# 3I GROUP PLC.

Summary updated: 2026-03-20T06:16:28.499557Z
Canonical: https://finbar.com/research/companies/3i-group

## Overview

3i Group plc is a London-headquartered international investment company that specialises in private equity and infrastructure. It invests its own balance sheet capital and also manages capital for third-party investors, with its core investment focus on mid-market businesses and infrastructure assets in Europe and North America.[1](https://www.3i.com/about-us/)[2](https://www.3i.com/about-us/at-a-glance/)[3](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4396f050266542049e631027b3c87014)[4](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4cc7ae912a3341689d8ba20c04ac5e8b) Its stated purpose is to generate attractive returns for shareholders and co-investors by investing in private equity and infrastructure assets, using a long-term and responsible approach to build value.[2](https://www.3i.com/about-us/at-a-glance/) 

The company’s Private Equity business invests mainly in mid-market companies headquartered in Europe and North America, while its Infrastructure business focuses principally on mid-market economic infrastructure and operational projects in those regions.[3](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4396f050266542049e631027b3c87014)[4](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4cc7ae912a3341689d8ba20c04ac5e8b) At a high level, its portfolio exposure spans consumer and value-oriented businesses, healthcare, industrial technology, services, and infrastructure.[5](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-45cc28c69b114bdcbad09bbf7b0f7f6d)[6](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-7e256e9c6b4f4351bf7d0c3ab6ff2e7d) 3i operates with a relatively small direct footprint, with around 249 people from 27 nationalities across six offices, and reported £34.7 billion of assets under management at 31 March 2024; as an investment company, its scale is typically described through managed assets and investment returns rather than conventional product sales revenue.[7](https://www.3i.com/about-us/our-international-presence/)[8](https://www.3i.com/site-tools/contacts/)[9](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-c6eabdfbeacd478c956873bd1a1678b7)
[3](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4396f050266542049e631027b3c87014)[4](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4cc7ae912a3341689d8ba20c04ac5e8b)[5](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-45cc28c69b114bdcbad09bbf7b0f7f6d)[6](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-7e256e9c6b4f4351bf7d0c3ab6ff2e7d)[9](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-c6eabdfbeacd478c956873bd1a1678b7)[1](https://www.3i.com/about-us/)[2](https://www.3i.com/about-us/at-a-glance/)[7](https://www.3i.com/about-us/our-international-presence/)[8](https://www.3i.com/site-tools/contacts/)

## Products & services

3i Group plc’s own service offering is investment management rather than the manufacture of products. It provides private-equity investment services to mid-market businesses in Europe and North America, and infrastructure fund-management services for mid-market economic infrastructure and operational projects; in FY2024, fees from external funds were £72 million, including a £51 million management fee from 3iN.[10](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-ba03af3bf99048e5aff235de3164a168)[11](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-d605325e50eb4eeeb2fd87c378687352)[4](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4cc7ae912a3341689d8ba20c04ac5e8b)[12](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-fd31f4b340dd475cb7b946cfcf39ec05)

Within 3i’s portfolio, the main underlying consumer offering is Action, a non-food discount retailer. Action sells around 6,000 products across 14 categories, with roughly two thirds of the assortment changing frequently; categories include daily necessities, homeware, household goods, personal care, toys and DIY products.[13](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-14f3f75f75ad4d818a5ce77238d7ec9e)[14](https://www.3i.com/private-equity/our-portfolio/action/)[15](https://company.action.com/this-is-action/) Action is also the dominant contributor to 3i’s private-equity performance: in FY2024 it accounted for the majority of Private Equity gross investment return and generated £3,718 million of GIR out of £4,059 million for the whole Private Equity portfolio, equal to 33% on its opening value.[3](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4396f050266542049e631027b3c87014)[16](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-859b1c1e30ba47c49df8c558bfc4ffdb)

