The Minister for Finance has just announced that the Government has approved the legal drafting of the Investment Limited Partnership (Amendment) Bill 2017. This is the shot in the arm that the Irish funds industry has been looking for in its efforts to establish Ireland as the European domicile of choice for private equity funds. Whilst existing Irish regulation and fund structures already can (and do) accommodate private equity strategies, global asset managers have historically preferred the limited partnership as the legal form for a private equity fund.
The ability to establish regulated limited partnership structures has been possible in Ireland since the implementation of the Investment Limited Partnership Act 1994, however only a handful of asset managers have chosen to do so, with the general consensus being that this legislation had its limitations.
The purpose of the Amendment Bill is to enhance and reform the existing legislation, to align it with international standards for private equity funds and certain requirements of AIFMD. So the news of the drafting of the Amendment Bill is extremely welcomed and should lead to an increase in the number of private equity funds being established in Ireland.
This is a further step towards ensuring that Ireland remains one of the leading funds domiciles in Europe. The revised Investment Limited Partnership structure will stand alongside the ICAV as a symbol of Ireland’s commitment to grow the funds sector while retaining a sound regulatory environment.
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