The Irish Limited Partnership rules increase Ireland’s attractiveness as a domicile for private assets and INDOS Financial (Ireland) Depositary Limited has picked up its first client.
Ireland’s standing as a domicile for alternative investment funds has been bolstered by amendments to the Irish Investment Limited Partnership (ILP) structure. INDOS Financial, a specialist depositary provider for alternative investment managers, has already worked with its first client in the ILP framework.
The firm, which is now owned by the global professional services business JTC Group, has been at the forefront of development of depositary services for alternative investment funds since the introduction of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) in 2014 and now has almost a decade’s experience of providing a range of depositary and other specialist services for investment funds.
During that time, it has grown substantially and now has three offices – two in the UK (London and Hampshire) and one in Enniscorthy County Wexford, Ireland. Staff numbers have grown, too. INDOS has over 50 employees, with half based in the UK and half in Ireland.
Padhraic McLaughlin, chief executive of the INDOS Ireland Depositary business, points out that Ireland has been a leading domicile for all types of investment funds now for over 30 years with more than 17,000 fund professionals employed in the industry.
“Ireland is recognised as a centre of excellence and expertise across all areas of fund services, and we expect demand for domiciling alternative investment funds in Ireland will grow, particularly as an alternative to Luxembourg for US private equity managers looking to access European investors. We hope it will be a popular choice for new entrants to the market, who are launching private equity and real estate funds.”
Working with its first client in the ILP framework puts INDOS Financial in a strong position to support and guide other managers looking to Ireland and the new ILP structure to domicile their private equity funds, he says.
“As we’ve already been through the process, this provides comfort to clients when they’re looking to launch, that they’re using a provider who understands and has experience of what’s involved.”
INDOS expertise
The firm is targeting other clients who might want to work under the ILP regime, as well as within Ireland’s broader framework under the EU’s jurisdiction.
“We’re recognised specialists, focusing mainly on depositary services, and we’ve grown to become a leading depositary service provider for over 150 funds, with in excess of 40 billion dollars of assets under oversight,” says McLaughlin. “Our people are a core part of our success: we have built an excellent team and a reputation for expertise and quality of service across our UK and Irish offices.”
Elaborating on this point, he adds: “Employee retention is a challenge all companies face but we have a good track record, particularly in Ireland, where staff retention levels are very high. This enhances the level of know-how, experience and service delivery we can offer.”
McLaughlin says while INDOS’s core business is depositary services, as part of the JTC Group we are also able to provide a wider range of fund and corporate services – which extends to specialisms in environmental, social and governance, and anti-money laundering oversight services for alternative investment funds. JTC Group is a FTSE-listed business and acquired INDOS in June 2021.
While the amendments to the ILP structure are welcomed as a positive development and present opportunities for private equity houses, there are a few minor challenges to address. McLaughlin says these challenges stem from the fact that the ILP legislation was updated during the pandemic, “so it’s understandable that it’s taken some time for ILPs to progress”.
“We have to be patient as the market develops, but we do expect that this will become a really strong growth area for private equity and real estate funds and we are well positioned to support managers looking to establish funds in Ireland.”
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