Franchising in Finland: new franchisees and business succession options

October’s news from Finland’s franchising community highlights several routes into business ownership. Two new franchisees have already started operating with Laatutakuu, Helsinki pizzeria Faselli has attracted franchising enquiries, and a nationwide business succession project is presenting franchising alongside other ways of taking a business forward. These stories reflect distinct stages: businesses already launched, early consideration of expansion, and efforts to raise awareness of the options available.

Laatutakuu welcomes franchisees in Espoo and Hämeenlinna

Cleaning franchise Laatutakuu has welcomed Renis Piti and Marika Kauppila. Franchise News reported their arrival on 15 October 2026. Piti has started operating in Espoo and Kauppila in Hämeenlinna. These are two separate businesses with broadly similar services but different stated customer groups.

Piti’s business, RARE CLEANING, provides cleaning services for businesses and their premises in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Its services include routine commercial cleaning, deep cleaning and window cleaning, as well as the care and protection of floors and other surfaces. It also offers domestic cleaning, so its services are not limited to business customers.

Kauppila’s business, Siivousote, operates in Hämeenlinna, providing cleaning services for businesses and their premises. Its range also includes routine cleaning, deep cleaning, window cleaning, and the care and protection of floors and other surfaces. The introduction to the Hämeenlinna franchisee therefore focuses on commercial cleaning.

The key point in Laatutakuu’s announcement is that these franchisees are already operating and providing local services. From a customer’s perspective, the practical differences lie in their service areas and whether they serve households as well as businesses. RARE CLEANING serves both groups in the Helsinki metropolitan area, while Siivousote’s advertised offering is aimed at business customers in Hämeenlinna.

Faselli attracts interest but is in no rush to become a chain

Faselli, a pizzeria that opened in Helsinki’s Kallio district in 2021, has a new owner, Mario Tosun. Helsingin Uutiset reported the change of ownership on 15 October. Faselli already has some local recognition: the newspaper’s readers ranked it Helsinki’s 12th-best pizzeria in 2023.

According to Tosun, Faselli’s concept has attracted interest elsewhere in Finland. The business has received a few franchising enquiries, some of which are still under consideration. Those enquiries do not, however, amount to a decision to open new restaurants. Tosun stresses that there is no desire to rush ahead.

The first priority is to strengthen Faselli’s Helsinki restaurant. Tosun says any subsequent expansion would depend on the concept working well at the existing restaurant and on being able to maintain the same quality standards. He also says there is no intention of changing everything at once following the takeover.

For the franchising community, Faselli’s position illustrates the distinction between interest and implementation. The existing restaurant, its new owner and the enquiries received are established facts. Operations elsewhere in Finland remain a possible future step. Faselli should therefore not yet be described as a new franchise chain expanding nationwide.

Business succession project highlights several options

On 15 October, Suomen Uusyrityskeskukset, Finland’s network of enterprise agencies, reported that around 40,000 Finnish businesses are looking for someone to take them over. The same announcement introduced the OVV project, whose Finnish title translates as ‘The broader landscape of ownership transfers – alternative models for business continuity in rural areas’. It explores and explains different ways of keeping businesses running.

Franchising is one of the models highlighted by the project. Others include shared ownership, phased ownership transfers, entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA), and co-operative and employee-led solutions. Franchising is therefore being considered as one option among several, rather than a universal solution for businesses seeking a successor.

The project is run by Suomen Yrittäjät, the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, and Suomen Uusyrityskeskukset. Its partners include Suomen Yrityskaupat, law firms Fennolaw and Juutilainen & co, Narvi Payments Oy, the Finnish association of business brokers and ownership transfer specialists, and Omistajanvaihdosfoorumi, Finland’s business ownership transfer forum.

This is a nationwide communications and information-sharing project with a particular focus on rural and predominantly rural areas. It is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and runs from 1 August 2026 to 31 March 2028. Updates are available through the channels of Omistajanvaihdosfoorumi, Suomen Yrittäjät and Suomen Uusyrityskeskukset.

The figure of around 40,000 businesses seeking a successor reflects Finland’s need for business succession. It is not an estimate of the size of the franchising community or the number of businesses likely to convert to franchising. The project’s main significance for franchising is that it brings the model into the wider discussion about business continuity.

Prospective business owners should distinguish between stages

October’s stories share a theme of opportunities for business ownership, but they do not support the same conclusions about what is currently available. Laatutakuu’s franchisees have already started trading. Faselli is assessing interest while focusing on its existing restaurant. The OVV project, meanwhile, provides information about alternative succession models; it is not an announcement of a launch by an individual franchise chain.

For anyone considering business ownership, a useful first question is therefore: what stage does the story describe? Is it about an established local operation, expansion still under consideration, or a project presenting different options? Making that distinction helps direct follow-up questions to the right issues and avoids assuming that an expression of interest means a franchise opportunity has already been agreed.

Practical tip: Before making contact, clarify whether you want information about becoming a franchisee, taking over an existing business, or a concept that is still being developed. Then check directly with the organisation concerned which opportunities are actually available now.