British SME Secured to Operate Kyiv Business Hub

• The UK is advancing toward establishing a permanent Business Centre on Ukrainian soil, providing British companies with a lasting presence in Kyiv.
• The Audere Group, a UK‑based SME, has been selected as the delivery partner for the Kyiv Business Centre.
• This milestone reflects the 100‑Year Partnership and builds on more than 40 existing UK‑Ukraine industrial collaborations.

The United Kingdom is now moving closer to launching a dedicated business centre in Ukraine, having appointed the UK‑based SME Audere Group as its delivery partner.

The centre will serve as a focal point for UK industry to collaborate with Ukraine’s defence sector. It removes historic obstacles — cost, security concerns, and bureaucratic hurdles — that have limited British SMEs’ participation in Ukraine’s expanding defence market, offering them a permanent, secure foothold in Kyiv, direct access to battlefield insights, and opportunities for innovation.

The centre will accelerate UK industry support to Ukraine, enhancing prospects for Britain’s advanced defence sector and innovators to equip Ukraine’s Armed Forces in confronting Putin’s illegal aggression. This reflects the 100‑Year Partnership and draws on over 40 established UK‑Ukraine industrial collaborations.

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP said:

Britain has consistently stood with Ukraine since the outset of Russia’s illegal invasion, and the Kyiv Business Centre extends that commitment in a powerful new direction.

By establishing British businesses on the ground in Kyiv, we are deepening the 100‑Year Partnership and converting our shared resolve into shared innovation. Growth and security are two sides of the same coin, and this Centre embodies that convergence.

The centre will offer an export and matching service, providing companies considering operations in Ukraine with clear guidance on requirements. This assists UK firms in making informed decisions and ensures that the capabilities both nations need to address tomorrow’s security challenges are being developed today.

Charles Blackmore, Chief Executive Officer, Audere Group, said:

We are proud to be chosen to deliver this critical national capability. The Kyiv Business Centre is more than a physical presence in Ukraine; it is the UK’s strategic gateway for defence and security collaboration, linking British and Ukrainian government, industry, and investors, and turning insight into partnerships, innovation, and long‑term commercial opportunity.

By fostering closer collaboration between UK and Ukrainian industry, the facility will directly fulfil the Strategic Defence Review’s commitment to apply lessons from Ukraine to strengthen Britain’s Armed Forces.

Ukraine has emerged as a global leader in unmanned and autonomous technology, and the Centre will create new collaboration avenues, maintaining the UK defence industry at the forefront of innovation. Its work builds on landmark agreements such as the UK‑Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement, enabling UK businesses to leverage battle‑tested Ukrainian drone data.

The facility exemplifies the Ministry of Defence’s support for British SMEs, with a government pledge to raise defence spending with them by 50% by 2028, reaching £7.5 billion.

Beyond fostering defence‑industry links, the Centre will provide a venue for British defence partners to support Ukraine’s future reconstruction, modernisation, and long‑term capability development. UK Defence will remain committed to Ukraine for as long as needed to ensure resilience and fulfill shared security commitments.

The contract competition was conducted by the Ministry of Defence earlier this year. We will now collaborate with Audere Group and the British Embassy in Kyiv to develop the centre and engage British companies ahead of its full launch later this year.

About the Kyiv Business Centre

The Kyiv Business Centre is designed as a permanent, sector‑agnostic platform that strengthens strategic and commercial collaboration between the United Kingdom and Ukraine. Through insight, access, and opportunity, it will deliver market intelligence, trusted relationships, stakeholder engagement, partner identification, and practical on‑the‑ground support, enabling UK organisations to recognise validated demand, build enduring partnerships, and pursue strategic and commercial opportunities with confidence. Initially focused on addressing Ukraine’s most urgent defence and security needs, the Centre will evolve alongside Ukraine’s broader reconstruction and economic development, serving as a trusted gateway for long‑term engagement across multiple sectors.

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