Periscope Capital Partners has launched its presence in the UK as part of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce’s Defence Catalyst 2024.
Managing Partner Mark Stevens launched the fund at Australia House in London.
Periscope Capital Partners is a new sovereign, specialised Defence and National Security Fund that will invest $1bn of Australian private capital into Defence Industry over the next decade.
Periscope is looking to support government objectives and cultivate an ecosystem that nurtures and accelerates the growth of Australia's defence capabilities through strategic partnerships and direct capital support.
With $100 million already committed, Periscope intends to pave the way for a more ambitious Australian defence industrial strategy.
With support from Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy and senior leadership in the Department of Defence, Periscope Capital Partners intends to work closely with Defence’s capability development teams to understand force design and inform its investments.
The DSR calls for an increased level of government flexibility and agility to spark innovation, acquire fit-for-purpose Defence capabilities, and modernise risk management; the government's endorsement of the Periscope initiative appears to be a positive step towards this.
Stevens spoke to ADM about the forthcoming UK launch in April, noting that many British companies would also be ready to seize opportunities around AUKUS and in the US market.
“We certainly see the Australian companies we invest in moving into the US, but we see ourselves investing in UK companies as well – hence why the UK will be our second port of call,” Stevens said. “But any business we invest in, we’ll be looking for the angle of mobilising into the US market.”
Periscope is currently looking to develop companies to support global supply chains for AUKUS Pillar One – the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines for the RAN.
There is a growing push to improve private capital participation in Australia’s national security sector, as AUKUS dramatically reshapes government’s ability to sustain a sovereign defence industry solely through public funds.
As has been reported previously in ADM, under Defence’s current Integrated Investment Plan all additional funding over the next decade will be consumed by the SSNs, the general-purpose frigate program and exchange rate compensation.
Consequently, Australia must harness private capital to help deliver its defence capability ambitions - especially capabilities that can be delivered before the arrival of the first Australian SSN in the 2030s.
ADM Comment: ADM and Periscope Capital Partners intend to drive private capital participation in Australia’s defence sector through the new Defence Financing Summit, to be held on 16 October in Sydney.
With a keynote address from event co-host and Periscope Managing Partner Mark Stevens, the event will bring together key players from Government, the investment community, Defence, and Defence industry to look at the opportunities and scope for private capital investment in Australian military capability.
More information is available at: https://admevents.com.au/defence-financing-summit/