‘Many investors now see uncertainty as the norm’
JONATHAN SHEEHAN
ACTIVITY Trading has been very positive over the past year and we’ve seen strong demand across our practice groups and client base. Our ability to provide a range of Irish legal, tax advisory, listing and professional services solutions across multiple jurisdictions is a differentiator in the market, and we work hard as a global business to collaborate and provide jurisdiction-relevant solutions for our clients.
Three practice areas where we’ve seen a particular increase in demand are Asset Finance, as the aviation sector continues to bounce back; Asset Management & Investment Funds, particularly in relation to ESG and private funds; and Finance and Capital Markets, particularly CLOs, fund finance and private credit. These are all areas where we will continue to invest in as we experience increasing client demand.
The past year has seen us work on a very broad range of deals across different sectors in all our key jurisdictions. One that comes to mind is Air India’s landmark finance lease transaction using GIFT City in Gujarat, India, which both our Irish legal and professional services teams advised on. This deal involved the delivery and financing of Airbus A350-900 aircraft, and heralded a number of firsts in aviation financing.
This deal was named Deal of the Year and Asia-Pacific Deal of the Year at the Aviation 100 Awards.
OPERATIONS In a growing business with over 1,300 people working across 10 jurisdictions, operational challenges are inevitable as we strive to ensure that we maintain the high-achieving, inclusive and supportive culture that defines us as a firm. It is a challenge we are embracing, and with agile working and the acceleration of digital transformation and legal tech, we continually evolve how we operate.
OUTLOOK I’m a natural optimist, so I always tend to look on the bright side. I would describe myself as positive but realistic. While the political and economic news globally may be somewhat gloomy, we are seeing a mismatch between the headlines and what we hear from clients and contacts.
Many businesses and investors now see uncertainty as the norm, and we continue to see strong appetite and demand across our client base to do deals, invest capital, raise funds and structure deals and transactions in and through Ireland across a wide range of asset classes and sectors. Private equity and alternative lenders continue to bridge the funding gaps and areas such as fund finance, ESG and private credit continue to grow and create opportunities.