Beyond the company: offsets, subsidies, acquisitions and a stake in your project
For most foreign groups, a Dutch company is the first step in the Netherlands. The larger sums tend to follow later, in defence contracts that require work to be placed with Dutch industry, in energy subsidies worth billions, in Dutch contractors that come up for sale, and in export credit backed by the Dutch state. We help clients secure each of these. Fees are agreed in advance and tied to the result, and on selected projects we join as co-founder with a stake of 5 to 10%.
Ask about your situationForeign suppliers that win a Dutch defence order worth more than about €5 million must place part of the work with Dutch companies, a requirement known as industrial participation. We find those companies and negotiate the contracts. Your Dutch company can also apply for Dutch subsidies, such as the €8 billion scheme for renewable energy and carbon reduction (SDE++) and the tax credit on research and development wages (WBSO). We prepare the applications, and our fee depends on the amount awarded.
Groups that want to grow faster can buy an established Dutch contractor or supplier, with references and certificates that would take years to build. We find the target, value it and structure the purchase. We also arrange export credit insurance from the Dutch state, provided by Atradius Dutch State Business, and project finance with the banks. On selected projects we join as co-founder and take a stake of 5 to 10% in the project company. Every fee is agreed before work begins, and the company, its address and its directors remain yours.
Tell us about the order, the project or the company you are considering and where your group is based, and our team will reply with the route and the fee model that suit your case.
Services and fees
| Service | Who it is for | What we do | How the fee works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial participation | A defence or security supplier with an order from the Dutch Ministry of Defence above about €5 million, who signs an agreement with the Commissariat for Military Production on work for Dutch industry | We map the obligation, find Dutch suppliers and partners in your field, negotiate and contract the work, and report it through your Dutch company | A fee on the volume placed, agreed with you first; you as the supplier pay the fee |
| Subsidies | A project company for energy, hydrogen, storage, water or innovation. SDE++ (€8 billion in 2026; only the intended producer, the company that will operate the installation, applies), WBSO (36% of the first €380,000 of research and development wages, 16% above, 50% for starters), the innovation box (9% on profit from own technology), Partners for Water (a Dutch establishment at the time of the decision) | We set up the applicant company with the Dutch business login (eHerkenning), prepare the file with your engineers, and submit in the right round | A fee that depends on the amount awarded, agreed first; a fixed part for the file |
| Acquisitions | A foreign group that wants a Dutch contractor, supplier or distributor with references, staff and certificates such as the Dutch safety certificate for contractors (VCA), the CO2 performance ladder for carbon reduction and a defence security authorisation | Target search, valuation, the acquisition company under your holding, a check of the books and contracts (due diligence) with Dutch accountants and lawyers, signing at the notary | A fee tied to the result, in steps per phase, agreed first |
| Financing and export credit | A Dutch company that needs project finance, a bank guarantee or state export credit cover; the insured exporter has its registered office in the Netherlands | We prepare the file, introduce the banks and Atradius Dutch State Business, and keep the administration bank-ready | An arrangement fee on the amount arranged, agreed first |
| A stake in your project company | A project with a real order book or a real asset, such as a plant, a fleet, a concession or a portfolio | We set up the project company, do the bookkeeping, the value added tax (VAT) returns and the payroll, introduce you to the people in our network and take a seat on the board as you decide | A stake of 5 to 10% as co-founder, as part of the fee; we share in the dividend and the exit, free of Dutch corporate tax under the participation exemption (the Dutch rule for shareholdings of 5% or more) |
You see every fee before you decide, and partners such as lawyers, accountants, valuation specialists and security consultants quote their own prices in advance.
Industrial participation after a Dutch defence order
When a foreign supplier wins a Dutch defence order worth more than about €5 million, the government asks it to place part of the work with Dutch companies. The supplier signs an agreement with the Commissariat for Military Production, the government office that oversees this work, and reports on what it has placed. With the defence budget at €28.9 billion in 2027 and the defence investment fund rising to €24.8 billion in 2031, the Ministry will ask suppliers for considerably more of this work in the coming years.
The work is best organised through your own Dutch company, which signs the contracts with Dutch suppliers, employs the engineers who follow production and holds the security authorisation for classified work. We find the suppliers, negotiate the packages and keep the reporting to the Commissariat in order. See Dutch defence contracts for foreign suppliers and the EU loan programme for joint arms purchases (SAFE) and the EU grant programme for defence production (EDIP).
Tell us about the order, the project or the company you are considering and where your group is based, and our team will reply with the route and the fee model that suit your case.
