Our procurement team regularly encounters situations in which a tenderer’s offer has been rejected, the tenderer excluded from the tender process or the filing of the tender is late even in significant procurements. Winning a contract can sometimes be down to simply managing to make an offer that complies with the invitation to tender. Many companies find public procurement difficult, because the formal requirements and rules differ from competitive tendering in the private sector. We have put together a few pieces of advice that should help you avoid the worst pitfalls and bring home the win.
14.3.2019
Avoid Public Procurement Pitfalls and Grow Your Business
Anna Kuusniemi-Laine & Johanna Lähde
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Focus on Responsibility Requirements
Responsibility issues are particularly important in public procurement. The use of ‘discretionary exclusion grounds’ has become very common, and an increasing number of contracting entities require that companies have an impeccable record. A company can be excluded from public tendering processes, for example, due to a serious error in professional activities or due to a violation of employment or competition law. You can avoid exclusion by presenting the contracting entity with persuasive evidence that any past omissions have been effectively rectified.
Get to Know the Electronic Procurement System in Advance
Electronic procurement systems give many companies headaches during their first tenders. Starting to fill out the tender in the electronic system too late can often be fatal. Sometimes a completed tender fails to be sent on time due to a technical issue—not a situation anyone wants to find themselves in.
Seize the Opportunities Provided by Market Consultations
You should seize opportunities to engage contracting entities in a dialogue. A market consultation carried out by a contracting entity is a chance for you to bring what you can offer to their attention and describe how you think a tender process should be organised to make best use of developments on the market. This makes it possible for tender processes to take the latest innovations into account and benefit from the market’s true potential. In practice, this always leads to higher quality procurements and, thus, benefits society as a whole.
Precision Advice is the Key to Success
We want to help our clients build new success stories. In public procurements, this is a particularly pleasant task, as we get to help companies win many tender processes and grow their business. In addition to advice in individual tender processes, a tailored workshop for your sales team could be the right tool to make sure you win your next tender. Contact us if you’d like us to plan a training session for your company.
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Latest references
Taaleri – Acquisition of a majority stake in Nordic Science Investments
We are acting as legal adviser to Taaleri Plc on its acquisition of a 51 per cent ownership stake in Nordic Science Investments Oy (NSI), marking Taaleri’s expansion into deeptech-driven venture capital. Through the transaction, Taaleri broadens its private equity offering into early-stage venture capital funds as well as the commercialisation and scaling of research-driven innovations. NSI is a Finnish venture capital fund manager operating across the Nordic and Baltic regions, focusing on early-stage investments in research- and science-based technologies. Its portfolio companies develop, among other things, health technologies, life sciences, advanced materials and AI-driven solutions. In addition to providing growth capital, NSI supports spin-out companies with strategic guidance, access to networks and assistance in building teams during the early phases of business development. NSI’s first fund, the EUR 45 million NSI Nordic Science I Ky, was established in 2024 and has to date invested in 22 early-stage companies in Finland, Sweden and the Baltic countries. Taaleri is a specialist in investments, private asset management and non-life insurance, with a strong position in renewable energy, bioindustry and housing investments as well as credit risk insurance. Taaleri has EUR 2.7 billion of assets under management in its private equity funds, co-investments and single-asset vehicles, employs approximately 130 people and is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. The founders of NSI will continue in their operational roles following the transaction. The completion of the transaction is subject to approval by the FIN-FSA.
Case published 13.4.2026
Downing – Acquisition of the entire share capital of Tornionlaakson Voima
We advised UK-based investment company Downing in its acquisition of the entire share capital of Tornionlaakson Voima Oy. Tornionlaakson Voima owns three hydropower plants in the Tengeliönjoki river system – the Portimokoski power plants in Ylitornio, the Jolmankoski power plants in Raanujärvi and the Kaaranneskoski power plants in Sirkkakoski. The power plants produce a total of approx. 45 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year. Tornionlaakson Voima’s daily operations will continue normally, and the transaction will not affect customers. The consummation of the transaction is subject to the approval of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Downing has over 35 years’ experience in providing a wide range of investment solutions to the needs of institutional investors, advisers and retail investors. The company manages over £2 billion in assets in both the private and public markets and its current hydro power portfolio includes approx. 50 hydro power plants in the Nordics.
Case published 27.3.2026
Nomios – Acquisition of Intragen Group
We advised Nomios, a portfolio company of the European growth buyout investor Keensight Capital, with its cross-border acquisition of Intragen Group, a leading European expert in digital identity and access management. The acquisition marks a major milestone in Nomios’ growth strategy and further strengthens its position as the global trusted partner for cybersecurity across Europe. Nomios is one of Europe’s leading providers of cybersecurity services. Keensight Capital is a European growth buyout investor with deep expertise in technology and healthcare.
Case published 17.11.2025
Ministry of the Environment – Report on the promotion of circular economy aspects in public procurement
Castrén & Snellman was commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment to carry out a study on how the Circular Economy Act could be used to promote circular economy aspects in public procurement. Our report provides valuable information to the working group tasked with preparing the new Circular Economy Act. The report includes an overview of relevant strategies, action programmes and policies, a look at relevant legislation and case law, an assessment of the current state of circular economy procurement and examples of integrating circular economy aspects into public procurement from around the world. We end the report with concrete conclusions and a proposal for a new circular economy provision with justification. The proposal aims to maximise the regulation’s effectiveness and minimise any adverse side effects. The final report is available on the Circular Economy Act project’s Gateway to Information (in Finnish). The study was carried out by Anna Kuusniemi-Laine, Sanna Aalto-Setälä, Lotta Huhtamäki, Marja Ollila, Laura Vuorinen, Paavo Heinonen and Anna Ylitalo.
Case published 11.11.2025