When Defence Becomes a Family Office Conversation

Defence would not necessarily have been an obvious subject for a family office forum several years ago.

Today, the conversation is changing.

In September, Crest Forums brought together more than 20 family office principals and CIOs in London for a private briefing examining sovereign defence, the changing nature of warfare and the technologies increasingly shaping modern defence capability.

The setting felt particularly appropriate. We gathered at the In & Out, the Naval and Military Club on St James's Square, for an afternoon which brought together perspectives from defence, technology, business and private capital.

The discussion reflected a broader shift we are seeing across the Crest community. Questions around national resilience, sovereign capability, technology and security are increasingly entering conversations which might once have focused almost exclusively on more traditional sectors.

The Changing Nature of Warfare

The afternoon opened with General Sir Richard Barrons, former Commander of UK Joint Forces Command and co-author of the 2025 Strategic Defence Review.

His remarks provided important context for the investment discussion which followed.

General Barrons spoke about the return of war and the scale of change taking place in the digital age. His presentation explored the growing role of data, artificial intelligence and integrated systems, including digital networks capable of connecting sensors, AI-managed data and effectors.

Much of the discussion reflected the speed at which modern defence requirements are evolving.

Traditional military hardware remains important, but technology is changing how information is gathered, interpreted and acted upon. Data, autonomy, software and integration are becoming increasingly important parts of modern defence capability, while the pace of innovation creates its own challenges for traditional procurement and development cycles.

For many of the families around our table, these themes were familiar even if the application was not.

They are accustomed to considering technological disruption across healthcare, energy, communications, manufacturing and other industries. Defence brings many of those technologies together within an environment where the consequences of technological advantage, or disadvantage, can be considerably greater.

The Question of Sovereign Capability

The investment briefing which followed looked at these changes through the lens of sovereign defence capability.

The discussion explored an investment proposition centred on bringing together established British defence technology businesses, including companies already working within the UK defence ecosystem.

It also prompted a broader conversation around what sovereign capability means in practice.

As defence becomes increasingly dependent upon software, data and interconnected technologies, countries are paying closer attention to where strategically important capabilities reside, who controls them and how quickly they can be developed and deployed.

These questions sit at the intersection of government, industry and private capital.

For family offices, defence also presents an unusual investment landscape. Commercial opportunity exists alongside questions of national security, government policy, technological sovereignty and long-term strategic importance.

The discussion around the table reflected this complexity.

A Place for Private Dialogue

Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of the afternoon was not any single presentation, but the opportunity to discuss the subject privately.

The families in the room were able to ask questions, challenge assumptions and hear different perspectives among peers without the formality of a large conference or public stage.

Not everyone needs to reach the same conclusion, nor should they.

Some subjects benefit from a setting where knowledgeable people have the time to examine them carefully, speak candidly and form their own views.

Defence is increasingly one of those subjects.

A Conversation We Expect to Continue

The emergence of defence as a family office discussion says something about how quickly the wider investment landscape is changing.

Artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity and data infrastructure increasingly intersect with national security. At the same time, geopolitical events have brought questions of resilience and sovereign capability much closer to the centre of economic and investment discussions.

For Crest, our role is not to suggest where families should allocate capital.

It is to recognise when an important conversation is emerging and create the environment for families to explore it with experienced people and among peers.

Several years ago, a private family office forum devoted to sovereign defence might have seemed unusual.

Today, it feels like a conversation we will be having much more often.