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3i Group (III.L)

Financial Services Dividend payer

3i Group is a British investment firm that acts like a professional shopper, buying stakes in private companies to help them grow and eventually selling them for a profit.

£28.64
≈ 2,864p · London-listed shares are usually quoted in pence (GBX) elsewhere; the Almanac shows pounds (£1 = 100p).

Is 3i Group a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: 3i Group is a British investment firm that acts like a professional shopper, buying stakes in private companies to help them grow and eventually selling them for a profit.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price-8.4%
52-week range-35% past year
£28.64
Low £18.25High £44.97
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put £1,000 into 3i Group
£916-8%

Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
£28.70B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
3.19M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
£28.64 – £29.29
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
£18.25 – £44.97
P/E ratio: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth.
5.3
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
3.0%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
1.12
How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 1.12
Calm
Wild
Roughly in step with the market

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▲ +12% past week · ▼ -35% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

The bull case

Multiple successful exits and strong compounding of capital.

The bear case

Prolonged period of poor investment performance or market stagnation.

What does 3i Group do?

3i Group manages money by investing in a portfolio of private businesses, most notably the discount retailer Action, which has been a major engine for their success. Profits come from growing the value of these companies over time and then cashing out, plus fees earned for managing capital. The performance of their biggest investments is what matters most, since the company's overall health hinges on how well these specific businesses are doing in the real world.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on quality and income, and weakest on growth.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 73Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 90Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 6Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 32Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 76
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Value screens high (73/100)
  • Quality screens high (90/100)
  • Income screens high (76/100)
  • Strong track record of growing private businesses
  • High profit margins typical of the investment sector
What to watch
  • Growth screens low (6/100)
  • Economic downturns can hurt the value of private companies
  • Difficulty in finding new companies to invest in at good prices
  • Changes in interest rates can affect the cost of borrowing for acquisitions

What do 3i Group's numbers mean?

P/E
4.9
This shows how much you are paying for every pound of the company's annual profit; a lower number suggests the market is currently pricing the company cautiously.
Net margin
94.8%
This indicates that nearly all of the company's revenue is kept as profit, which is common for investment firms that don't have the high costs of manufacturing physical goods.
Return on equity
19.1%
This measures how efficiently the company uses the money invested by shareholders to generate profit, with a higher percentage generally showing better performance.
Dividend yield
3.2%
This is the annual income paid out to shareholders as a percentage of the share price, providing a regular cash return regardless of share price movement.

Does 3i Group pay a dividend?

Yes - 3i Group currently pays a dividend of about 3.0% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.

More in Financial Services

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Appears in
Big UK shares, explained

What are the scenarios for 3i Group?

An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.

£46£29£20today · £29▲ Bull · £31• Base · £29▼ Bear · £26in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +10%Market sentiment improves regarding private equity valuations.
Base
-2% to +2%Steady performance from existing portfolio companies.
Bear
-5% to -10%Broader economic slowdown impacts retail spending.

What are the pros and cons of 3i Group?

3bull points
6bear points

How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • Strong track record of growing private businesses
  • High profit margins typical of the investment sector
  • Provides exposure to private companies not available on the stock market
The catch3
  • Revenue and earnings have shown recent volatility
  • Performance is heavily reliant on a small number of large investments
  • Share price can be more sensitive to market swings than the broader index
Key risks3
  • Economic downturns can hurt the value of private companies
  • Difficulty in finding new companies to invest in at good prices
  • Changes in interest rates can affect the cost of borrowing for acquisitions
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

Confidence: medium · data: GBP · flags: none · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Figures as of 2026-08-01. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.