DLA Piper advises Fairfield Real Estate Finance on Goldman Sachs financing

DLA Piper has advised Fairfield Real Estate Finance (Fairfield), one of Ireland’s leading non-bank real estate lenders, on its financing with Goldman Sachs. The funds are to be deployed as part of Fairfield’s new EUR600 million lending programme with Initiative Ireland for the construction of residential homes across Ireland. DLA Piper acted as lead counsel on the transaction.

Chris Wilson, Chief Executive of Fairfield Real Estate Finance, commented: “We appreciate the hard work and diligence of the entire DLA Piper team. This complex, cross-border financing significantly expands the capacity of our joint lending programme with Initiative Ireland and facilitates the delivery of high-quality, energy-efficient social and affordable housing to the Irish market. Kate and her colleagues did an exceptional job in supporting this key initiative for Fairfield.”

Kate Curneen, partner at DLA Piper, commented: “We are delighted to have worked with Fairfield again, advising on the financing by Goldman Sachs of their joint venture lending programme with Initiative Ireland. At a time of unprecedented demand for housing stock in the Irish market, this funding will help facilitate Fairfield and Initiative Ireland’s ambitious plans to enable small, medium and large-scale developers to deliver 5,000 new homes nationwide over the next three years. The transaction clearly demonstrates the appetite that institutional investors have for a diverse range of real estate opportunities in Ireland.”

The DLA Piper Finance, Projects & Restructuring team advising Fairfield consisted of Kate Curneen (partner, Dublin), Conor Houlihan (Head of Financial Services, Ireland), Liam Mills (legal director, Dublin), Elaine Cummins (senior associate, Dublin), Shilpa Rajagopal (senior associate, London) and Oisin Mulvihill (associate, Dublin). Sean Murray (partner, Dublin) and Michael Tansley (senior associate, Dublin) advised on tax matters.