William Fry LLP > LONDON, England > Firm Profile
William Fry LLP Offices
SECOND FLOOR
55 BARTHOLOMEW CLOSE
EC1A 7ES
England
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William Fry LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings
Offshore firms in London > Irish firms in London Tier 1
Singled out by one client as a ‘dynamic firm with top class talent across a broad range of functions’,William Fry LLP‘s London team is headed up by senior partner Ivor Banim, who leverages over 20 years experience in Irish and international M&A and private equity transactions. Paul White and Brian Butterwick, the latter of whom also specialises in IPOs and other capital markets transactions, are the other corporate partners to note. Lorena Dunne oversees the asset management and investment funds group, while senior associate Aisling O’Gorman takes on real estate instructions, particularly those involving renewable energy projects. Matthew Cahill left for Dentons in December 2022.Practice head(s):
Ivor Banim
Other key lawyers:
Paul White; Brian Butterwick; Lorena Dunne; Aisling O’Gorman
Testimonials
‘Really dynamic firm with top class talent across a broad range of functions. Able to pull experts in keys areas of law across any range of issues required.’
‘The team I work with always have their client’s back. This should not be unique in professional services but it is. We feel very lucky to have a team who support the senior executives in the manner in which they do with deep understanding of our business and industry which allows them to provide timely and accurate advice in a practical way.’
‘Deeply knowledgeable and give excellent and balanced advice. Always available.’
‘The William Fry team are available, dependable, practical and relatable. Working with this firm is a pleasure, and, as a client, you feel in good hands.’
‘Brian Butterwick is a talented, calm and incredibly pragmatic lawyer.’
‘Seamless across departments and time zones.’
‘The efficiency of the entire team I have worked with is off the charts, they operate in such a professional manner.’
Key clients
Smurfit Kappa
AIB
Tesco
DCC plc
Edwards Lifesciences plc
Glanbia
York Capital Management
Lazard Asset Management
Mayfair Equity Partners
Value Retail
Phoenix Group
Barclays Bank plc
Uniphar plc
U and I Group PLC (formerly Development Securities plc)
Sands Capital
Davy Group
Goodbody
RBC Capital Markets
Yew Grove REIT
Pollen Street Capital
Towerbrook Capital
August Equity Partners
Gresham House Asset Management
Medivet Group
Clayton Dubilier & Rice
New Mountain Capital
Aceto Group
Wealth at Work Group
Kyndryl Group
Nordic Aviation
Mercer
Amarenco Solar
Amgen Inc
Pomo Search (Pointy)
OCP (Orange Capital Partners)
Qorvo US, Inc
Qual Real
Tines Security Services Limited (Tines.io)
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Work highlights
- Advised Partners Group Holding on the acquisition of Version 1 Holdings/Version 1 Group for €800m.
- Advised IBM on the Irish aspects of the sale of the IBM Watson Health business to Francisco Partners Management, a US-based private equity firm.
- Advised Davy, RBC and BNP, as joint bookrunners, and Davy and RBC, as global co-ordinators, on the €281.5m oversubscribed equity placing by Greencoat Renewables under its €400m share issuance programme.
Ireland > Banking and finance
William Fry LLP's practice has deep expertise in leveraged and acquisition finance, real estate finance, corporate lending and receivables finance, and has experienced growth in high-profile cross-border acquisition financings, alongside sustainability-linked financings and loan-on-loan deals. The department has established strength in handling real estate, technology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, infrastructure and utilities, and insurance sector matters. Jason Hollis is highly regarded for handling financings in the technology sector, and Padraic Kinsella has established strength in assisting with corporate lending, real estate finance, acquisition finance and receivables finance. Cork-based partner Laura Houlihan, Ciarán Herlihy and David O’Shea are key practitioners. Lyn Brennan is now head of the firm’s New York office.Practice head(s):
Jason Hollis; David Maughan
Other key lawyers:
Padraic Kinsella; Laura Houlihan; David O’Shea; Ciaran Herlihy
Testimonials
‘Over the years I have worked with a number of partners in the William Fry Dublin office. Their Banking & Finance team has an extremely impressive practice and I wouldn’t hesitate to to recommend their expertise in the banking and finance arena. Their work product is unmatched in Dublin.’