Subsidies for your Dutch company
The large Dutch schemes pay a Dutch applicant. The 2026 round of SDE++ is open from 27 October to 26 November 2026 with a budget of €8 billion, and only the intended producer, the company that commissions and operates the installation, may apply, with its permits in place when it files. WBSO refunds 36% of the first €380,000 of research and development wage costs in 2026, 16% of the costs beyond that and 50% for starters, and it gives access to the innovation box, which taxes profit from your own technology at 9%. Partners for Water, the Dutch subsidy for international water projects, requires the applicant to have an establishment in the Netherlands when the decision is made.
We set up the applicant company with the Dutch business login (eHerkenning) that these schemes require, build the file with your engineers and submit it in the right round. Because the fee depends on the amount awarded, our interest is the same as yours. See energy and industry subsidies and suppliers to the electricity grid operator TenneT, the gas grid operator Gasunie and the nuclear programme.
Buying a Dutch company for its references
Dutch public clients ask for references, certificates and a track record in the Netherlands, which a foreign group usually obtains faster by buying a Dutch company than by building one. The Turkish group Rönesans, for example, has owned the Dutch contractor Ballast Nedam since 2015.
We search for the target, value it, set up the acquisition company under your holding, check the books and contracts (due diligence) with Dutch accountants and lawyers and arrange the signing at the civil-law notary. A later sale of the shares by your holding is free of Dutch corporate tax under the participation exemption, the Dutch rule that applies from a shareholding of 5%. See buying a company in the Netherlands and business valuation methods.
Financing and export credit
The Dutch state insures export credit through the insurer Atradius Dutch State Business, for exporters and contractors whose registered office is in the Netherlands. Banks provide project finance and guarantees to a Dutch project company when its books are clean and its file is clear, so we prepare that file, introduce the banks and the insurer and keep the bookkeeping ready for their review. See partner of the Dutch water sector.
A stake in your project company
On a project with a real order book or a real asset, such as a plant, a fleet or a concession, we can join the Dutch project company as co-founder. We set it up, keep the books, file the VAT returns, handle the payroll, introduce our network and take a seat on the board if you want one. In return we take a stake of 5 to 10% as part of the fee, which gives us a share of the dividend and of the proceeds of a sale, while your group keeps control of the company, the address and the directors. These projects are chosen with care, and we say early when a project is better served by a fee alone.
Work we leave to licensed parties
Some of this work requires a licence or a strict separation between the parties, and we leave it to others. You provide the registered address yourself, because a firm that offers an address together with administration for the same client needs a licence from the Dutch central bank (De Nederlandsche Bank). Placing shares or loans with investors requires a licence from the Dutch financial markets regulator, the Authority for the Financial Markets, so when your project needs outside capital we work with a licensed party. Our fees are agreed with you as the supplier, and the public buyer stays outside every fee agreement.
Who does what
- You own the order, the project or the target. You decide the country, the partners and the price. You see every fee first.
- We set up your Dutch company and arrange its VAT, payroll and bookkeeping, arrange the industrial participation, prepare and file the subsidy application, search and structure the acquisition, prepare the financing file, and take a stake where a project deserves it.
- Partners such as lawyers, accountants, valuation specialists, security consultants, banks and the insurer do the licensed and specialist work. You see their price first.
Sources
- Government of the Netherlands, industrial participation for defence materiel (updated 17 August 2026), on orders above about €5 million.
- Ministry of Finance, defence budget 2027 and Defence Materiel Fund 2027 (September 2026).
- Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), SDE++ 2026: applying (October 2026): €8 billion, 27 October to 26 November 2026, only the intended producer.
- Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), WBSO manual 2026 (November 2025): 36%, 16%, 50% for starters, €380,000.
- Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), conditions of Partners for Water (2025), an establishment in the Netherlands at the time of the decision.
- Dutch Tax Administration, innovation box and participation exemption (2026).
- Business.gov.nl, export credit insurance (2026), registered office in the Netherlands; Atradius Dutch State Business on behalf of the state.
- Council of the EU, SAFE (reviewed 15 June 2026), at most 35% of component cost from outside the EU, the European Economic Area and Ukraine.
- De Nederlandsche Bank, licence requirement for combined address and administration services (2026).
- Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, licences (2026), placing financial instruments with investors needs a licence.
Common questions
Want our team to have a look at your project?
Tell us about the order, the project or the company you are considering, where your group is based and what you want to achieve in the Netherlands, and our team will reply with the route and the fee model that suit your case.
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