The UK is one step closer to establishing a dedicated business centre in Ukraine, with the selection of British small business the Audere Group as delivery partner for the project.
The business centre will be a focal point for UK industry to engage and partner with the Ukrainian defence enterprise. This centre aims to break down cost, security and red tape barriers that can keep smaller British firms out of Ukraine’s rapidly growing defence market. The new centre is designed to give SMEs a permanent, secure base in Kyiv, direct access to battlefield data, and open the door to greater innovation opportunities.
The hope is that the business centre will supercharge UK’s industry support to Ukraine, amplifying the opportunities for Britain’s cutting-edge defence industry and innovators to equip Ukraine’s Armed Forces in their fight against Putin’s illegal invasion. This new centre builds on more than forty major UK-Ukraine industrial partnerships already established.
100-Year Partnership
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP said: “Britain has stood firmly with Ukraine since the first days of Russia’s illegal invasion, and the Kyiv Business Centre builds on that commitment in a powerful new way. By putting British businesses directly on the ground in Kyiv, we are deepening the ‘100-Year Partnership’ and turning our shared resolve into shared innovation. Growth and security are two sides of the same coin, and this Centre is where they meet.”
The Business Centre will provide an export and matching service, giving companies considering working in Ukraine clear information on their requirements. This helps UK companies make better informed decisions and ensures that the capabilities both nations will need to overcome tomorrow’s security challenges are being built today.
Charles Blackmore, the Chief Executive Officer of Audere Group, said: “We are proud to have been selected to deliver this important national capability. The Kyiv Business Centre is far more than a physical presence in Ukraine. It is the UK’s strategic gateway for defence and security collaboration, designed to connect British and Ukrainian government, industry and investors, transforming insight into partnerships, innovation and long-term commercial opportunity.”
By bringing UK and Ukrainian industry closer together, the facility aims to directly deliver on the UK’s plan to apply the lessons learned by the conflict in Ukraine to fortify Britain’s Armed Forces.
Ukraine has become a world-leader in uncrewed and autonomous technology and the Business Centre will generate new collaboration opportunities, keeping the UK defence industry at the forefront of innovation. The Centre’s work will build on landmark agreements such as the UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement enabling UK businesses to benefit from battle-tested Ukrainian drone data.
The facility is another example of how the Ministry of Defence (MOD) supports British small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The Government has committed to increase defence spending with SMEs by 50% by 2028, bringing the total to £7.5 billion.
Homegrown Talent
National Armaments Director Rupert Pearce said: “We continue to champion the UK’s world-leading defence industry, especially our dynamic, innovative start-ups and SMEs. The new Kyiv Business Centre will help our homegrown talent secure export deals and capability partnerships that strengthen international relationships, drive allied collaboration, boost our defence sector and support high quality jobs across the UK.
“As well as building bridges between defence industries, the Centre will be a space through which British defence industry partners can better support Ukraine’s future reconstruction, modernisation and long-term capability development. UK Defence will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes to ensure their resilience and deliver on shared security commitments.”
The competition for the contract was run by the MOD, who will now work with the Audere Group and the British Embassy in Kyiv to develop the business centre and connect it with British companies in advance of it fully opening later in the year.
The Kyiv Business Centre is designed to be a permanent, sector-agnostic platform established to strengthen strategic and commercial collaboration between the United Kingdom and Ukraine. Through a combination of Insight, Access and Opportunity, the Business Centre will provide market intelligence, trusted relationships, stakeholder engagement, partner identification and practical in-country support, enabling UK organisations to identify validated demand, develop enduring partnerships and pursue strategic and commercial opportunities with confidence. Initially focused on supporting Ukraine’s most urgent defence and security requirements, the Centre will evolve alongside Ukraine’s wider reconstruction and economic development, providing a trusted gateway for long-term engagement across multiple sectors.
