While complex, wartime business relocation is essential for survival and adapting to new realities. Several key factors must be considered:
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Risk Assessment: Evaluating the level of physical risk to personnel and assets, particularly in active combat zones, and identifying safer alternatives.
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Site Selection: Choosing a region with relative stability, access to resources, and viable market conditions.
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Logistics: Coordinating the transportation of equipment, materials, and staff.
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Legal Considerations: Understanding local regulations, taxes, and licensing requirements.
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Financing: Securing funding to cover relocation costs, whether through investors or state support.
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Customer Communication: Keeping clients informed to maintain trust and loyalty.
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Employee Support: Ensuring safety and offering assistance or compensation at the new location.
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Business Model Adaptation: Adjusting to new market demands and operational realities, if needed.
According to InVenture, an investment advisory platform, most current relocation inquiries come from business owners based in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions — with the aim of moving to central and western Ukraine.
Currently, the Kyiv region has emerged as the top destination for industrial relocation, accounting for 30–40% of all inquiries for industrial and warehouse facilities. While western regions dominated relocation flows in the early months of the war, Kyiv city and oblast are now leading the trend, followed by Lviv, Zakarpattia, Zhytomyr, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and Volyn.
According to official statistics, as of March 2024, there have been 18,944 documented business relocations across regions in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
In the early stages of the war, Ukraine’s government offered relocation support programs. Through the Prozorro platform, businesses could apply for free transportation services provided by Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukrposhta. Additionally, the state offered one-time financial support of UAH 100,000 for relocated companies with up to 12 employees. However, these programs have since been phased out, and businesses must now fund relocation independently.
Oleksii Oleinykov, Managing Partner at InVenture, notes that one of the main challenges for relocating businesses is the shortage of labor, particularly among men, due to heightened mobilization. Another major issue is securing capital to purchase and renovate industrial properties, as most businesses lack sufficient internal funds for both acquisition and reconstruction.
Depending on their production needs, most relocating companies are looking for turnkey industrial complexes or standalone facilities with adequate square footage and infrastructure to support industrial equipment. Some enterprises have repurposed industrial buildings into warehouse hubs or reconfigured them to suit new operational needs.
Many business owners seek long-term ownership rather than temporary rentals, making property price per square meter a decisive factor. Numerous deals fall through due to price gaps between sellers and buyers and disagreements over payment structures.
"Despite all the challenges, we have successfully facilitated relocation and property acquisition deals for a large retail chain, a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, a drone production company, a food processing firm, a meat producer, a furniture manufacturer, and several agribusinesses," Oleinykov says.
"We’re currently working on relocation requests from a tile manufacturer, a large defense-sector company, and multiple agricultural producers from eastern Ukraine," he adds.
In recent developments, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with support from Switzerland and the U.S., has resumed its Relocation Program for small and medium-sized manufacturers. The program supports businesses relocating within Ukraine from conflict-affected areas (after February 24, 2022 or planned relocations). Grants of up to €30,000 per company are available to cover relocation-related costs not reimbursed by other programs.
