3i Group postpones sale of Audley Travel due to market upheaval

A London-listed investment firm has paused the sale of another portfolio company as Donald Trump’s tariffs regime hampers asset sales worth more than £1 billion.

3i Group has postponed the sale of Audley Travel as upheaval in markets created too much uncertainty in company valuations.

The private equity firm had been hoping to raise £600 million from the sale, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the story.

The decision to put the auction on hold comes after 3i Group paused its sale of MPM, a pet food maker, because it sources materials from Thailand, which is facing a new US tariff rate of 36 per cent. MPM was being marketed at a reported price tag of £500 million.

Audley Travel is a tourism group based in Oxfordshire providing trips to more than 90 destinations. The group has been part of 3i Group’s investment portfolio for 10 years, during which time it has expanded in the US, and it now has offices in London and Boston.

3i Group appointed bankers at Baird to assess possible strategic options for Audley Travel last year, although the company said in a statement that there had been no decision on whether the review would lead to a sale, or if the private equity firm would hold onto the asset.

Bankers have been shelving many deals affected by the market volatility caused by US trade policy in recent weeks. In the US, company listings worth more than $80 billion have been postponed as groups including Klarna, StubHub and Medline wait for calmer conditions before launching as publicly traded entities.

Yet, many deals in the UK and Europe have gone ahead regardless, as markets unaffected by tariffs continue to press ahead with dealmaking. MHA, the accounting firm, was undeterred by the volatility in broader equity markets as it completed its market debut on the junior segment of London’s stock market on Tuesday, which valued the group at around £270 million.

Meanwhile, Ageas, the Belgian insurance group, pressed ahead with its move to become the third-largest motor and home insurer in the UK with its takeover of Esure, the owner of Sheilas’ Wheels and other brands, for £1.3 billion. Prada, the fashion house, also sealed its purchase of high-end rival Versace, for €1.25 billion last week, and KKR, the US private equity firm, has been pressing ahead with plans to invest billions into UK property and infrastructure assets, including Thames Water, the nation’s largest water company.