Private investors must pile cash into defence to fill public funding gap, executives say

Bankers and investors are attending the annual aerospace event in record numbers this year, according to the event organisers, in part drawn by the prospect of cashing in on a global boom in defence investing amid rising geopolitical tensions.

However, investor sentiment has cooled recently, reflected in weaker defence firm stock prices, while Franco-German defence group KNDS this month put on hold its stock market listing until conditions improve.

More than 600 finance delegates are scheduled to attend Farnborough, up about threefold on 2025, including executives from Goldman Sachs GS.N, JPMorgan JPM.N and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund.

"With defence companies growing, banks see an opportunity to jump in," Amin Mansour, a vice chairman at Dutch bank ING, told Reuters ahead of the event, adding the lender now had about 50 cross-sector bankers working on defence funding deals compared to "very few" five years ago.