UK Government Engages Venture Capital for Defence Boost
LONDON (Reuters) - The British government met with European venture capital firms on Wednesday in a bid to boost private investment into the country's defence industry, describing such opportunities as an "ethical investment" in the continent's security.
The meeting - attended by defence minister John Healey and convened by venture capital firms Plural and Ten Eleven Ventures - comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer committed in February to lift defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, the biggest increase in the budget since the end of the Cold War.
Reflecting heightened geopolitical tension and U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for Europe to do more to protect its own security, the defence ministry said in a statement that private investment into defence and advanced technology could "help deter Britain's adversaries".
"With countries across Europe facing new threats stepping up to take more responsibility for our continent's defence is an ethical investment, and it's good to see increasing numbers of private investors recognising that," Healey said.
After the meeting, which was described as the first of its kind in Britain, Healey said venture capital firms could help unlock billions of pounds of private investment into British tech and defence companies.
"There is no more important investment than in our European security," Healey added.
Finance minister Rachel Reeves said last week she wanted the country to become a "defence industrial superpower" as she pumped an extra 2.2 billion pounds ($2.85 billion) into the sector.
($1 = 0.7712 pounds)
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by William James)