‘I have worked with Ciaran Herlihy’s team and Jason Hollis. Both exceptional practitioners and have their fingers on the pulse of the debt markets in Dublin. Both are extremely well connected and highly skilled negotiators. Both of these attributes help them to get the best outcomes for their clients.’
‘The advice is second to none. The team is commercial, technically excellent and responsive. The team is professional, has market knowledge and demonstrates pragmatism in the context of commercial considerations. The firm is knowledgeable and works well with our other advisors to provide seamless service. William Fry advises on a wide range of transactions and shows consistent high standards for all of them. They have the ability to articulate complex legal points in a way non-legal people can understand.’
‘Laura Houlihan has a great work ethic and is a tough negotiator. She never misses deadlines and can adapt to any timeline.’
‘Strong team, very professional, very thorough in their research and dealings. Extremely proactive and accessible.’
Key clients
Ardagh Packaging Group
Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c.
Apollo Global Management
ARES Management Limited
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group
Bank of America Europe
Bank of Ireland
Barings Bank
BentallGreenOak
Blackrock
Bibby Financial Services
Clayton, Dubliner & Rice
Colony Capital
Cooperative Rabobank
Credit Suisse
Davy
DBS Bank
Deutsche Bank
Diageo
Dutch Infrastructure Fund
Echelon
Eiffel Investments
Eirgrid
EQT
European Investment Bank
Goldman Sachs
Hines
Home for Life
ING Bank
Investec
JP Morgan Chase
Kennedy Wilson
Lazard
Lloyds Banking Group
Lynk
M&G
MML Capital
MUFG
Munich Re
Natixis
Nuveen
OakNorth
Orange Capital Partners
OTP Bank
Oxford Finance
Partners For Growth
PIMCO
PNC
Porsche International Financing
Raiffeisenbank CZ
Real I.S.
RGA Reinsurance
Santander
Silicon Valley Bank/HSBC Innovation Bank
SIRO
Skillsoft
Smurfit Kappa
Société Générale
State Street
Uniphar
Westridge
Work highlights
- Acted as co-counsel to Amgen on a €28.5bn committed bridge and term acquisition facility in connection with a potential takeover of Horizon Therapeutics.
- Advised EirGrid on its €800m Celtic Interconnector Project.
- Advised Uniphar on its corporate refinancing.
William Fry LLP > Firm Profile
As one of Ireland’s largest law firms, William Fry offers unrivaled legal and tax expertise across the full breadth of the business sector.
The firm: William Fry advises leading Irish and international companies, covering both the public and private sector. It operates a large international practice and regularly acts in cases involving other jurisdictions, including the UK, the US, Asia, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland and Eastern Europe.
Strong client relationships and high-quality advice are the hallmark of the business. William Fry is acknowledged by clients and market commentators alike as being a leader in its main areas of work: corporate / M&A, banking and finance, litigation and dispute resolution, asset management and investment funds, real estate, corporate tax, technology, insurance, employment and benefits, EU and competition and projects and construction.
Types of work undertaken
Asset management and investment funds: William Fry continues to be the firm of choice for significant and complex funds work in Ireland, consolidating its work with large global players and increasing the number of large asset manager clients, and having been ranked as the most innovative Irish law firm in the legal expertise category by the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Report 2019.
Banking and finance: the department is acknowledged as a leader in the Irish market and provides legal and regulatory advice to domestic and international financial institutions, NAMA, corporates, issuers, treasury vehicles, arrangers, dealers, monolines, rating agencies and governmental bodies.
Capital markets: the department is consistently regarded as a market leader and advises on the full range of public and private debt and equity issuances in Ireland and internationally, advising Irish and international issuers, financial institutions, dealers, arrangers and rating agencies.
