Spotlight on Ireland

Read our individual insights which focus on Ireland including all of the recent legal developments in Ireland that are on our clients minds:

• Fast-Track Process for SFDR Updates
• Thematic inspection on best execution
• Dear CEO Letter: Fitness and Probity
• AMLD5/virtual assets
• AIFMD review

Simmons & Simmons established its Dublin office to support our clients in the areas of Asset Management, Banking, Corporate, Financial Services Regulatory and Real Estate.

We have a highly specialised Financial Markets team that covers, among other things, banking, capital markets, asset finance, asset management, real estate and investment funds. We advise on the full range of legal and regulatory issues for institutional and alternative financial institutions and asset management firms internationally and are recognised by the legal directories and the industry as being one of the leading firms in the sector.

Our lawyers in Ireland work closely with the firm's international network, particularly with our offices based in, amongst other locations, London, Bristol, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore.

We focus on the key areas set out below.

Investment Funds

Our Investment Funds team advises asset managers on the establishment of all types of Irish domiciled funds as UCITS and AIFs, such as hedge funds, ETFs, master/feeder structures and property and infrastructure funds.

We work closely with our other colleagues in Dublin and across our network of offices to provide full legal and regulatory cross-jurisdictional support to our clients. We also advise on the establishment of Irish UCITS management companies and AIFMs as well as institutional investors on their investment in Irish funds. Contact: Fionán Breathnach

Financial Services Regulatory

Our Financial Services Regulatory team acts for a wide variety of sell-side investment banks, buy-side asset managers and FinTechs, advising on domestic and cross-border financial regulatory issues, including AIFMD, EMIR and MiFID. As well as covering all aspects of regulatory compliance, we advise at the highest levels on strategic regulatory issues relating to, for example, outsourcing, ESG and the senior manager regime. Given the nature of our client base our advice is often multi-jurisdictional. Contact: Derek Lawlor

Banking

We act for international banks, corporates, real estate owners, investors and developers, funds, mezzanine and alternative lenders, insurance lenders, issuers and arrangers. We have a proven track record of executing complex, high profile and innovative cross-border financing transactions across all sectors including corporate, real estate and funds. The offer in Ireland is focused on a premium service in fund finance, real estate finance, secured and unsecured lending transactions, senior and mezzanine debt structures, leveraged acquisition finance, syndicated loans, loan sale transactions and debt restructuring. Contact: Rachel Stanton

Corporate

Our corporate and M&A team advise Irish and international clients on M&A, private equity transactions, venture capital investments, joint ventures, corporate restructurings and corporate governance matters across the firms key sectors with a particular focus on financial services, healthcare & life sciences, infrastructure and TMT. Working closely with our network offices, our Irish corporate team provides partner-led and commercially focused advice to some of the largest businesses and institutional investors active in Ireland. Contact: David Brangam

Real Estate

Our Real Estate team have extensive experience in acting for some of the world’s leading property organisations on complex, multi-disciplinary transactions both in Ireland and across borders. The Real Estate team in Ireland advises lenders, substantial investors, pension funds, property funds, borrowers, developers, landlords and occupiers on a comprehensive range of legal services across all real estate sectors and asset classes, such as hotels, offices, data centres, student accommodation, nursing homes and retail. Working closely with our international teams we are uniquely positioned to serve clients across the global real estate industry. Contact: Peter McKeever