3i (III) chief executive Simon Borrows hailed “another good year” for the financial year just closed, with the return on shareholders’ funds rising by more than a fifth to £5.3bn. The company’s book value per share also rose by 19 per cent to 3,030p, with Dutch retailer Action described as “the significant driver of the group’s financial performance,” as its gross investment return increased by a quarter to £4.5bn.
However, 3i’s shares plunged by 19 per cent on concerns about a further slowing of Action’s like-for-like sales. These slowed to 4.9 per cent in 2025, then to 2.4 per cent in the first 19 weeks of this year, compared with 6.8 per cent in the same period last year. The group said seasonal products “have underperformed” given the cooler weather in recent weeks, adding that the war in the Middle East meant French customers were remaining cautious and footfall had dropped in Germany.
Action had reported 4 per cent like-for-like growth in the first 12 weeks of the year, which means the past seven weeks have been “no better than flat”, RBC Capital Markets analyst Manjari Dhar said in a note. This means the retailer “has a lot to do” in the second half of the year to meet guidance, she added.
3i announced a £750mn buyback, but this did little to stem investor concerns. 3i’s shares have fallen by 40 per cent year-to-date, and it has gone from trading at a significant premium to its net asset value to a 35 per cent discount.
Read our Deep Dive: Is 3i’s Action-packed adventure coming to an end?




