After 2015, the availability of alternative financing solutions increased further as investment banks, investment service firms, factoring and leasing companies, as well as smaller Nordic banks, expanded their operations into the field of alternative corporate financing. While the growing number of options provided some relief for companies seeking financing, it remained difficult for the average SME entrepreneur to identify suitable financing instruments and providers for their specific needs.

There was therefore still a need for consultants such as Finanssitaito. Naturally, services competing with Finanssitaito also began to emerge. Platforms comparing loan options or providing financing offers for smaller loan amounts entered the market. Finanssitaito’s competitive advantage compared to these platforms proved to be our ability to assist corporate clients in arranging and managing larger and more complex financing structures. When a company’s financing consists of multiple elements, the importance of planning and financing negotiations becomes increasingly significant. Financiers, in turn, valued our experts’ ability to understand the strategy and objectives of financing institutions, making the opportunities presented by Finanssitaito more likely to match their investment criteria and improving efficiency. These strengths remain relevant today in comparison to competing alternatives, as does our ability to serve significantly larger financing projects involving more substantial and diversified financing arrangements. As financing volumes increased, it became particularly valuable that we were able to utilise our Ambassador network also in identifying new financing partners. When domestic financing providers reached capacity limits, this enabled us to expand our networks to international financing markets.

Between 2016 and 2019, the construction sector, particularly residential development, began to represent a rapidly growing share of our financing project volume. As a complement to construction primarily financed through corporate loans, demand emerged—particularly among small and medium-sized developers—for so-called RS financing, where the concept is to generate cash flow for the developer through apartment sales already during the construction phase. At that time, we developed services specialising in construction financing, within which developers received support not only in arranging financing but also in project budgeting, RS system documentation and permitting processes, as well as sales planning for residential units. As the amount of loan financing was not the primary measure of success in RS projects, we developed a service in which our fees are based on the size and phased progress of the project.

  As the housing market slowed down around 2023–2024, our services related to new residential development saw reduced demand in anticipation of the next upturn, and financiers soon began seeking opportunities in other sectors. At that time, for example, corporate transactions and real estate projects in the tourism sector began to gain momentum.

In corporate transactions, financing often consists of a comprehensive structure involving not only representatives of the acquiring party but also those of the target company, as well as their existing banks and other financiers. As arranging loan financing is only one prerequisite for the successful completion of an acquisition—and the amount of external loan financing is not the most relevant measure of success—we developed, in cooperation with several M&A specialists, a service covering multiple required areas, in which our success fee is determined based on the total value of the completed transaction rather than solely on the loan amount. Although we have assisted in financing corporate transactions since Finanssitaito’s early years, our new service has supported strong growth in this area.