With a large number of Nordics companies expanding into Europe, ECI’s Chris Watt and Ludvig Hamilton share their views on why there has been so many successful expansion stories and where we have seen it work effectively.
1. A logical next step
For Nordics based companies, the U.K., DACH and Benelux, are natural next steps. Yes, they are geographically close, but more than that there is an affinity between the regions in terms of how we do business, aligned cultures and values – we see clear similarities.
In particular, we see Nordic countries take a first step into the UK. The UK economy offers significant opportunities, with total market value of c.£13 trillion. It provides an opportunity to diversify customer base, in particular with a large global financial services hub, which is why so many success stories have happened in the fintech sector. English fluency in the Nordic countries is among the highest in the world, which means while there is a big opportunity for finding talent as part of expansion, there isn’t a need to start with an all new team and offices can work seamlessly across borders.
An example is the Danish financial management platform Scaleup Finance, which since entering the UK in 2022 has ten-folded its revenues and launched “Nume” – an AI CFO for startup founders.
2. M&A accelerating European ambition
M&A activity from Nordics firms is also a well-established route into European expansion. We have seen this with our own portfolio with Advania, a leading Nordics IT services provider, acquiring UK-based Microsoft cloud specialist Content+Cloud from ECI. This was Advania’s first strategic expansion outside the Nordics, giving them a fantastic foothold in the UK, subsequently leading to further acquisitions of CCS Media and Servium in the UK. Their UK footprint now comprises 1,600 professionals across 20+ locations, and the cultural alignment point mentioned earlier is brought to life by the fact that key executives from those businesses have gone in to take senior roles within the Advania Group.
ECI are still an investor in the combined Group which is backed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. M&A has further allowed the business to add strategic AI capabilities to enhance its service offering and regional strength as it aims to become the leading IT Managed services provider in Northern Europe. Other notable acquisitions expanding capability during this investment have included The AI Framework and Mirus IT Solutions.
3. Organic growth
Nordics companies can expand into Europe organically, and while they usually need some local support, it can be more fluid than if you were seeking to expand into the US, for example. This is why we often see companies such as Pleo, the Danish spend management platform unicorn, retaining key focus on Europe with significant headcount expansion in the UK and DACH, while now also aiming to expand in DACH.
A key part to successful organic growth, is delivering effective cross-sell. For example, ECI-backed Imagesound already served large, multi‑site global brands in retail, leisure and hospitality and through their client’s international footprint, they benefited from built-in expansion opportunities. They further enhanced this by selling beyond the core in-store music product to sell adjacent offerings such as digital signage, visual content and bespoke music and sound design through their Musicstyling division. This deepened customer relationships and supported further international revenue growth.
It is important not to overextend yourself but to target countries systematically, looking at where is the most relevant and addressable market, but also one where you can effectively compete, and targeting that region before moving into the next. If you can win in one geography, it is often easier to roll out from there, rather than spreading yourself thinly across multiple regions. At ECI a key part of our international toolkit is to help companies assess potential routes to market and look at where they are most likely to win, and work with management teams to understand a prioritised roadmap for growth.
4. People and culture
One of the most important parts of successful expansion, wherever you are in the world, is getting the right people in place. It is important to have boots on the ground and commit to a region that is strategically important and be present in the market. More than that, it is key to have trusted individuals, especially if operating a global Board.
Bringing in senior talent that has experience with international expansion is clearly helpful. At CMap, the business benefits from having a Danish Chair, Peter Colsted, who has proven experience of scaling businesses into Europe and the US. This brings relevant understanding of challenges opportunities, as well as a global perspective to the Board.
It is clear that it is important for any company to be plugged into local customs, but there is also a good opportunity for Nordics companies to translate their culture globally. Probably the most famous example of this is Spotify, who were one of the earlier adopters of unlimited vacation and generous parental leave, regardless of gender or location, reflecting a distinctly Scandinavian model.
5. The investment ecosystem
Because of all these factors mentioned, Nordics companies have a fantastic ecosystem to operate in. In particular the investment community is well set up to invest in the region, with the largest UK investors holding on average 9% of their portfolio in the Nordics according to Gain.Pro.
An indicator of the strong investment market in the Nordics is also the rebound in IPO markets, with Stockholm leading Europe in 2025 IPO activity and PwC’s Nordic IPO Watch 2025, reporting total Nordic IPO proceeds of €7.4bn in 2025, up ~370% vs €1.6bn in 2024.
