Gawain Hughes

Gawain regularly comments in the media on key issues arising in the funds sector and contributes articles and thought pieces to leading publications. He is also a member of AREF’s corporate governance committee and regularly provides training to BVCA members on key investor issues. Additionally, he was the only private practice lawyer to be asked to contribute written and oral submissions to the original House of Lords European Union Committee looking at the impact of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD).

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Gawain was a partner in and led the EMEA funds practice of another major international law firm for a number of years.

Selected Sponsor Representations

• Advising a real estate investment management firm on the transfer of management mandates and accompanying equity/debt interests in 11 real estate funds to a new management spin-out.
• Advising a US investment management on the establishment of its first European growth debt fund structured using an innovative Irish section 110 securitization vehicle.
• Advising a UK private equity spin-out business on the successful closing of its inaugural fund.
• Advising a leading global fund of funds manager on the launch and successful closings of its inaugural and innovative European credit fund-of-funds product
• Advising a leading US manager on the launch and successful closing of a pan European real estate fund together with its successor funds.
• Advising a leading global fund of funds manager on the launch and successful closings of its latest European private equity fund of funds product.

Selected Investor Representations

• Advising a leading global fund of funds manager and its clients on their investments in to large number of global infrastructure funds and subsequent strategic relationship and co-investment arrangements
• Advising a leading global secondary fund manager on its investments in to large number of global private equity, real estate and infrastructure funds.
• Advising a leading Swiss bank and its clients on their participations in a number of third-party private equity investment funds
• Advising a leading global consumer product corporate venturer on its participations in a number of innovative funds with complementary investment strategies investing in synergistic businesses in Europe and Asia.
• Advising several Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds on their large cornerstone investments in third-party funds across various asset classes.
• Advising one of the largest UK state pension funds on its investments and managed account arrangements with a leading global investment manager structured though a specialised offshore “fund of one” arrangement.
• Advising a number of leading pension and other investors on their managed account and “fund of one” arrangements

Selected Secondary/Co-investment Representations 

• Advising a quoted real estate investment manager on the completion of its high-profile restructuring program involving the divestment of a number of its current investment mandates for its global real estate business to other leading investment managers and the ultimate sale of the remainder of its business.
• Advising a leading UK investment manager on the restructuring, consolidation and relaunch of its historic Guernsey PCC investment platform in to a singular focused fund of funds vehicle including the secondary sale of a number of historic interests.
• Advising a leading global fund of funds manager and its clients on a large number of direct secondary transactions in to a wide range of real assets including airports and telecoms infrastructure in Europe and Asia often undertaken on a co-investment basis with other leading managers.
• Advising a leading global secondary fund manager on a number of secondary investments acquiring portfolio fund interests
• Advising a leading global secondary fund manager on a number of direct secondary transactions acquiring direct and indirect interest in real assets.
• Advising a leading Swiss bank and its clients on the sale of several portfolios of fund interests
• Advising a large global corporate on the secondary sale programme of it entire European indirect fund interest portfolio
• Advising a leading US manager on its co-investment arrangements across a number of funds with the Future Fund of Australia.