Other underlying products and services in the portfolio include Royal Sanders, which produces private-label and contract-manufactured personal-care products, and ten23 health, a biologics-focused CDMO that provides development and production services from its Basel and Visp sites.[17](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-b0060e70174b4c158dddecc2e1b0ff4f)[18](https://www.3i.com/private-equity/our-portfolio/royal-sanders/)[19](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-126415329ab34978890d7d5e6243b724)[20](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-365f62fa38dc4a3c868be182c2c342c3)[21](https://www.3i.com/private-equity/our-portfolio/ten23-health/) In healthcare outsourcing, Cirtec Medical supports medical-device customers with both product-development and production programmes.[22](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-31647e5664f24b29ac0471f7b0f0e7cf)[20](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-365f62fa38dc4a3c868be182c2c342c3) 3i also has exposure to transport services through Scandlines, whose freight and leisure ferry operations are being upgraded with a new freight ferry designed to operate without direct emissions when fully powered by electricity.[23](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-3864c74b5bf04083ae353ecfefe0794d)[24](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-f757c181a8d24a83939f1f9f538a23e4)
[10](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-ba03af3bf99048e5aff235de3164a168)[11](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-d605325e50eb4eeeb2fd87c378687352)[4](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4cc7ae912a3341689d8ba20c04ac5e8b)[12](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-fd31f4b340dd475cb7b946cfcf39ec05)[13](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-14f3f75f75ad4d818a5ce77238d7ec9e)[3](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4396f050266542049e631027b3c87014)[16](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-859b1c1e30ba47c49df8c558bfc4ffdb)[17](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-b0060e70174b4c158dddecc2e1b0ff4f)[19](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-126415329ab34978890d7d5e6243b724)[20](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-365f62fa38dc4a3c868be182c2c342c3)[22](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-31647e5664f24b29ac0471f7b0f0e7cf)[23](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-3864c74b5bf04083ae353ecfefe0794d)[24](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-f757c181a8d24a83939f1f9f538a23e4)[14](https://www.3i.com/private-equity/our-portfolio/action/)[15](https://company.action.com/this-is-action/)[18](https://www.3i.com/private-equity/our-portfolio/royal-sanders/)[21](https://www.3i.com/private-equity/our-portfolio/ten23-health/)

## Geographic presence

3i Group’s core investment markets are Europe and North America, and it states that it invests in mid-market businesses headquartered in those regions. For geographic reporting, the group presents its investment activity based on the location of the assets held. In FY2024, closing portfolio value was £19.485 billion in Europe, £2.124 billion in North America and £27 million in Other geographies, out of a total of £21.636 billion; Europe therefore represented about 90.1% of the portfolio, North America 9.8% and Other 0.1%. Europe in this disclosure includes the UK. On the same basis, portfolio income was £579 million from Europe and £12 million from North America, with none reported in Other geographies, equivalent to roughly 98% and 2% of total portfolio income respectively.[10](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-ba03af3bf99048e5aff235de3164a168)[25](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-c785025b81944189951cd3b24d718154)[26](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-754bd0f3d5d942c0b910a3fdf14d1fd6)[27](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-4bd644f602b8408bac974dacb3813490)[28](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-c878c0b7b56742b2ba9733af93501093)

The group lists office locations in London, Manchester, Amsterdam, Luxembourg and New York. Its registered office is in London at 16 Palace Street, SW1E 5JD.[29](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-81cb52a71c9b4a909c63b9af9d7b0f9a)[30](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-3641f4cf9b384a2bb60113d7cd91a95b)
[10](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-ba03af3bf99048e5aff235de3164a168)[25](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-c785025b81944189951cd3b24d718154)[26](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-754bd0f3d5d942c0b910a3fdf14d1fd6)[27](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-4bd644f602b8408bac974dacb3813490)[28](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-c878c0b7b56742b2ba9733af93501093)[29](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-81cb52a71c9b4a909c63b9af9d7b0f9a)[30](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-3641f4cf9b384a2bb60113d7cd91a95b)

## Business segments

On its investment-basis segmental analysis, 3i Group reports three segments: Private Equity, Infrastructure and Scandlines.[31](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-a0144f76180147aeb7fdf727ece135d3)[32](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-c1180187887d49939bc7dc42f72a2e87) By closing portfolio value at 31 March 2024, Private Equity was £19.6bn, or about 91% of the total portfolio; Infrastructure was £1.5bn, or about 7%; and Scandlines was £0.5bn, or about 2%.[32](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-c1180187887d49939bc7dc42f72a2e87) On the same basis, FY2024 gross investment return was £4,059m for Private Equity, £99m for Infrastructure and £10m for Scandlines, implying that Private Equity contributed roughly 97% of segment GIR, Infrastructure about 2% and Scandlines about 0.2%.[32](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-c1180187887d49939bc7dc42f72a2e87)[16](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-859b1c1e30ba47c49df8c558bfc4ffdb)[33](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-ed3646d71fb24c30a101081df6101fc0)

