Oliver Riley > Gowling WLG > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Sitting within the firm’s wider corporate offering, the real estate funds team at Gowling WLG has recently undergone some structural changes, with the stepping down of former practice head Nick Heather into an advisory role. The practice is now led by Birmingham-based Sharon Ayres, and Micky Yang, who joined the London office from Herbert Smith Freehills LLP in April 2022. The national practice advises on both listed and private real estate funds, and offers strong ancillary support in more general real estate matters. Ayres has over 30 years of experience in a wide range of investment funds matters, while Yang brings expertise in investment and development joint ventures. Oliver Riley, another key practitioner, is a key contact for the formation, structuring and reorganising of onshore and offshore closed-ended funds. James Breffit joined the Birmingham office as a legal director, arriving from Greenberg Traurig, LLP in May 2022. All named lawyers are based in London unless noted otherwise.

Gowling WLG‘s funds practice covers the full spectrum of closed-ended funds matters, assisting investment managers with structurings, initial public offerings (IPOs) fundraisings, restructurings and fund liquidations. The team also advises on the gamut of regulatory regimes, including the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCAs) new consumer duty, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2014 (MiFID II) and Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) among others. Leading the team is of counsel Nick Heather, who advises both funds and investment banks on IPOs on the London Stock Exchange’s main market and Alternative Investment Market (AIM). John Reed acts for fund managers, banks and sponsors across the lifecycle of funds, from structuring and launch to fundraisings and mergers. Oliver Riley and Kristian Rogers advise banks and investment funds respectively on fundraisings, secondary matters, restructurings and IPOs, while principal associate Kate Seabourne focuses on secondary transactions and IPOs. Senior associate Emily Airton handles both IPOs and fund-related M&A matters.