{"id":47218,"date":"2025-02-10T12:22:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T12:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/?post_type=press_releases&#038;p=47218"},"modified":"2025-02-10T12:22:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T12:22:15","slug":"maples-group-expands-global-asset-finance-practice-with-strategic-aviation-hire-in-ireland","status":"publish","type":"press_releases","link":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/press-releases\/maples-group-expands-global-asset-finance-practice-with-strategic-aviation-hire-in-ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"Maples Group Expands Global Asset Finance Practice with Strategic Aviation Hire in Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"auto\"><strong>Maples and Calder (Ireland) LLP, the Maples Group\u2019s law firm, is pleased to announce the addition of Stephen Gardiner who joins the firm as a Partner in its Irish Asset Finance practice.<\/strong> <!--more-->With 15 years\u2019 experience, Stephen is a highly regarded advisor in the aviation leasing and finance sector in Ireland.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Stephen\u2019s practice spans corporate structuring and the establishment of aviation-related corporate platforms in Ireland, to advising on aircraft financing, trading, and leasing transactions and on aviation regulatory matters in Ireland. His experience extends to providing Irish legal advice to airlines, lessors, aircraft financiers, owner trustees and corporate service providers located worldwide on transactions involving Ireland.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">A licenced private pilot with a hugely technical knowledge of aircraft, Stephen will work closely with the Dublin Finance practice led by Stephen McLoughlin and in conjunction with Mary O\u2019Neill to further develop the firm\u2019s Irish Asset Finance practice<a rel=\"noreferrer\">\u00a0as well as the Group&#8217;s wider global Asset Finance team. He will also collaborate with the firm\u2019s other core practice groups which include Funds &amp; Investment Management; Data, Commercial &amp; Technology; Corporate, Dispute Resolution &amp; Insolvency; Tax, Property; Employment; Global Registration Services and Financial Services Regulatory<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Over the past year, the Group&#8217;s Irish and global Asset Finance practice has advised on several noteworthy and award-winning deals, including:<\/p>\n<ul dir=\"auto\">\n<li><b>SKY Leasing\u2019s\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/maples.com\/news\/maples-group-assists-sky-leasing-on-aircraft-abs-transaction\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><b>US$1.2 billion Fund VI Warehouse financing<\/b><\/a><b>\u00a0deal.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Griffin Global Asset Management\u2019s\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/maples.com\/news\/maples-group-advises-on-griffin-us1-billion-senior-unsecured-notes-offering\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><b>US$1 billion bond issuance<\/b><\/a><b>.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/maples.com\/news\/maples-group-advises-windward-air-capital-on-new-direct-aviation-lending-platform\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><b>Two new financing facilities<\/b><\/a><b>\u00a0for Windward Air Capital and its JV partner Bain Capital.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>BBAM\u2019s Horizon 2024-1\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/maples.com\/news\/maples-group-advises-bbam-on-successful-horizon-aircraft-securitisation\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><b>aircraft securitisation transaction<\/b><\/a><b>.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>volofin Capital Management\u2019s Inaugural US$538 million Aviation Loan ABS<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/legal500.zendesk.com\/agent\/#x__ftn1\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[1]<\/a><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Avolon\u2019s acquisition of Castlelake Aviation<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/legal500.zendesk.com\/agent\/#x__ftn2\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[2]<\/a><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>SKY Leasing\u2019s US$569.540 million secured notes offering<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/legal500.zendesk.com\/agent\/#x__ftn3\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[3]<\/a><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"auto\">The Group&#8217;s global Asset Finance team which comprises lawyers and industry professionals strategically based in key jurisdictions and locations including Dublin, London, Singapore, Luxembourg, Dubai, Hong Kong, Delaware, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\"><b>Peter Stapleton, Ireland Managing Partner<\/b>, said, &#8220;Stephen\u2019s aviation expertise is well-recognised in the sector both in Ireland and internationally and we are delighted to welcome him to our Finance practice in Ireland. He joins our Asset Finance Team at a time of growth including recent internal promotions, recognition and accolades for our team members and awards for client deals.