Only three companies from Lolland-Falster and South Zealand are among Denmark’s 1,000 largest by revenue.
A large part of the explanation can probably be found in where the companies’ customers are located, according to Business Hub Zealand. Many of the region’s small and medium-sized companies primarily sell to local, regional or Danish markets, says CEO Line Fossing Riel.
- Denmark’s largest companies are typically large because they are also able to sell goods and services in international markets. And we know that we simply have fewer companies here that export.
The assessment comes after FemernBusiness reported on the region’s modest representation in Børsen’s Top 1000. In that article, Børsen business editor Morten Jasper pointed, among other things, to challenges involving labour, capital and specialised skills.
Line Fossing Riel also highlights the fact that companies have fewer potential employees to recruit from than businesses in the major urban areas. At the same time, parts of the investment market are further away.
- When it comes to capital, access to the investment market is more limited, again because that market is also concentrated around the cities and around sectors where we do not have as many companies, such as tech, life sciences and similar industries.
If more companies are to grow, they therefore need more customers, access to financing and the ability to fill new positions. In this respect, Line Fossing Riel sees the Fehmarn link in particular as an opportunity to get closer to customers in northern Germany and the rest of Europe.
Business Hub Zealand is already working with sister organisations in northern Germany to create contacts between companies across the border.
- That is why we are already very focused on how we can connect Zealand’s SMEs more closely with these new markets, so that the opportunities can be translated into concrete results for the companies.
