London-listed defence contractors shed light on impact of wartime economy on City firms Markets Two major London-listed defence companies shed fresh light on the sector’s performance during the current bout of geopolitical turmoil on Wednesday, offering insight into the reach of the war time economy into the City. FTSE 100 constituent Babcock International made it onto the top-tier share index’s leaderboard after it unveiled plans to return £200m to [...]
Babcock shares shrug off profit drop after £140m hit Economics Defence giant Babcock took a £140m hit in the last financial year, which helped drag down the blue-chip firm’s profit growth. The FTSE 100 company recorded revenue of £5.3bn, marking 10 per cent growth compared to the previous financial year. It also announced another round of bumper returns with a £200m share buyback. It came [...]
The defence industry can’t wait for the government to find its courage Opinion The government slips from one deadline to another and insists all is well. But the damage is already being done, to our industrial base, our capabilities and our reputation, says Eliot Wilson Sir Keir Starmer’s government cannot be blamed for all the shortcomings in Britain’s defence posture and capabilities, the roots of which can be [...]
Rolls-Royce shares rocket to recovery as FTSE 100 takes off April 1, 2026 Shares in City heavyweight Rolls-Royce helped lead London’s blue-chip index higher this morning as markets were buoyed by hopes of peacetalks in the Middle East. Rolls-Royce stock soared as much as seven per cent on open to 1,215.00p. It followed comments from Donald Trump that the US would “leave” Iran in “two to three weeks”. [...]
City AM Awards 2026: Meet the Finalists March 18, 2026 And the nominees are…. Personality of the Year Greg Jackson CBE The entrepreneur and CEO of Octopus Energy has become one of the UK’s most prominent business leaders, known for his straight talking and punchy views across a range of topics including UK entrepreneurship, the business environment, capital markets and, of course, energy. In August [...]
Defence stocks jump as Iran conflict drives munitions demand March 2, 2026 European defence stocks rose at the start of the week as investors anticipated that the widening conflict in the Middle East will push up demand for munitions and military hardware. Although the European-wide Stoxx 600 was trading 1.3 per cent lower, many of the continent’s largest weapons manufacturers were comfortably in the green. In the [...]
Rolls-Royce shares hit new high as FTSE 100 rallies to record February 18, 2026 Rolls-Royce was among a whole host of City heavyweights storming higher on Wednesday helping the FTSE 100 seal another record. The aerospace giant jumped 2.2 per cent to 1,325.50p taking it to a new all-time high ahead of January’s previous peak of 1,305.00p. The move came as defence titan BAE System jumped near four per [...]
Defence stocks rally after Starmer vows to ‘go faster’ on spending pledge February 17, 2026 Investors piled into defence stocks on Monday after Keir Starmer said the UK needed to “go faster” on defence spending to combat the growing threat from Russia. The Prime Minister warned that the UK needed to “step up” its defence commitments amid reports that he wants to ramp up the defence budget by tens of [...]
Babcock shares surge as Starmer calls for Europe to ‘step up’ on defence February 16, 2026 Shares in Britain’s defence giants rallied on Monday morning as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called for Europe to “step up” on defence spending. Babcock – which plays a key role in the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet as well as naval, land and air operations – surged nearly four per cent in early trading to [...]
Natwest and Lloyds shares lead FTSE 100 rally after bruising week February 16, 2026 Natwest led a rally across Britain’s banking giants on Monday morning as lenders patched their wounds after a bruising week on the stock market. The bank topped the FTSE 100’s risers at the starting bell, gaining over four per cent in early trading to 603.60p. Barclays was shortly behind, advancing over 2.5 per cent to [...]