(Alliance News) - Private equity firm 3i Group PLC on Thursday gave an update on the performance of Action, the largest company in its portfolio, saying sales were lower than expected in Germany and the Netherlands while stores in France are performing well.
Action is a non-food discount retailer.
Shares in 3i were down 0.6% to 1,189.50 pence in London, underperforming the FTSE 100, which was marginally higher.
Action stores in Germany and the Netherlands "lost significant sales compared to budget" in January and February, but started to recover this month as lockdown restrictions were eased, 3i said. Of Action's 1,716 stores, 784 are in those two countries as of the end of last year, according to a presentation by the retailer.
Like-for-like sales in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Poland are up at least 25% year-on-year for the first 10 weeks of of the year, 3i said. Action is on course to open more stores in the first quarter of 2021 than in the same period last year.
3i said the remainder of its private equity portfolio "continues to demonstrate resilient performance and has significant momentum moving into the next financial year," which starts next month.
By Ivan Edwards; ivanedwards@alliancenews.com
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3i Group (III)