Banking and Finance
Our Banking and Finance team enables our clients to realise their business ambitions in leveraging a full spectrum of financial products across industries and jurisdictions.
Meet the teamWe advise on all aspects of commercial and private lending, with a particular focus on corporate lending in the technology, healthcare and hospitality sectors and on real estate development and acquisition financing. We act for all major banks in the Irish market as well as new generation lenders. In addition, we act for large number of borrower clients on a broad range of complex lending transactions. Our clients include domestic and foreign financial institutions, FinTech lenders, insurance companies, Credit Unions, government bodies, private individuals and corporate borrowers.
Our experience includes advising syndicated and bi-lateral lenders in relation to leveraged and investment grade facilities; equity and debt capital markets; leveraged buy-outs; development and investment real estate finance, borrower disputes with lenders; settlement arrangements and enforcement options. We also routinely advise a number of leading Irish businesses on significant corporate banking facilities.
Our team draws on the expert knowledge of colleagues in other divisions as the need arises and we offer advice across a wide spectrum of areas including the following:
- Acquisition financing including leveraged buy-outs
- Real Estate finance
- Development financing
- Invoice discounting and finance leases
- Guarantee and Letter of Credit facilities
- Commercial and retail banking documentation
- Customer-banker relationship
- Duties of the banker/financial institution
- General lender and creditor issues
- Insolvency law issues
- Issues relating to the National Asset Management Agency
- Realisation of security
- Regulatory rules and their application in lending arrangements
- Restructuring loans and ancillary documentation
- Secured and unsecured loans
- Complaints to the Financial Services Ombudsman
- Electronic banking
- Issues relating to anti-money laundering rules
Representative experience
- Advised Castlehaven Finance on the provision of facilities to the O’Brien & O’Flynn Group to enable the borrowers refinance liabilities to NAMA and exit both receivership and liquidation. Further advised on the ongoing provision of development financing facilities to the Borrower Group relating to the development of various residential sites and their forward sale to Approved Housing Bodies.
- Advised the Carbery Group on a syndicated facilities agreement and various bilateral facility arrangements totalling in excess of €200m and a €35m facility with the European Investment Bank relating to the expansion of the group’s manufacturing facilities.
- Advised on O’Callaghan Properties on its entry into development financing with AIB relating to development of two blocks of apartments at Lancaster Gate, Cork City, the first sizeable apartment development to commence in Cork City for over 10 years. Units were forward sold to Cluid as part of the first affordable rent scheme in Cork.
- Advised a pillar bank on the provision of acquisition financing to a large waste disposal business in excess of €20m. Also advised on provision of various overdraft, finance lease and guarantee facilities.
- Advised Beechbrook Capital, an established UK SME lender, on its establishment of an Irish SME lending fund and on the provision of acquisition financing, growth capital and MBO financing facilities to various borrowers. Each transaction was multi-jurisdictional and included undertaking lender due diligence into the borrower groups and co-ordinating local counsel.
- Advised iNua Hospitality group, owner and asset manager of seven hotels around Ireland, in relation to a €40m equity fundraising, significant debt financing and move to a single hotel group structure.
- Advised University College Cork on a €100 million facility agreement with the European Investment Bank for development of the campus at UCC, including construction of new teaching and research infrastructure, information and communications technology infrastructure, refurbishment of several existing university facilities and construction of new student accommodation.
- John Cleary Developments, a large-scale property developer, on its entry into a development financing facility arranged by Quadrant Real Estate Advisors LLC relating to the development of office complex at Penrose Dock, Cork. RDJ also advised on entry into development documents with PJ Hegarty’s and various consultants / sub-contractors and remediation of underlying title issues for the site.
- Acted in connection with the financing of a large scale private hospital development project with a consortium of bank lenders.
- Acted for the Special Liquidators of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (in Special Liquidation) in the sale of various loan portfolios, including, one portfolio with a value in excess of €458m.