London, Feb 17, 2026, 09:10 GMT — Regular session
3i Group (III.L) traded slightly higher, up 0.3% at 3,507 pence as of 0858 GMT on Tuesday. That follows Monday’s 1.8% gain. Early in the session, the stock moved between 3,502 and 3,564 pence. Over the last year, shares are down roughly 15%. They’ve ranged from 2,957 to 4,496 pence in that 52-week span.
UK labour figures out this day stoked bets on a possible Bank of England rate cut in March, a shift that tends to boost stocks sensitive to valuations. Unemployment hit 5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025, and regular pay gains slowed to 4.2%. Aberdeen’s deputy chief economist Luke Bartholomew described the reading as “yet another soft labour market report.” Reuters
A Reuters poll out Monday showed a quarter-point BoE cut in play for March 19, but the pace after that? No clear consensus. Deutsche Bank’s Sanjay Raja is sticking with a March move, then another cut in June. But TD Securities’ James Rossiter flagged a risk: inflation might hover near 2.5% all year.
Action continues to be the key variable for 3i investors, since the Dutch discount chain makes up the bulk of the group’s private equity portfolio. In its Jan. 29 Q3 update, 3i reported NAV at 3,017 pence as of Dec. 31, while highlighting that Action posted like-for-like sales growth of 4.9% for 2025, which picked up to 6.1% in the first four weeks of 2026. 3i also detailed a transaction that would boost its holding in Action to 65.3%. “Set for another strong year of compounding growth,” Chief Executive Simon Borrows said. 3i
A key date for 3i watchers is just ahead. The company’s financial calendar has the Action Capital Markets Seminar webcast set for March 26—an event investors are eyeing for clues on pricing, store growth, and consumer appetite across Europe.
Risk appetite across Europe looked patchy. The STOXX 600 barely budged in early trade, with investors watching for headlines on U.S.-Iran talks and Ukraine-Russia discussions. European defence stocks slipped.
This trade isn’t bulletproof—momentum could shift fast. The UK’s labour-market stats still rely on surveys the Office for National Statistics is actively revising, so the market’s bet on a March BoE cut could be thrown by fresh inflation numbers or data tweaks. KPMG UK chief economist Yael Selfin noted Tuesday’s figures “raises the prospect” that cuts might get rolling again in March. Reuters
