Experience

Jennifer is a partner in McCann FitzGerald’s Real Estate team and advises on all aspects of real estate, from acquisitions (of commercial and residential properties) to development and finance (of all assets classes) to leasing and disposals. She is experienced across all aspects and sectors in the real estate market. In addition, Jennifer acts for a number of local and statutory authorities in the delivery of key infrastructure projects for numerous State related entities.

Jennifer is an experienced real estate finance lawyer and has acted for a large number of domestic and international bank and non-bank lenders in the delivery of real estate finance transactions.  Jennifer has also established herself as one of the leading experts in the loan sale and acquisition market having acted on both the vendor and purchaser side of some of the largest loan portfolio sale transactions in the State, deploying her legal and technical skills in managing the delivery of the projects from due diligence stage through to execution and delivery. She has worked extensively with lawyers in other jurisdictions on the real estate aspects of many real estate finance, loan portfolio, and international M&A transactions. 

Her clients include international and domestic investors,  international and domestic lenders and financial institutions, borrowers, developers, landlords, tenants, local and statutory authorities as well as high net worth private individuals and not-for-profit organisations.

Key highlights include advising:

  • Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. on its acquisition from NatWest Holdings Limited of the Ulster Bank Ireland DAC portfolio of corporate and commercial loans as well as a separate Ulster Bank Ireland DAC portfolio of residential tracker mortgages;
  • Eamonn Richardson and Kieran Wallace (as appointed Receivers) on the sale of North Dock One and North Dock Two, Dublin 1 – the largest office sale conducted in 2024;
  • A FTSE 250 property company on various elements of a substantial urban regeneration project in Dublin as well as a separate substantial re-development of a prominent village centre. Advices to this client also include leasing instructions and asset management advices for these developments pending their re-development;
  • An international investor in the data centre sector on their acquisition of a substantial and strategically located site for the future development of a data centre;
  • Lioncor Developments in relation to various acquisitions, developments and sales of development lands and completed properties including:
    1. the original acquisition and subsequent forward sale of Chatham House to the European Parliament for the new European Parliament Liaison Office in Dublin;
    2. the sale of over 200 residential units to an affordable housing body in Bray, Co Wicklow;
  • An international lender to an Irish ICAV on their acquisition and granting of security over a portfolio of more than 1,000 residential properties let to local authorities and affordable housing agencies on long term leases;
  • An international lender to an Irish borrower taking security over a portfolio of hotels spread throughout the State;
  • Galway County Council - advising on real estate aspects of the N6 Galway City Ring Road;
  • National Transport Authority – advising on various real estate aspects of BusConnects;
  • Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch on all real estate aspects of their acquisition, management and sale of assets acquired through several high profile loan sale transactions;
  • Transport Infrastructure Ireland in relation to its compulsory acquisition of lands to complete the national motorway service areas, national maintenance depots and the Dunkettle Interchange.
  • Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. on a number of instructions relating to their financing of various Irish borrowers for development finance and investment finance (e.g. a portfolio of Irish based development assets for a large Irish developer and a separate office development in Cork City);
  • Bank of Ireland on a number of instructions relating to their financing of various Irish borrowers secured on a range of assets including residential properties let to local authorities, PRS and office developments.