FTSE 100 shares round-up: good day for 3i Group and Beazley

The logo of the chain of discount stores on a store in a suburb of Morlaix, France. Photo: Nicolas Guyonnet/Hans Lucas via AFP via Getty Images.

Robust trading by star investment Action today underpinned the shares of 3i Group Ord (LSE:III) in a session when the cyber insurer Beazley (LSE:BEZ) climbed to near the top of the FTSE 100 index.

The private equity group’s shares have fallen back from July’s record level above 4,300p, reflecting fears that Action’s stellar run may be interrupted by tougher retail conditions.

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At a capital markets seminar held earlier today, 3i said that weaker overall consumer spending in France and Germany had been a feature of Action’s year-to-date performance.

It highlighted the impact of general strikes and unrest in France but said like-for-like sales still rose 6.5% in the year to date.

The FTSE 100-listed group pointed out that the rate had been 6.8% at the end of August, in line with the performance reported with July’s first-quarter results.

The performance benefited from good seasonal sales, while strong trading from new and recently opened stores helped to lift annual underlying earnings growth by 21%.

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Action remains on track to deliver or exceed 370 net new stores in 2025, having opened its 3,000th outlet in June.

The success of Action since 3i’s initial 130 million euros investment in 2011 has lifted the Amsterdam-based business to about 65% of 3i’s total portfolio by value.

Its continued success and the resilient performance of personal care firm Royal Sanders recently powered shares to a record level and twice their valuation in November 2023.

They rose 43p to 3,913p in today’s session, continuing the recovery from 3,784p at the start of last week.

UBS, which has a Neutral stance and price target of 4,450p, said today’s 6.5% sales figure was short of its forecast but that it was likely the slowdown was already reflected in the share price.

Beazley shares outperformed peers in a session when cyber risk management was in the spotlight amid the ongoing disruption at Jaguar Land Rover and after Co-op reported £20 million of one-off costs and a margin impact of £60 million in half-year results.

The stock rose 24p to 872.5p, continuing the recovery since shares dipped to 772p at the start of this month. Beazley had traded above 900p prior to August’s half-year results, when management posted forecast-beating figures but cut premium growth estimates.

Chief executive Adrian Cox said the pullback was consistent with the nature of the insurance cycle and is “both familiar and something we know how to manage well”.

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Cyber insurance, which accounts for about 20% of Beazley’s operation, fell 6.8% year-on-year in the first half but Beazley said July’s US renewals season offered signs that rates were beginning to flatten.

Berenberg analysts recently called the market’s reaction overdone and described the risk-reward offered by a valuation of 6.6 times next year’s forecast earnings as “extremely attractive”.

The bank reiterated its target of 1,050p, a level better than June’s record price of 983p following a strong run for the shares from 514p in January 2024.

Berenberg said: “We believe that cyber pricing is likely to inflect in the near term, driven by increasing frequency and severity of claims, with Beazley being a beneficiary given its market-leading position.”