The purpose of this paper is to examine how different host-economic attributes are associated with the location patterns of new foreign establishments in the tertiary sector. It investigates Greenfield investments made in Sweden between 2001 and 2007 and how these are related to different host-economic attributes. The aim is to analyze how regional characteristics are associated to differences in how regions succeed to attract foreign investors. Three groups of factors, i.e. agglomeration economies, market potentials and factor endowment are tested empirically in a negative binomial regression model. The principal contributions are insights in the application of regional determinants on foreign start-ups in tertiary industries and how different professionals play a role in firms´ location decisions. The results indicate that non-price benefits from urban economies, accessibility to specialized professionals and local market size play an important role in firms´ location decision. Professionals with technical knowledge are the most required type of personnel. The relevance of the applied model varies between different industries within the tertiary sector. It seems to be most relevant for market knowledge intensive services and least relevant for firms in energy.