Commercial contracts: William Fry helps with strategic and commercial decisions with a variety of clients and commercial contracts, from domestic and international corporations to entrepreneurs and family businesses.
Competition and regulation: the competition department consistently advised on the most complex EU and Irish competition and merger control law issues arising in Ireland each year.
Corporate/M&A: this has always been the bedrock of the practice at William Fry. The firm consistently has a central role in the most sophisticated and complex corporate transactions and advisory work in Ireland, as well as in large cross-border deals with an Irish aspect.
Corporate restructuring and insolvency: the specialist team advises leading Irish and International Insolvency practitioners (liquidators, receivers, examiners, administrators and trustees) financial institutions, investors and shareholders in restructuring or business termination events.
Employment and benefits: the firm’s lawyers advise on employment law and on the specialist areas of whistleblowing, health and safety, pensions and employee incentives.
Environment and planning: the group excels in applying technical and commercial thinking to this extensive, complex and increasingly regulated area.
Financial regulation: our financial regulation unit brings together lawyers specialising in different areas of the financial services sector to provide practical and clear advice on all aspects of regulation and compliance to leading banks, investment firms and intermediaries, (re)insurance undertakings, collective investment schemes, fund service providers, regulatory authorities and investors in financial institutions.
Intellectual property: William Fry’s dedicated intellectual property lawyers deal with contentious and non-contentious cases for clients on a full-time basis.
Litigation and dispute resolution: the firm has a reputation as a market leader focused on delivering results for clients, representing them at all levels of the courts and dispute resolution whether by way of conciliation, mediation or arbitration.
Private client: the firm provides specialist legal and taxation advice to private, institutional and commercial clients, focusing on the creation and implementation of innovative and efficient arrangements for the preservation, management and transfer of wealth.
Private equity: the firm has a proven track record as a market leader advising on private equity and venture capital transactions in Ireland.
Real estate: the department is recognised as outstanding in Ireland and is consistently rated as a first tier practice. Clients include large institutional investors, international private equity funds, receivers, developers and major Irish, UK and US retailers.
Tax: William Fry is exclusively Taxand Ireland. With more than 400 tax partners and over 2,000 advisors in over 40 countries, Taxand is one of the largest organisations of tax advisers to multinational businesses.
Other offices: Dublin, Cork, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley
Main Contacts
Department | Name | Telephone | |
---|---|---|---|
Managing Partner | Owen O'Sullivan | ||
Chairperson | Liam McCabe | ||
Head of London Office | Ivor Bamin | ||
Corporate and M&A | Stephen Keogh | ||
Insurance & Reinsurance | Eoin Caulfield | ||
Asset Management & Investment Funds | Vincent Coyne | ||
Asset Management & Investment Funds | James Phelan | ||
Competition and regulation | Cormac Little | ||
Corporate restructuring and insolvency | Fergus Doorly | ||
Employment and benefits | Catherine O'Flynn | ||
Environment and planning | Conor Linehan | ||
Intellectual property | Laura Scott | ||
Intellectual property | Leo Moore | ||
Dispute Resolution | Garrett Breen | ||
Real estate | Edward Spain | ||
Tax | Sonya Manzor | ||
Projects & Construction | Liam McCabe | ||
Financial Regulation | Shane Kelleher | ||
Banking & Finance | David Maughan | ||
Banking & Finance | Jason Hollis | ||
Technology | Leo Moore | ||
Energy & Natural Resources | Fergus Devine | ||
Healthcare & Life Sciences | Laura Scott | ||
Equity Capital Markets | Mark Talbot |
Lawyer Profiles
Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
---|---|---|---|
Mr Ivor Banim | Head of London Office, Corporate PartnerIvor is a Partner in the Corporate… | View Profile | |
Mr Brian Butterwick | Brian is a Partner in our Corporate / M&A Department, advising on… | View Profile | |
Ms Aisling O'Gorman | View Profile |
- Offshore firms in London > Irish firms in London
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- Ireland > Banking and finance