3i Group (III) is up 11% this morning after posting another strong set of results from its flagship holding Action.

Shares in the £31.3bn private equity trust, often seen as a proxy for the Dutch discount retailer, suffered a sharp fall back in November as fears abounded that the company would fall short of growth targets. The trust pinned concerns on its French branches, which account for roughly a third of sales.

Shares in 3i are down 22.7% since the November announcement threw doubt over its top holding, with the trust’s premium lowering to 10.2% − high by investment company standards, but a significant reduction from the average 47% premium they traded on over the past year.

Today, the trust reported that Action’s like-for-like (LFL) revenue growth slowed to 4.9% over the nine months to the end of December − down from 10.3% in 2024 and below the 6.1% guidance issued in March last year.

France was the clear outlier, underperforming due to cautious consumer spending, temporary disruption from an IT system upgrade, and heavier discounting by competitors.

But despite the sluggish growth figures, the group remained bullish on its star holding, revealing it had increased its stake by 2.2%, to 62.3%. The boost was enabled by Action refinancing its balance sheet and returning nearly £1bn in cash to 3i, which also reduced Action’s annual interest costs.

Chief executive Simon Burrows said Action’s growth trajectory continues to be ‘impressive’, noting the retailer opened a record number of new stores, entered two new countries and delivered double-digit annual sales and earnings growth over the quarter.

‘We have made a good start to the final quarter of our financial year to 31 March 2026 and are set for another strong year of compounding growth,’ he said. 

Action added a record 384 net new stores in 2025, taking its total estate to 3,302 stores across 14 countries, while trading in newer markets, including Switzerland and Romania, ‘significantly’ exceeded expectations.

Encouragingly, the trust reported that trading momentum has improved into the new year for the company, which has seen LFL sales growth of 6.1% in the first four weeks of 2026. 

3i Group’s net asset value (NAV) was up 6.9% over the quarter, while its share price fell 19.3%. Elsewhere, consumer and private-label portfolio companies including Royal Sanders and Audley Travel performed well.