aimed at closing it.
3i shares traded at 2,585p, up 70p or 2.78%, according to the group’s investor-relations page. The FTSE 100 Index (INDEXFTSE:UKX) gained 1.67%. MarketWatch showed 1.8 million shares in 3i changing hands, below the 50-day average of 3.1 million.
3i continues to trade at a discount to NAV. The firm posted NAV per share of 3,030p and net assets of £30.89 billion as of March 31. Shares changed hands Thursday at 2,585p, leaving the stock 445p under the published NAV. That’s a 14.7% discount per share.
| Measure | Figure | Investor read-through |
|---|---|---|
| 3i share price | 2,585p | Shares rose 2.78% today |
| FY2026 NAV per share | 3,030p | NAV as of March 31 |
| Per-share gap to NAV | 445p | Trading at roughly 14.7% below NAV |
| Buyback spent by June 26 | £253.6 mln | Spent 33.8% of £750 mln allotment |
| Voting rights at June 30 | 1.013 bln | Post-buyback voting share count |
3i’s buyback continued, but it’s not closing the implied value gap yet. On June 29, the company reported it bought 11.33 million shares for cancellation, spending £253.6 million before fees and taxes. A voting-rights filing a day later showed the company with 1.013 billion issued ordinary shares.
Those two numbers put the implied equity value gap at around £4.4 billion, before reflecting any portfolio or currency changes since March. That’s nearly six times bigger than the first buyback plan, and about nine times what’s left from the unused authority.
Action is the big story here. 3i put a £23.74 billion March 31 value on its 65.4% stake in the discount chain, out of a total portfolio of £31.82 billion. So Action made up about 74.6% of the total. 3i also said a full-point shift in Action’s post-discount multiple would swing the value of its investment by £1.5 billion.
| Action metric | 2025 / March result | Latest company update |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | €16.0 bln for 2025 | €4.01 bln for first three 2026 reporting periods |
| Like-for-like sales | 4.9% reported for 2025 | Year-to-date sits at 3.3% at week 25 |
| Operating EBITDA | €2.37 bln in 2025 | €498 mln over first three 2026 periods |
| New stores | 384 opened in 2025 | 105 stores opened by June 21 |
| 3i value of stake | £23.74 bln | Valued as of March 31 |
Action’s latest numbers are up from the May low, but still behind last year. 3i told its June 25 AGM that year-to-date like-for-like sales growth at Action was 3.3% by week 25. That’s higher than 2.4% at week 19, but still shy of the 3.6% rate for the first three periods of 2026.
3i CEO Simon Borrows said in May the “market environment remains complex.” He said Action’s growth comes from “quality at the lowest price.” His comments were part of 3i’s full-year results. The company also reported that Action’s performance in France and Germany was flat through week 19. 3i
3i Infrastructure plc (LON:3IN) confirmed Thursday it wrapped up the sale of TCR for €1.1 billion, booking around a 3.5x money multiple and a 19% gross annual IRR. The company also said it had £428 million in cash and hadn’t tapped its £900 million revolving credit facility as of June 30.
Bernardo Sottomayor, managing partner and head of European Infrastructure at 3i Investments, said it’s a “strong start” to the year for 3i Infrastructure. There’s not much direct impact for 3i Group holders though: 3i’s 29% position in 3i Infrastructure was valued at £897 million as of March 31, making up less than 3% of the group’s portfolio. Investegate
3i’s next event is its Q1 performance update, set for July 23, the investor-relations calendar shows.
