Ireland is pushing to the forefront of the international market for Private Capital funding, according to speakers at an "Ireland and Private Capital Funds Summit", organised by Matheson LLP recently. The event, held in front of an audience of fund managers, international investors and professional services providers in London, was opened by the Irish ambassador to the Great Britain, Martin Fraser.
Some of the reasons cited for Ireland's success in attracting investment funds include the presence of a highly educated, English speaking workforce; a common law framework; an effective regulator; a flexible, robust and road-tested funds structure; and a large network of Irish professionals with experience of working in the US, the UK and Europe.
The first panel, moderated by Matheson partner Barry O'Connor (Asset Management) featured input from Alex Marshall, Partner and General Counsel at Generation Investment Management, Paul Griffith, Chief Commercial Officer at IQ-EQ Global Investors Services. They considered how Ireland offers a robust and straightforward environment for the establishment of private capital funds, across all strategies including: private equity; private credit; energy and infrastructure; and real estate. The panel looked at commercial drivers, including why a manager like Generation chooses to use Ireland, its positive experience of operating in Ireland, the positives of being a regulated entity and the fulsome, experienced Irish funds ecosystem.
In the second panel, Matheson partners Dualta Counihan (Asset Management), Kevin Smith (Tax), and senior associate Sarah O’Meara (Asset Management), shared their insights and perspectives on the topics alongside Dermot Marah, Senior Legal Advisor at Ireland's National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), which manages the assets and liabilities of the Irish government. This second panel reviewed the Irish regulatory, tax and legal regimes, focusing on how they are delivering the processes and outcomes that both managers and investors expect.
The process of establishing an ILP (Investment Limited Partnership) in Ireland is perceived to be experienced by GPs and LPs as smooth, with approvals completed within 24 hours.
Martin Fraser, Irish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, said that Ireland's size relative to its European neighbours belies its deep knowledge of, and links to, the international capital markets, with very close relations built up over many years in the US, the UK and the EU helping it to operate on the global stage. "The basis of our economic model is our EU membership and our knowledge of how the EU works and how it does its business. We know what international business needs. We know we need the right type of effective regulation to help it. We need skilled workforces and people who appreciate what business needs to do in order to get things done, and we know this because our country wouldn't exist the way it does without very strong international business coming into the country."
Ireland works as a destination for private capital just as well, if not better, than other locations, partly due to the size and quality of its financial services industry which employs over 17,000 people. This gives international investors access not just to fully qualified accountants, but also to appropriate professional services such as legal or tax advice.
Rory Mullarkey, partner in Matheson's Corporate Department, who acted as MC for the event, said, "Today's summit was important in highlighting the positive messages we are seeing from our international clients in relation to Ireland's role as an investment jurisdiction. We are hearing investment managers and limited partners come to Ireland saying that the Irish regime does exactly what it should. The tax and governance frameworks are attractive compared with other European jurisdictions and the Irish regulator and regulations are user-friendly, giving great outcomes in terms of tax and substance requirements. Overall, the message is very positive."
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