Establishing Your Business Operations In The Nordics

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Looking to establish your business operations in the Nordics? Many international companies choose to take a similar approach to setting up in this region

Nordic countries share a lot of common history. Cultural habits and languages - apart from Finnish - are very similar, and Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland view themselves as quite united.

Many international companies treat the Nordics as one market, and TMF Group clients often choose to establish one entity, covering the rest of the Nordics from that location. Bigger clients will set up operations in multiple Nordic countries, particularly if their specific industry dictates a very local presence (Norway is the home base for those in Oil and Gas, for example).

Function also determines the geographic location need for companies doing business in the Nordics: sales offices usually perform quite well across the region from one location, while operational activities will often require clients to have a presence in multiple Nordic countries.

Local market challenges

The Nordics in general is very business friendly for foreign investors – something that is confirmed year after year in the Ease of Doing Business index published by the World Bank. The challenges that clients can experience in the Nordics may not be as “severe” as some of the difficulties that can be faced by companies in other parts of Europe. However, meeting local legislation and compliance requirements are two areas that companies must get right, and that’s where TMF Group’s experts are able to assist.

We recently helped a large Facility Management company with their set-up in the Nordics. This client won a contract covering Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and they needed to create a local presence in all four countries. Their operations are very small (no local staff recruited) and so they needed a third party provider to complete all related compliance work.

How we can help

TMF Group assisted this company with the set-up of local entities and bank accounts, and provided a registered office address in all four countries. We now provide them with a full range of administrative, bookkeeping, VAT, tax and corporate secretarial services.

One of TMF Group’s strengths is the fact that we have fully-fledged offices and dedicated experts in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, and are able to provide clients with comprehensive support, allowing them to focus on their core business.

Whether you’re looking to expand your existing Nordic operations, or set up in the region for the first time, we’re the global expert with the local insight that can help.