Gresham House aims to significantly grow its business in Ireland

Tony Dalwood, Chief Executive of Gresham House, has said that the business aims to significantly grow the size of its operation in Ireland over the coming five years. Tony Dalwood was speaking on a visit to Dublin to mark the opening of the company’s new offices on Shelbourne Road in Ballsbridge.

At the end of last year, we delisted from the London Stock Exchange following our acquisition by Searchlight Capital Partners LP (Searchlight). Gresham House employees and management own c.28% of the ordinary equity in the new Gresham House structure post the acquisition by Searchlight, up from c.8% equity ownership before the Searchlight acquisition, highlighting clear alignment with the success of the business.

Tony also announced that Patrick Lawless will become Executive Chairman of the holding company for the Irish businesses and will invest in the Group alongside the other senior executives and Searchlight Capital Partners LP.

Gresham House in Ireland

We entered the Irish market with the acquisition of Appian Asset Management, led by Patrick Lawless in 2021 and went on to purchase Burlington Real Estate, led by John Bruder, in 2022. In Ireland, we manage assets and advise on investment strategies on behalf of a wide range of clients including individual investors, High Net Worth individuals, Private Pension Funds, Institutional investors and Sovereign Wealth Funds. We currently employ 36 people and have assets under management of c.€800mn in Ireland.

Tony highlighted our aim to accelerate the growth of AUM in Ireland as part of an ambitious plan across all areas of our current activity, including Real Estate, Forestry, Sustainable Infrastructure and Equities. The company is currently recruiting in Ireland to widen its distribution team and to strengthen its investment team.

Gresham House Ventures’ business has made significant investments in Irish tech companies Scurri and CitySwift and is actively seeking other Irish companies in need of growth capital.

Gresham House Real Estate is one of Ireland’s premier independent commercial property asset and development management companies and is Investment Advisor to the MSCI award-winning Gresham House Commercial Property Fund which invests in office, retail and industrial properties in the greater Dublin area and major regional urban centres.

In Forestry, we are investing on behalf of Irish and international investors to create new forests and acquire existing forests across Ireland in its Ireland Strategic Forestry Fund (ISFF).

Tony also announced that Patrick Lawless will move from Managing Director of the Irish Business to Executive Chairman of the holding company for the businesses in Ireland. He will continue to hold the role of Chair of the Investment Committee for the Irish business.

The board of Gresham House Asset Management Ireland Limited, which is the Group’s regulated entity in Ireland, will remain unchanged, with Brian O’Kelly, Catherine Duffy and Pat Cox continuing as Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Directors respectively.

Following Patrick’s appointment, Joe O’Carroll has been appointed as CEO, Gresham House Asset Management (Resources) Ireland Ltd and Enda McKenna, has been appointed as Managing Director, Gresham House Asset Management Ireland Ltd. Joe and Enda are currently Investment Director and Chief Operating Officer respectively.

Joe will have executive responsibility for leading Gresham House’s Irish business, while Enda will be Managing Director of Gresham House’s AIFM (Alternative Investment Manager Fund) business in Ireland, Gresham House Asset Management Ireland Ltd.

Tony Dalwood, Chief Executive, said:

“The business in Ireland is a key part of our Group and we believe it has the potential to grow significantly over the coming years. Having founded and led the business in Ireland for over 20 years, we are thrilled that Patrick is continuing his commitment to Gresham House as Executive Chairman in Ireland and to provide strategic oversight of the Irish market to myself, Joe and Enda. This is a great business, in a great country with highly skilled people and loyal clients and I’m really looking forward to overseeing the next phase of our evolution.”