€1bn investor AshGrove selects Copenhagen as its Nordic hub for scaling B2B tech businesses
Addressing a funding gap in one of Europe’s most exciting B2B software and services markets, particularly for founder-led and sponsor-backed businesses approaching scale
First office outside of London, reflecting AshGrove’s conviction in the depth and quality of the Nordic opportunity
Driven by consistent year-on-year growth in Nordic opportunities, including doubling of AshGrove’s deal flow in the region over the past year
London, Copenhagen, 2 February 2026 - AshGrove, a €1 billion European fund investor specialising in tailored financing solutions for B2B software and services businesses, today announced its expansion into the Nordics, selecting Copenhagen as the location of its first office outside its London headquarters.
The new Copenhagen office will serve as AshGrove’s hub for the Nordic region, enabling closer collaboration with founders, management teams and local sponsors, supporting businesses as they invest in international expansion, product development and selective acquisitions.
Ilkka Rantanen, AshGrove’s Co-Founder and Partner, and Director Samuli Kytö, will be based in Copenhagen, supporting AshGrove’s growing network and engagement with the tech sector ecosystem across the whole Nordic region.
AshGrove’s decision to establish its first international office in the Nordics reflects the depth and quality of the business opportunity in the region. AshGrove focuses on fast-growing B2B software and services businesses in the €10–50 million revenue range, and the Nordics represent one of the largest concentrations of such companies in Europe, accounting for around 25 percent of the total. Nordic software companies’ revenues have grown rapidly in the last few years, with research indicating the industry could triple current revenues by 2030, reaching an output of three to four times its local consumption, highlighting the sector’s ability to produce globally competitive companies.
AshGrove has seen this dynamic reflected in its own activity, with Nordic deal flow approximately doubling over the past year and a high proportion of opportunities originating from direct conversations with founders and equity investors. The firm believes a permanent local presence is essential to engaging earlier and structuring financings in a way that supports long-term ambition.
Ilkka Rantanen, Partner at AshGrove, commented: “Choosing the Nordics as our first office expansion outside of London is a deliberate strategic decision. The region produces a consistently strong volume of high-quality software and services businesses, many of which remain founder owned. Being present locally allows us to work alongside management teams earlier and provide tailored financing that reflects how these businesses want to grow.”
Samuli Kytö, a Director in AshGrove’s Copenhagen office, added: “Based on what we’ve seen, more than half of Nordic B2B software and services companies within our target segment aim to invest heavily in growth, while also prioritising retaining control. They therefore find themselves in a funding gap which impairs their ambition to expand internationally or complete important strategic initiatives. This has created strong demand for financing solutions designed around recurring revenues and quality of software that also allow founders to hold on to equity longer.”
Additional information:
About AshGrove
AshGrove is a pan-European investor providing tailored financing solutions to ambitious B2B software and services businesses. The firm focuses on companies with resilient, recurring revenue models and works alongside founders, management teams and private equity sponsors to support growth, strategic development and value creation.
AshGrove manages approximately €1 billion of capital across its strategies. Headquartered in London, the firm’s Copenhagen office is its first permanent presence outside the UK and serves as its hub for the Nordic region.
AshGrove has grown its presence in the Nordics through a number of investments, including most recently Finland’s Smartvatten, one of the Nordic market leaders in water analytics and Position Green, one of the leading Nordic providers of ESG software products and specialist advisory services.
The funding gap
Nordic tech has scaled rapidly, with the region’s software and services market projected to grow from $6.75 billion in 2025 to over $11 billion by 2030, an almost 12% annual growth rate. Yet despite this momentum, a clear funding gap has opened for fast-growing software and services companies in the €5m - €30m ARR range, as venture capital has shifted to early-stage bets and fewer larger funding rounds, while banks and generalist credit funds may be reluctant to back non-EBITDA recurring revenue models. This leaves Nordic SaaS businesses structurally unfunded at the very moment they need capital to scale, regionally and internationally, creating a strong opportunity for specialist investors which understand the sector and can provide flexible and tailored funding solutions.
References:
1. Nordic software companies’ revenues have grown rapidly in the last few years, with research indicating the industry could triple current revenues by 2030: [McKinsey & Company, What’s driving the Nordic countries’ software export surge?’ 2024]
2. Projected market growth from $6.57bn in 2025 to $11bn by 2030: [Mordor Intelligence – Nordic SaaS Market Size and Share]
3. Nordic concentration, 25% of fast-growing B2B software and services businesses: [AshGrove meta-analysis.]
Contact:
Nordics / UK
E: ashgrove@burwaygroup.com
T: +44 7951 060859