diff --git a/cmake/modules/TestTarget.cmake b/cmake/modules/TestTarget.cmake
index ba1a3d0..c308b5f 100644
--- a/cmake/modules/TestTarget.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/TestTarget.cmake
@@ -310,6 +310,9 @@ if(CPP_UNIT_LIB OR META_NO_CPP_UNIT)
     # add a file called "srcdirref" to the build directory; this file contains the path of the sources so tests can easily find test files contained in the source directory
     file(WRITE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/srcdirref" "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}")
 
+    # ensure the directory "testfiles" exists in the build directory; tests will create the directory for working copies of testfiles there by default
+    file(MAKE_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/testfiles")
+
     set(META_HAVE_TESTS YES)
 
 else()