Private Equity is the dominant business line and is described as investing in mid-market businesses headquartered in Europe and North America.[25](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-c785025b81944189951cd3b24d718154) Within that segment, 3i separately discloses Action, but Action remains part of Private Equity rather than a standalone segment; at 31 March 2024, Action accounted for £14.2bn of carrying value, about 72% of Private Equity and about 65% of the total portfolio.[32](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-c1180187887d49939bc7dc42f72a2e87) 3i also presents a sector view of the Private Equity portfolio: besides Action (Consumer), the remaining carrying value was spread across Consumer (£2.3bn, about 12% of Private Equity), Healthcare (£1.3bn, about 6%), Industrial Technology (£1.1bn, about 6%), Services (£0.6bn, about 3%) and Software (£0.2bn, about 1%).[34](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-fe40cb3ea88c4061ae27067d5a8deae6) In its narrative, 3i highlights value-for-money and private-label consumer and healthcare as areas of strong growth within the portfolio.[35](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-7723752254f34d3d9713d1dc14e8914b)

Infrastructure is described as managing funds that invest principally in mid-market economic infrastructure and operational projects in Europe and North America, and 3i says its proprietary capital infrastructure portfolio consists of its 29% stake in 3i Infrastructure plc, its investment in Smarte Carte and direct stakes in other managed funds.[4](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4cc7ae912a3341689d8ba20c04ac5e8b)[36](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-22e6b74ba4304b61a2ebe92b307e2957) Scandlines is shown as a separate segment line in the investment-basis analysis and is held for its ability to deliver long-term capital returns while generating cash dividends.[32](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-c1180187887d49939bc7dc42f72a2e87)[37](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-f7441d2e5f874b48b377ce77b7626f17)
[31](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-a0144f76180147aeb7fdf727ece135d3)[32](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-c1180187887d49939bc7dc42f72a2e87)[16](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-859b1c1e30ba47c49df8c558bfc4ffdb)[33](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-ed3646d71fb24c30a101081df6101fc0)[25](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-c785025b81944189951cd3b24d718154)[34](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=T-fe40cb3ea88c4061ae27067d5a8deae6)[35](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-7723752254f34d3d9713d1dc14e8914b)[4](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-4cc7ae912a3341689d8ba20c04ac5e8b)[36](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-22e6b74ba4304b61a2ebe92b307e2957)[37](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-f7441d2e5f874b48b377ce77b7626f17)

## Company history

3i Group traces its origins to 1945, when the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation (ICFC) was formed with £15 million of capital and backed by the Bank of England and the London and Scottish clearing banks.[38](https://www.3i.com/about-us/our-history/)[39](https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?id=DS%2FUK%2F202&pos=2&src=CalmView.Persons) In 1973, ICFC merged with FCI to form Finance for Industry, and in 1983 the business became Investors in Industry Group PLC, with “3i” used from that period.[39](https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?id=DS%2FUK%2F202&pos=2&src=CalmView.Persons)[40](https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?id=DS%2FUK%2F39&pos=1&src=CalmView.Persons) The company was floated as 3i Group plc on the London Stock Exchange in 1994, with a market capitalisation of £1.5 billion.[38](https://www.3i.com/about-us/our-history/)

During the 1980s and 1990s, 3i expanded its international presence, opening offices in Paris in 1983, Frankfurt in 1984 and Amsterdam in 1998.[38](https://www.3i.com/about-us/our-history/) In 2007, it added a separate listed infrastructure vehicle when 3i Infrastructure plc floated on the London Stock Exchange.[38](https://www.3i.com/about-us/our-history/) Another notable later milestone came in 2011, when 3i made its first investment in Action, which has since generated more than £2.9 billion of cumulative cash returns to the group.[41](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-54643ad989a6431e86f581b7b1bfb28a)
[41](https://app.finbar.com/go?id=P-54643ad989a6431e86f581b7b1bfb28a)[38](https://www.3i.com/about-us/our-history/)[39](https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?id=DS%2FUK%2F202&pos=2&src=CalmView.Persons)[40](https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?id=DS%2FUK%2F39&pos=1&src=CalmView.Persons)

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