20.9.2016

Preliminary Tax Rulings – Tax Disputes Avoidable through Proactive Planning

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Careful planning is often the key to a successful arrangement, and it is possible to get definitive answers to questions that are open to interpretation through a ruling of the Finnish Tax Administration. The Tax Administration has recently focused on improving cooperation with its customers and has encouraged companies to actively apply for written preliminary rulings and even engage in preliminary discussions concerning more challenging arrangements.

We have assisted Finnair and Municipality Finance, among others, in arrangements that involved significant income tax questions, which we resolved by applying for preliminary rulings. In the following, we describe a few of our recent case references involving preliminary rulings.

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Tax Disputes – A Key Part of Corporate Financial Administration

Disagreements that arise in the tax assessment and in tax audits often lead to lengthy appeal processes that sap time and resources from a company’s management and financial department. We advocate a pre-emptive approach to avoid problems through careful analysis of tax issues, diligent reporting and smooth communication with the tax authorities. Should you nevertheless find yourself facing a tax dispute, whether domestic or international in nature, you will be able to rely on our renowned dispute resolution team to defend your interests. We will also provide you with the best possible assistance in handling tax complaint processes if your company is subject to a tax audit or if the Finnish Tax Administration intervenes in any arrangements at a later date.

Jolt Capital and Tesi – Investment in VEV

We advised Jolt Capital and Tesi in connection with their investment in VEV, a leading provider of commercial fleet electrification solutions. The investment, led by Jolt Capital with Tesi as co-investor, will support VEV’s next phase of growth and expansion across Europe. As part of the transaction, VEV became an independent company following the acquisition of Vitol’s stake in the business. Founded by Vitol, VEV provides integrated fleet electrification solutions combining fleet strategy, charging infrastructure, energy supply and operational services. Through its VEV IQ platform, the company supports more than 6,000 commercial electric vehicles across Europe and has been deployed across more than 600 sites spanning the transport, logistics and waste sectors. Jolt Capital is a private equity firm focused on growth investments in European deeptech companies. Tesi is a Finnish state-owned investment company that promotes Finnish business and economic growth through investments. We advised Jolt Capital and Tesi on the equity financing and structuring aspects of the transaction. International law firm Goodwin advised the investors on the acquisition of VEV.

VR Group – Intellectual property matters

VR-Group Plc is a transport and logistics group owned by the Finnish State, operating passenger and freight rail transport in Finland with activities also in the Swedish market. VR Group provides passenger, logistics and maintenance services with over 160 years’ experience in developing responsible transport of the future. We advise VR Group in intellectual property matters as part of the company’s wider brand protection efforts. Our assignments have included advice on copyright, design rights and trademarks, focusing on the protection of the company’s visual identity – including its distinctive green colour – in connection with transport services as part of a comprehensive IP protection strategy. VR Group’s consistent brand building has also received recognition, including the Finland Chamber of Commerce’s Brand of the Year award in 2026. In the competition, brands were viewed comprehensively from various perspectives, including their story, strategic role, brand renewal ability and intellectual property protection. The jury found that VR had understood the importance of the protection of its brand as part of a comprehensive business strategy.

NoHo Partners – EUR 50 million secured notes and EUR 97 million senior secured facilities agreement

We advised NoHo Partners Plc on the issuance of EUR 50 million senior secured floating rate notes. The notes have a tenor of four years and mature on 10 September 2030. The notes bear interest at a rate of three-month EURIBOR plus a margin of 4.375 per cent. per annum. The notes were allocated to a mix of domestic and international investors. We also advised NoHo Partners on the negotiation of its new senior facilities agreement. The facilities agreement comprises a EUR 60,000,000 term loan facility, a EUR 10,000,000 capex facility and a EUR 27,000,000 revolving credit facility. “We are delighted by the interest investors have shown in the company’s Notes, which reflects confidence in our strategy. The successful issuance of the Notes, together with the new loan agreement, extends the maturity profile of our financing and enables the company to continue executing its growth strategy going forward. I would like to thank all investors for their participation, as well as our partner bank for the excellent execution of the Notes issuance”, says Jarno Suominen, CEO of NoHo Partners. OP Corporate Bank plc acted as the sole lead manager and bookrunner for the issue of the notes. NoHo Partners Plc is a Finnish group established in 1996, and it specialises in restaurant services being the creative innovator of the Northern European restaurant market. The company was listed in Nasdaq Helsinki in 2013 becoming the first Finnish listed restaurant company, and it has continued to grow strongly throughout its history. NoHo Partners’ vision is to be the leading restaurant operator in Northern Europe.

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