Bengaluru: ISS India, a UK-based company that seeks to help businesses enter and grow in both the UK and India, has opened an office in Bengaluru, it announced on October 21, 2026. Its focus is on micro, small and medium enterprises.
Kim McGuinness, Chair of The Great North Trade Mission to India, inaugurated the office. Senior officials from the British Deputy High Commission in Bengaluru, members of the mission, entrepreneurs and venture capital investors attended. McGuinness said the office was among the many outcomes of the first combined North delegation to India.
The company also announced a three-day roadshow across North and Northeast England at the end of November 2026 for a delegation of Indian businesses and startups. Priyam Gandhi Mody, Executive Director of the FEC Council, a policy think tank, has agreed to join the delegation, and a policy paper will be released during the roadshow.
The release carries a statement from Jonathan Reynolds, the UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade: “The potential of our partnership with India is enormous and we want to help more UK businesses make the most of the opportunities created by the landmark FTA with nearly £12bn worth of deals struck since it was signed.”
Ammar Mirza CBE, Chairman of ISS India, said the company had wanted for many years to replicate the physical presence it has in Newcastle upon Tyne in India, as a launchpad for UK businesses entering the Indian market.
“The launch of ISS India’s office in Bengaluru is a significant milestone in our mission to ensure that regional businesses, entrepreneurs, and innovators are able to seamlessly access and expand in both the markets,” said Sharon Kaur Jandu OBE, CEO for the UK. She said few non-Asian businesses in the UK have looked at India as a market. Many Indian small businesses, she added, have not yet explored the UK as a market or as a gateway to Europe.
Xavier Prabhu, CEO for India, said the company plans to expand to other Indian cities gradually over the next few years, in line with demand.
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Our analysis
The release gives no investment figure or headcount, so this is a small venture. Its stated focus is regional businesses and small enterprises in both countries, which, by its own leadership’s account, have so far done little business with each other.
The November roadshow will be the first real test. Whether it produces deals for Indian startups in Northern England will show if the model works.
Can the UK-India trade deal work for small businesses, not just large corporations?
