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3i Group PLC on Thursday reported improved trading in the new year at its main investment Action after a pick up in trading in France. In response, shares in the London-based private equity and venture capital company shot up 12% to 3,510.56 pence each in London on Thursday morning. Action is a pan-European discount store chain, based in the Netherlands, and is the single largest asset in 3i’s portfolio. In October, 3i bought a further 2.2% of Action equity from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Ltd in exchange for newly issued 3i Group shares, taking its stake in Action to just over 62%. On Thursday, 3i said it had bought a further 2.9% interest in Action from GIC which will increase its stake 65.3%. Back in November, shares in 3i had plunged 17% after Action reported sales below expectations. On Thursday, 3i said Action’s like-for-like sales growth was 4.9% in 2025, slowing from 10% in 2024, impacted by a ‘cautious consumer’ in France, below JPMorgan’s forecast of 5.9%. But the new year has started well, with Action’s LFL sales growth at 6.1% for period one, the first four weeks of January, ahead of JPM’s 5.0% expectations, and despite disruptions to customer flows from heavy snow in parts of Europe in the second week of January. Specifically in France, October and November LFL sales decreased by mid-single digit percentages but recovered to a flat performance in December with good seasonal sales, and to 2.1% LFL growth in the first four weeks of January. Action reported sales and and operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €16.00 billion and €2.37 billion respectively, 16% and 14% ahead of 2024. Trading across the majority of Action’s markets was strong in 2025, including in the Netherlands, which delivered a LFL performance above Action’s average, and in Poland and Austria, which delivered close to double digit LFL sales growth. France was the outlier, mainly reflecting significant consumer caution. Chief Executive Simon Borrows commented: ‘In 2025, Action continued its impressive growth trajectory. It opened a record number of new stores, entered two new countries and delivered double-digit annual sales and earnings growth. This was a strong result and Action continued to trade well, even in markets with a cautious consumer backdrop.’ At December 31, 3i’s stake in Action, which was 62.3% at the time before the latest purchase, was valued at €22.38 billion out of the total group portfolio value of £30.31 billion. Across the remaining portfolio, 3i said it continued to see ‘good contributions from some of our consumer and private label portfolio companies, including Royal Sanders and Audley Travel.’ Group net asset value increased to 3,017 pence at December 31 from 2,857p at September 30. The FTSE 100 listing disclosed gross cash of £995 million and gearing of 1% at the end of 2025. CEO Borrows noted 3i has made a good start to the final quarter of its financial year which runs to the end of March and ‘are set for another strong year of compounding growth.’ Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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