Funds Finance

Ireland is the domicile of choice for many investment funds. Over 1,000 fund promoters have funds which are domiciled and/or serviced in Ireland. Many investment funds elect to borrow third party debt in order to provide increased flexibility and liquidity. The funds finance market has experienced significant growth over the past decade and continues to evolve. Our funds finance team regularly advise fund sponsors, investment funds and lender clients on all Irish aspects of funds finance transactions.

We advise our clients on a variety of funds finance products (upstream and downstream) including subscription or capital call facilities, Net Asset Value (“NAV”) facilities, hybrid facilities and real estate funds financings. This involves various different fund structures, including:

• ICAVs
• unit trusts
• investment companies
• limited partnerships (unregulated)
• investment limited partnerships (regulated) - which were recently overhauled by the enactment of the Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Act 2020.

Legal due diligence in funds finance transactions is critical for both investment funds and lender clients. We work closely with our asset management and investment funds colleagues, as well as our property, tax and regulatory colleagues to bring a blend of industry knowledge, legal expertise and commercial pragmatism to our funds finance transactions. We have extensive experience of the regulatory framework applicable to Irish domiciled funds (including feeder funds) and the impact of such frameworks on credit arrangements, security (including cascading security) and guarantees.