John Hugh Colleran specialises in Banking and Capital Markets.
John-Hugh advises domestic and international financial institutions and corporate clients on a broad range of banking and finance transactions. His practice covers secured and unsecured financings, bilateral and syndicated lending, security and inter-creditor packages, tax-based lending structures, acquisition finance, general corporate lending and restructures.
He acts for vendors, purchasers and financers on disposals and acquisitions of distressed assets. John-Hugh is highly experienced in reviewing loan and security documentation for financial institutions and the purchasers and servicers of Irish loan books, and advising them on restructuring, rectification and enforcement and recovery options.
John-Hugh’s career experience includes working for an international bank on transactions and new products for its wholesale lending and structured finance teams. His work there included advising on participations in syndicated facilities, large and mid-cap corporate loans and invoice discounting and receivables purchases. The role also involved work on the restructuring and enforcement of a large book of non-performing loans.
John-Hugh lectures and tutors with the Law Society of Ireland and regularly gives presentations to bankers and banking lawyers.
John-Hugh’s representative transactions include:
- Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. on their award winning deal (Deals of the Year 2021, Finance Dublin) financing the acquisition of the CRS Refrigeration / CRS Mobile Cold Storage group and facilitating a management buy-in by a private equity firm.
- Deutsche Bank on its financing of a management buy-out of Seniors Money Ireland, a provider of lifetime loans and including a retail credit firm regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
- Danske Bank on a sustainability linked financing to a state owned utilities provider.
- Fine Grain Property (and its ICAV subfunds) on all of its acquisition financings of various high value commercial real estate investments.
- Union Bancaire Privée on numerous financings by way of loan notes to Irish developers for the acquisition and development of large residential and commercial schemes.
- Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. on lending to an Irish limited partnership to finance the development of new 45,000 square foot office premises for a new Irish Life Customer Service Centre in Dundalk.
- Briggs Equipment on a large cross border asset based financing facility with Wells Fargo.
- An international bank on a project involving five separate high value re-financings of loan facilities to a leading global investment fund manager in respect of the acquisition of five loan books secured primarily on Irish commercial real estate.
- An international bank, as the arranger/lender, on providing financing to a purchaser for the acquisition from Permanent TSB of a portfolio of non-performing loans secured on Irish commercial and residential property, with a par value of circa €500 million.
- NAMA as a lead partner on the Project Gem loan sale of a distressed loan portfolio secured over Irish commercial and residential property assets as well as assets in other jurisdictions, including the UK, the US and Germany. Project Gem was reported to have a par value of around €3bn.
- NAMA as a lead partner on the Project Emerald/Ruby loan sale of loan assets, secured over Irish commercial and residential property, with a reported par value of €4.7bn.
- A U.S. private equity firm on banking and finance aspects the sale of its shareholding in an Irish property fund structure for in excess of €400 million to a U.S. mortgage REIT.
- One of the world’s leading investment/private banking and asset management groups, as arranger, on the provision of senior financing to the purchaser (a US global credit/fixed income fund manager) of a loan secured on four regional Irish shopping centres.
- An Irish QIAIF on its loan facility from Ulster Bank for approx. €19 million in respect of its acquisition of a high value industrial premises in Dublin.
- Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. on loan facilities to a pension scheme for the acquisition and development of primary care centres.
- An international bank on a €22 million loan facility to a sub-fund in an Irish ICAV platform for the acquisition of a high profile investment property comprising four office blocks in south Dublin.
- Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. on a range of lending transactions, including: property acquisition deals; acquisitions of hotels and public houses; financing the acquisition/expansion of nursing homes; financing of shopping centres, and lending to borrowers in various sectors including food & agriculture and manufacturing.
- Providers and recipients of funding under invoice discounting and receivables purchase transactions.
