UK ambassador to Portugal highlights “thriving” £12Bn bi-lateral trade and investment between Portugal and Britain at the UK-Portugal Business Awards 2025

Text: Chris Graeme Photos: Joaquim Morgado

The stunning River Tagus location of SUD Lisboa Hall provided the backdrop to the 15th edition of the UK-Portugal Business Awards organised by the Department of British Trade team at the British Embassy in Lisbon held on Wednesday.

The awards recognise the entrepreneurial efforts of Portuguese companies that have chosen to invest in the UK during the previous financial year.

They also recognise the achievements of UK companies in the Portuguese market, including business deals, exports, and overseas direct investment.

“These thriving commercial ties are a 21st century commercial expression of an ancient alliance and our close people-to-people links” said the UK ambassador to Portugal, Lisa Bandari.

Dedication, innovation and hard work

The UK, the ambassador said, was proud to be the second largest foreign investor in Portugal, and Portugal’s fifth largest trading partner with a total bi-lateral trade worth UK £12Bn in 2024. (after Spain, France, Germany and the United States).

“We export more to Portugal than to Mexico, Malaysia or New Zealand. Today, we are honouring the achievements of 37 outstanding Portuguese and British businesses and recognising their dedication, innovation and hard work,” the ambassador continued.

To give a sense of what the dedication, innovation and hard work has contributed to, Lisa Bandari said that the 32 British companies exporting to and operating in Portugal had enabled transactions of just over £820 million, and had contributed to UK FDI in Portugal of £872 million.

This spanned sectors from aerospace, defence and financial services to life sciences, renewable energy, and technology.

Portuguese investors in the UK supported by the UK’s Department of Business and Trade had invested in projects totalling around £383 million and created 104 jobs in the UK. The sectors ranged from advanced engineering, aerospace, construction, consumer retail, and renewable energy.

The ambassador also thanked the trade team at the UK embassy in Portugal for “working tirelessly for the two countries, recognising that it was “an engine for growth, and improved the quality of life for our peoples and societies”.

A volatile moment

The ambassador stressed that “we are at a very volatile moment in global affairs, with a once in a generation challenge to European security”.

“For me it is very clear that we have never needed our oldest friends more. All of you making your hard-headed business decisions are also making a vote of confidence in terms of peoples and societies. You are trusting that you can prosper abroad, be that in the UK or Portugal,” said Lisa Bandari

This meant building mutually beneficial relationships and exchange of goods, services and knowledge.

A thriving business and trade relationship

His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Europe. Chris Barton CMG, said it was a pleasure to encourage a thriving business and trade relationship between the UK and European countries.

“It is the 5th time I have visited Portugal in my capacity as Trade Commissioner for Europe, which underlies how important the relationship between the UK and Portugal is, formed partly from the trade and business opportunities which we are rightly celebrating today.

“We see that and believe very strongly that it is business that drives growth, creates jobs, and improves our living standards, and that means that it is you that does these things, and drives the growth that we need to create jobs, and enables us to have great living standards,” he said.

And added: “This is important at any time, particularly now when we are making fundamental changes to our economies to ensure that we are sustainable in the future, not only environmentally, but also in the wider sense of the word”.

Also tremendously important, he said, in terms of “our security” at a time, as we know from the geo-political context, “is complex” before extending a big thank-you for all that the companies were doing to support mutual trade and investment and wider goals.

“It is pivotal to the wider relationship between the UK and Portugal. We are privileged to enjoy a rich commercial tapestry between the UK and Portugal with a very long history of friendship and our political, economic and commercial ties, and most importantly of all, I think, the personal interactions that exist between the two countries.”

“I again think that it is the business-to-business links and the trade and investment that you have that allow this to happen”, said Chris Barton CMG.

The winners

International Investment Award: CIMPOR, The Navigator Company

Investment Expansion Award: FRATO

Investment Growth Award: Greenvolt Group, TEKEVER

New Market Entry Award: Carbonside, Kindana & Company, Molendotech, Suade Labs

Export Excellence Award: Achilles Information Limited, Burson Portugal, Cambridge

International Education, Inzpire, Lucid Financial Markets, MDS Group, NCC Group, Thales

Growth Excellence Award: AstraZeneca, Avincis, BJSS, Cohort plc, Colt Technology

Services, Claranet Portugal, Ebury, EY, Frontier IP Group plc, GSK, Savills

Overseas Investment Achievement Award: Aura Power, Dukes Education, Open Cosmos,

Patron Capital, The British School of Lisbon, WElink Group

Overseas Investment Leader Award: AtlasEdge, Arrow Global Group, Lightsource BP

About the UK-Portugal Business Awards

Organised by the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) in Portugal, the UK-Portugal Business Awards are an annual event that celebrate and acknowledge the entrepreneurial achievements of Portuguese companies investing in the UK, as well as British companies thriving in Portugal through exports, business success, and foreign direct investment.
The 15th edtion of the UK-Portugal Business Awards took place on 30th April. Explore our winners and connect with them to discover the inspiring stories behind their success.

