In a special report in The Business Post, Looking West: Galway City & County, recent sector activity and emerging trends in the region are considered from the vantage point of our Galway office.
A busy mergers and acquisitions landscape and a vibrant start-up environment made Galway a natural fit for Lavelle Partners’ second location.
With business and economic growth in a wide range of sectors, Galway is not just viewed as a great location for multinationals and start-ups, but also for many essential support and service businesses, such as legal, accountancy and more.
This very environment made Galway an obvious choice for leading law firm Lavelle Partners LLP, when choosing a second location. The branch has since grown to become a valuable addition for many clients in the healthcare space, where mergers and acquisitions are an important component.
Lavelle Partners Managing Partner Michael Lavelle established the firm’s Dublin office over 35 years ago and when it came time to expand beyond the capital, he says Galway was top of the list. “Galway City and the western region is a centre of innovation and growth in the medical, pharmaceutical, technology and creative sectors, so when we were looking at expanding beyond our Dublin office, Galway was a natural fit.”
That was five years ago, and now the office is thriving, with a wide range of clients. The office is located on Eyre Square, right in the centre of Galway.
The firm’s award-winning team of solicitors advise on a number of specialist areas including corporate and M&A, employment, property, and restructuring and insolvency.
The head of the Galway office is Gríana O’Kelly, Corporate & Commercial Partner. O’Kelly specialises in corporate law, with a particular focus on the healthcare sector. “We are seeing a lot of activity in corporate and mergers and acquisitions in the West of Ireland. The healthcare sector in particular is very active.”
Community pharmacy is important in Galway, and in the last 12 months her team has seen the increase in corporate M&A activity reflected in this sector. Additional lenders are participating in the sector’s market in recent years while staff retention sees many first-time buyer supervising pharmacists joining the sector as new owners. The pharmacy groups serviced by Lavelle Partners are consolidating their position by expansion.
“Having an office in Galway to serve our new and existing pharmacy and nursing home clients has been vital in helping to support this important sector,” she said. “For clients in the West of Ireland it’s very convenient for them to attend our office in Eyre Square in person. It’s added an extra layer for people based in the West who want the specialist areas of legal expertise offered by a city-based firm with the convenience of a local office.”
The Galway branch of Lavelle Partners is also seeing continued growth in technology and bio-medical companies. O’Kelly’s team has been active in this area over the last year, by providing advice on funding and investment opportunities.
Colm Murphy, the CEO of App Design and appraisee, says that the start-up environment in the West is significantly boosted by the great supports available in the region. “The start-up environment in Galway offers great opportunities for entrepreneurs who want to do business in the West. We have benefited greatly from the supports offered by the Innovation and Business Centre in the University of Galway – where we are still based – and from the start-up and scaling opportunities through the PorterShed, which is backed by AIB and the NDRC.”
With such a prosperous business environment, the future is bright for the Galway Lavelle Partners team. “I am so appreciative for all the clients who have helped to make the Galway office such a success over the past five years. On a personal level, it’s also a great privilege for me to be back practising law in my hometown of Galway,” added O’Kelly.
The success of the Galway office has added another dimension to Lavelle Partners’ reputation as a leading law firm. Last year the firm’s growing expertise and reputation saw it named in the Top Ten Law Firms in Ireland, on the prestigious Ireland’s 100 Best Law Firms. Importantly, Lavelle Partners was one of only two firms with a Galway presence to make the top ten.
In addition, the firm received recent acclaim as one of the Best Places to Work in Ireland 2024. Those accolades will continue to come as this acclaimed firm builds upon its years of success.
Further Information
For expert legal advice on any Corporate & Commercial or related matters, please contact Gríana O’Kelly, Partner and Head of our Corporate & Commercial Team.
This article was first published in The Business Post on 27 October 2024.
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