Fearghal is Head of the Finance & Restructuring Department, having originally trained and qualified at Norton Rose in London. Fearghal is a highly experienced transactional lawyer and leads a well-respected, market leading practice in Northern Ireland. Fearghal’s practice is broad based and focuses on serving the debt structuring and financing needs of both domestic and international financial institutions and corporate borrowers across the Northern Ireland market.
In particular, Fearghal regularly advises on secured and unsecured lending – primarily in the spaces of syndicated lending, acquisition finance, real estate finance, receivables and asset-based financing, general corporate lending, securitisations and structured/limited recourse financing transactions – and on debt restructurings, distressed lending and corporate work outs. He has advised on many of the major financing facilities in Northern Ireland over the past twelve months.
Fearghal is qualified to act in both Northern Ireland and England & Wales.
“Fearghal is responsive, accurate in his work and aware of exactly what is required of him.” Chambers UK
He regularly acts for both lenders and borrowers in and is cited as leading a “very knowledgeable and commercial team” and for being “attentive, capable, trustworthy and excellent to work with.” Chambers UK
“He’s attentive, efficient, knowledgeable and unerringly professional, and brings a creative, can-do approach to every transaction. He instils confidence in us.” Chambers UK
- Advising borrower client in the construction sector on its refinance of c. £25m of facilities with a new asset based lending facility
- Advising hotel developer client on the c. £30m funding required to complete development of a hotel and aparthotel project in Belfast
- Advising as Northern Irish law counsel on numerous receivables securitisations structures over c. 18 years (including credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, sales receivables and auto-loans).
- Advising the lender on c. £4m of funding advanced to refinance existing indebtedness and provide working capital to the developer of one of Northern Ireland’s landmark hotel projects.
- Advising the lender in respect of c. £20m of funding advanced to a borrower to fund the construction and development of a series of wind turbine across Northern Ireland.
- Advising a number of financial institutions and lenders in respect of their standard origination documents for use in Northern Ireland (to include residential mortgage products, buy-to-let mortgage products and asset-based lending)
- Advising a financial institution on the complex restructuring of distressed facilities of c. £27m involving complex negotiations with the borrower group and a simultaneous refinancing of third-party indebtedness.
- Advising the borrower group on a c. €75m facility being advanced by a syndicate of banks to refinance existing indebtedness, provide additional capex facilities and fund working capital.
- Advising the borrower group in respect of the restructure of its c. £300m facility to facilitate a reorganisation of the syndicate lenders and agreed work out strategy.
- Advising the borrower in respect of the facilities and security structure for two purpose-built student accommodation projects in Northern Ireland
- Advising a number of different lenders on a series of facilities being extended to borrowers in the payday lending industry.
- Advising asset based lender client in respect of a restructure of borrower obligations following default by the borrower
- Advising three financial institutions on their participation in the Bank of England’s Discount Window Facility.
- Advising a private equity purchaser on the Northern Ireland based loan and security assets being acquired from one of the UK’s leading financial institutions.
