United Kingdom - Northern Ireland • Finance
Shoosmiths LLP
Shoosmiths LLP fields a team with significant expertise in real estate finance, in addition to coverage of energy finance, asset finance, and acquisition financing. ‘Knowledgeable’ team lead Anna Vangrove acts for borrowers and lenders with complex funding needs, and is experienced in both domestic and international matters. Principal associate Michael Kelly is described as an ’exceptional resource’ for his aptitude in real estate finance.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Anna Vangrove and Michael Kelly are a great team who are knowledgeable, responsive, practical and great value. They keep clients informed of work, completion expectations and deliver what they say they will.’
‘Anna Vangrove is a knowledgeable solicitor in both NI and English law. She is practical and suggests appropriate solutions to suit client needs.’
‘Shoosmiths are our go-to firm for large, complicated or time critical work. They have an ability to work to a very high standard under pressure.’
‘Michael is an exceptional resource within the local NI market. He is utterly dedicated to his role and delivers consistently at or above expectation. He grasps all issues quickly and in many instances provides creative solutions which manages risk in line with our expectations.’
Key clients
- AIB Group (UK) plc
- Ulster Bank
- Danske Bank
- Ultimate Finance
- Industrial Finance & Leasing
- Ortus Secured Finance
- Hughes Mushrooms
- Wilson’s Auctions Group
- Causeway Geotech Limited
- Keys Finance
- Santander
- Choice Housing
- Capitalflow DAC
- Foresight Fund Managers
Work highlights
- Advising Ulster Bank in relation to its funding of the circa £58mil property portfolio consisting of twenty-one commercial premises, and three large NI residential schemes comprising over 146 units.
- Advising Foresight Fund Managers on their investment into E-tag Fixings. This was a significant first investment by the Foresight AIB investment fund.
- Advising AIB Group (UK) plcon the property, corporate, tax and banking aspects of their investment facility to fund the refinance of an £85 million office development in Belfast known as the Ewart Building.
Lawyers
Rising stars
Leading individuals
Anna leads the Shoosmiths' Belfast banking and finance team. Anna advises clients including corporate borrowers, financial institutions and specialist funders on a range of transactions including energy finance, real estate finance and corporate banking. Anna works closely with our Financial Services and Energy and Infrastructure Sector heads in delivering these transactions. Anna has worked on a wide variety of transactions to include: acting for a national bank on the restructuring of two UK based Shopping Centres; acting for a national bank on the acquisition finance of two UK based wind farms; acting for a Hong Kong based fund restructuring facilities in order to provide on-going mezzanine funding to a corporate borrower; advising an alternative funder (in its capacity as borrower) on a £30mil back to back syndicated facility; and advising various national and alternative funders on the implementation of government backed loan schemes to include bank accreditation, CBILS and CLBILS. Anna is dual qualified and regularly practices in both Northern Ireland and England & Wales jurisdictions.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Anna Vangrove