Export Excellence Award

Achilles

Achilles is the global supply chain risk management expert that provides the serious analysis and expert supply chain insight necessary to comply with ESG regulations, meet stakeholder requirements and achieve ambitious ethical and sustainability goals.
www.achilles.com

Cambridge University Press & Assessment

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is part of the University of Cambridge. Their International Education group works with over 10,000 schools in 160 countries to provide education that shapes knowledge, understanding and skills.
www.cambridgeinternational.org

Inzpire

Inzpire is a multi-award-winning supplier of advanced defence training, technical services and cutting-edge mission systems.
www.inzpire.com

NCC Group

NCC Group is a Global cyber security company, headquarted in the UK, uniquely positioned on the London Stock Exchange as a large-scale cyber services company and with a presence across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.
www.nccgroup.com

Thales UK

Thales UK is a global leader in advanced technologies for the Defence, Aerospace, and Cyber & Digital sectors.
www.thalesgroup.com

Burson

Burson is the global leader in communications, purpose-built to create value for the clients through reputation.
www.bursonglobal.com

Lucid Financial Markets

Lucid Financial Markets is a high-value foreign exchange consultancy, offering transparent and client-focused services for both corporate and private clients.
www.lucidfinancialmarkets.com

MDS Group

MDS is a multinational company specializing in insurance and reinsurance brokerage, risk consulting, and benefits management.
www.mdsgroup.com

Growth Excellence Award

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines.
www.astrazeneca.pt

Avincis

As the largest provider of emergency aerial services in Europe, Avincis’ areas of focus are helicopter emergency medical services, air ambulance services, search and rescue, aerial firefighting, as well as dedicated emergency aerial transport for oil and gas platforms.
www.avincis.com

BJSS

BJSS is a 2400 people organisation and has recently merged with CGI expanding our global reach to 93,000 employees worldwide.
www.bjss.com

Claranet Portugal

Claranet Portugal is the Portuguese market leader in Information Technologies and a specialist in Cloud, Workplace, Applications, Data & AI and Security solutions and managed services.
www.claranet.com

Cohort

Cohort is the parent company of seven innovative, agile and responsive businesses based in the UK, Australia, Germany and Portugal, providing a wide range of services and products for domestic and export customers in defence and related markets.
www.cohortplc.com

Ebury

Ebury is the leading payments specialist that helps small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) operate and grow internationally.
https://ebury.com

EY

EY works across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions.
www.ey.com/en_pt

Frontier IP

Frontier IP creates and grows high value companies from deep technology developed by scientists and engineers.
www.frontierip.co.uk

GSK

GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together.
www.gsk.com/en-gb

Savills

With over 160 years of experience in the real estate sector and a presence in 70 countries, Savills is one of the world’s leading property consultancies, with more than 40,000 professionals specialising in commercial and residential real estate.
www.savills.pt

International Investment Award

Cimpor

Cimpor is a cement company founded in 1976 from the merger of seven Portuguese cement-producing companies. In a leading position in the cement industry, Cimpor is present in over a dozen countries, including the UK.
www.cimpor.com

The Navigator Company

The Navigator Company is a large Portuguese integrated pulp, paper, tissue, packaging, and biomass-based energy company. They are European leaders
www.thenavigatorcompany.com

Investment Expansion & Growth Award

Frato

Frato is a family-run business headquartered in the historic city of Porto, Portugal. A meticulous fusion of traditional craftsmanship and forward-thinking sophistication, Frato’s unique interior lifestyle concept is inspired by the world’s rich mix of cultures and most magnificent places.
www.frato.com

Greenvolt

Greenvolt specialises in generating energy from biomass, by utilizing forest residues and urban waste wood.
https://greenvolt.com

Tekever

Tekever is a leading player in UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) market, and particularly in maritime surveillance.
www.tekever.com

New Market Entry Award

Kindana & Company

Kindana & Company focusses on building custom predictive and behavioural AI delivery, including AI strategy and roadmaps primarily for defence and government sectors, and with an additional focus on ethical AI.
www.kindana.co

Molendotech

Molendotech is a pioneering British spin-out from the University of Plymouth, dedicated to revolutionising water quality testing.
https://molendotech.com

Suade Labs

Suade Labs is a leading RegTech firm founded in 2014. It specializes in transforming regulatory compliance for financial institutions through its intelligent, data-driven platform.
https://suade.org

Overseas Achievement Award

Aura Power

Aura Power is a leading global renewable energy project promoter, founded in 2013 and headquartered in the UK. They develop large-scale solar projects, autonomous storage systems and green hydrogen throughout Europe and North America. www.aurapower.com 

British School of Lisbon

The British School of Lisbon (BSL), established in 2019, offers a high-quality British education with a strong focus on holistic care and the whole-child approach. With campuses in both Cais do Sodré and Restelo, BSL provides a nurturing and stimulating environment where each child’s academic, personal, and social development is supported.
www.britishschool.pt

Dukes Education

Dukes Education is the largest premium education group in the UK and one of the fastest-growing families of schools in Europe.
https://dukeseducation.com

Open Cosmos

Open Cosmos is a leading European space technology company with facilities in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and Greece.
www.open-cosmos.com

Patron Capital Partners

Patron Capital is one of the leading value-add, opportunistic real estate investment managers in Europe.
https://patroncapital.com

Welink Energy

WElink Energy is dedicated to delivering solar PV and wind projects globally, addressing climate change and promoting renewable energy solutions.
https://welink.eu/energy

Overseas Investment Leader Award

Arrow Global

Founded in 2005, Arrow Global is a vertically integrated alternative investment fund manager focused on the Credit and Real Estate sectors, currently operating in seven European countries.
www.arrowglobal.net

AtlasEdge

AtlasEdge is a leading European data centre platform providing low-latency, carrier-neutral colocation services to hyperscale customers, network providers and enterprises.
https://atlasedge.com

Lightsource BP

Lightsource bp is a global leader in onshore renewables, specializing in the development, financing, and management of utility-scale solar energy projects.
https://lightsourcebp.com