2024 Hickey’s Incentive Friendliness Ranking: Your Gateway to Informed Investment Decisions

When it comes to expanding your business into a new market, you're faced with a multitude of decisions. Site selection, understanding the local business culture, and navigating complex incentive programs can be a daunting task. To make this journey smoother, we are thrilled to introduce our brand-new feature: the 2024 EU Incentive Friendliness Ranking.

For nearly 40 years, Hickey has been at the forefront of serving global clients with strategic site selection services. We understand that site selection can often feel like a perplexing puzzle, especially in the ever-evolving landscape of incentives and regulations that differ from country to country. This is where our expertise comes into play, and we're excited to offer you a groundbreaking tool that offers an overview of incentive opportunities in 18 EU countries. For 2024 we are preparing for you ranking of other locations.

What To Consider When Assessing Incentive Opportunities?

Where should you focus your attention when deciding on you next investment destination? In the whirlwind of legislation and changing state aid regulations, Hickey is here to help! Hickey’s Incentive Friendliness Ranking is a meticulously crafted tool that aims to empower you in making informed decisions about where to expand your business. This ranking is the result of a careful analysis of a range of criteria. In this year’s edition 17 countries were analysed in four categories, which were divided into twelve sub-categories. They are data-driven, as we analysed relevant regulations and instruments offered in each country, but at the same time we are not afraid to add our insight to this mix. Based on our experience of working on different site selection projects, we negotiate and secure incentives for our clients and can assess the opportunities given by the governments. This created a balanced blend of objective and subjective assessment criteria.  Let's delve into the key parameters that were considered:

Aid Intensity: As a bulk of available incentives are so-called regional state aid, the amount of support from the government depends heavily on the location. The intensity can vary even between specific regions of one country – certain locations may be excluded from receiving support, whereas other are considered a priority location, where receiving support is easier. It is important to consider the intensity of aid offered, examining regional aid maps, the availability of aid in the capital, and whether the area is covered under the Just Transition Fund, among other factors.

Business-Oriented Authorities: We assess the availability of information on incentives, the user-friendliness of application forms, minimum thresholds for eligibility, complexity of programmes. We know that time is money, so we also consider as an important factor the time it takes to receive incentives and government decisions.

Cash vs. Tax: The incentives come in various shapes and sizes, but we know what is best for your business! Under this category we explore the balance between cash and tax incentives and whether governments offer support for different sectors, ranging from R&D projects to manufacturing and services.

Flexibility: At Hickey we believe negotiation is key! Our ranking evaluates whether there is room for discussion with the government to introduce tailor-made measures. It is also important to appreciate if the governments have swiftly responded to changing economic needs, for example under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF).

Ranking is Just the Beginning

Our Hickey Team is your strategic partner in site selection and investment incentives. We believe in providing data-driven advice backed by on-the-ground experience to give you a competitive edge.

We understand that every entrepreneur has unique needs, and each investment project is distinct. We're here to help you navigate the complexities of site selection and investment incentives. Your success is our success, and we look forward to being your guide in this exciting journey. Don't miss out on the potential that awaits you!