State Aid & Competitive Neutrality

State Aid & Competitive Neutrality

We help to ensure a level playing field on the market in situations where private and public service production compete or public funds are used.

Whenever the public sector plans to support businesses, state aid rules must be taken into account. We have particular experience in a wide range of state aid cases, including public funding and cooperation arrangements. Our skilled experts can provide support in diverse issues, such as industrial policy projects, real estate and construction projects and sale and purchase of public property.

Analysis and Counselling
Disputes on national and EU level
Notifications and complaints to the European Commission
Competition and Consumer Authority Proceedings on competitive neutrality
Training

Latest references

UFF – Change from Association into Foundation

We assisted the association U-landshjälp från Folk till Folk i Finland rf in a reorganisation of its activities. The association, which is to be dissolved, established a foundation to continue the association’s operations. The transformation of the association into a foundation ensures that the association can continue its activities without altering its original purpose and sustainably support climate work and global development in the future. In the reorganisation, the association transferred its assets and liabilities and operations to the newly established foundation in their entirety. The association’s personnel also transferred to the foundation as existing employees. In the final stage of the reorganisation, the association will be dissolved. U-landshjälp från Folk till Folk i Finland sr will continue to be known by its familiar acronym UFF in the future. The former association will continue to promote the public good as a foundation by maintaining a recycling service in Finland and supporting development work in Africa and India. Through the recycling of clothes, UFF aims to bring about sustainable development that reduces extreme poverty in the world. UFF supports education, food security and income-earning opportunities in Africa and India. It also brings Finns into contact with sustainable development and the affairs of the developing world. In addition to the collection of clothes and donations, the foundation’s activities are made possible by state aid granted by Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the support of the European Union. Virve Groning, UFF sr’s Managing Director: ‘The reorganisation has been a unique moment in UFF’s history. Our objectives were to strengthen the conditions for our future activities and to ensure the continuity of the organisation’s original missions: to support climate work and global development for sustainability. Thanks to Castrén & Snellman’s comprehensive expertise, we have been able to ensure that all the necessary aspects are covered in the reorganisation. By overseeing the change process in a careful and proactive way, we achieved reliable continuity for our practical service work in society, both for our climate service in Finland and our global development programme.’

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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