&#8221; He added, \u201cThe Maples Group is unique compared to domestic law firms by combining the services offered by a leading international law firm with a full-scale financial services business. This integrated service model offers our clients a wider range of expertise and with additional resources and our latest innovations in technology, we expect to advise on an even greater number of significant deals in the aviation sector in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\"><b>Tina Meigh, Global Head of Finance,\u00a0<\/b>stated, &#8220;To meet growing client demand for asset finance, banking and structured finance advice, we continue to expand our European Finance practice with key hires in the region. In addition to Stephen\u2019s arrival, we recently welcomed\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/maples.com\/news\/maples-group-hires-yann-hilpert-growing-its-luxembourg-asset-finance-fund-finance-securitisation-and-capital-markets-capabilities\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Yann Hilpert to our Luxembourg Finance practice<\/a>. We are confident that Stephen\u2019s considerable experience will complement our Irish and global finance team in meeting client needs.\u201d<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\"><b>Stephen Gardiner<\/b>\u00a0added, &#8220;Joining an international firm with a presence and on-the-ground experience in multiple jurisdictions made the Maples Group very attractive to me. The Group\u2019s extensive international offering and reputation for excellence were key factors in my decision to join. I am excited to collaborate with my colleagues in Ireland and across our global network to deliver exceptional service to our clients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Over the last 12 months, the Dublin firm has appointed a number of senior lawyers at Partner, Of Counsel and Associate level, including to its growing Finance team. These appointments follow a period of exceptional growth at the firm and are in direct response to increasing demands for Irish legal services from new and existing international clients.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">In January, the Maples Group announced a pioneering technology partnership with leading software platform Aerlytix, which will transform aviation ABS management. Harnessing technology, data and advanced modelling, this aviation ABS platform will drive enhanced transparency, efficiency, and tighter controls for clients.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">From its offices in Dublin, the Maples Group provides a complete, end-to-end suite of fiduciary, legal, management and entity services to the aviation finance industry, as well as tax advisory, regulatory and compliance services. With over 500 colleagues in Dublin, the Maples Group is a leading legal and corporate services provider in Ireland, working with eight of the top ten global aircraft lessors.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-47220\" src=\"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/02\/Maples-Group-Hire-Stephen-Gardiner-as-Finance-Partner-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/02\/Maples-Group-Hire-Stephen-Gardiner-as-Finance-Partner-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/02\/Maples-Group-Hire-Stephen-Gardiner-as-Finance-Partner-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/02\/Maples-Group-Hire-Stephen-Gardiner-as-Finance-Partner-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/02\/Maples-Group-Hire-Stephen-Gardiner-as-Finance-Partner-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/02\/Maples-Group-Hire-Stephen-Gardiner-as-Finance-Partner-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/02\/Maples-Group-Hire-Stephen-Gardiner-as-Finance-Partner-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Footnotes<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\" align=\"justify\">[1]\u00a0Aviator.aero:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.aviator.aero\/volofin-capital-management-ltd-closes-inaugural-538mm-aviation-loan-abs\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">volofin Capital Management Closes Inaugural $538MM Aviation Loan ABS<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 12 December 2024<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\" align=\"justify\">2\u00a0AviTrader.com:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/avitrader.com\/2025\/01\/17\/avolon-completes-acquisition-of-castlelake-aviation\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Avolon completes acquisition of Castlelake Aviation<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 17 January 2025<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">3\u00a0Airline Economics:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/aviationnews-online.com\/public\/article\/sky-leasing-closes-of-569-5-million-secured-notes-offering\" rel=\"noreferrer\">SKY Leasing closes of $569.5 million secured notes offering<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 30 September 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-47218","press_releases","type-press_releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/47218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press_releases"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}