10 Minutes with…Rob Gibbons on his career journey and leading on the acquisition of one of Ireland’s most iconic buildings

BHSM LLP is proud to have acted on the acquisition of the landmark Clerys building on O’Connell Street, Dublin, advising on the lettings to H&M and Decathlon and acting on the sale of the former warehouse site to Premier Inns hotels.

In this instalment of “10 minutes with…”, we had the opportunity to chat with Partner Rob Gibbons, who works in our Real Estate and Construction & Projects Departments. Rob shared his background and career journey, highlighting what drew him to a career in law. He discussed his passion for property law, driven by his personal interest and delved into his significant involvement in the many aspects of the Clerys consolidation.

Can you tell us a bit about your background, what drew you to a career in law and how did you get started in the field?

I’m originally from Mayo, and growing up, I always wanted to go to college in Galway. I initially thought I’d like to study Commerce or Business Studies, but I decided to do Corporate Law in NUIG at the last minute. It was quite a new course at the time, but what appealed to me was that it was half business and half law subjects, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a mix so I could decide what to specialise in further down the line. As time passed, I surprisingly found the law subjects more interesting and by the time I got to final year, I was doing the minimum amount of business subjects I could get away with. I graduated in 2003 and moved to Dublin, where many of my friends were completing their FE1 exams to train to be solicitors. I followed suit, and although I didn’t secure a training contract the first time in the firm I wanted, I persevered and got it the following year.

What inspired you to specialise in property law?

It’s something that I’m interested in, both personally and professionally. I’m into DIY and home improvement, fascinated by architecture and building design. When you are a Trainee Solicitor, you rotate every six months or so to gain experience in different areas and during my rotations, there always seems to be an element of property. For example, for my litigation rotation, I was on a property litigation team and for my corporate rotation, I was on secondment one or two days a week working on an exciting property project with a client involving the FAI and local football clubs. I really enjoyed these experiences, so when the time came to qualify, I prioritised interviewing for property jobs; it was a natural fit. I worked in two big firms in Dublin for about five years each before joining the Real Estate and Construction & Projects Team in BHSM at the end of 2017.

The recent consolidation with Clerys was a significant milestone for BHSM, and I understand that you were greatly involved in the many components of the deal. Could you chat us through the various aspects?

The deal came about when Core Capital, an existing client of the firm, came to us and said that they were working on a deal to buy Clerys. I was asked if I would work on it, and I was delighted; Clerys is such an iconic building that so many people in Ireland are familiar with. I have worked with the client from when they initially purchased the building at the end of 2018. Since then, we’ve acted for them on elements such as putting finance in place for the works that needed to be done and on their construction contracts, as there was a lot of refurbishment and rebuilding work required as part of the overall plan. Then we got to the stage where we started to deal with potential tenants to take the space. The building has always been associated with big fashion brands, so when conversations with H&M and Decathlon began, it was a fascinating time, especially as the media started to take an interest. After that, we acted on the warehouse that had been demolished. It used to be at the back of Clerys, and there was planning permission for a hotel and Premier Inn Hotels bought the site in 2022. I recently read in the papers that they’ve secured a revised planning permission for it, and I believe they plan to start developing it.

Can you share some highlights from working on this project?

There was such interest from the general public, and it was exciting to be a part of the hype and buzz around the refurbishment of the building, especially when speculation in the media as to what might happen or who might be moving in began.

To have the opportunity to work with the big players involved and to sit opposite some of the biggest retailers and hotel operators in the world and to collaborate with them on this deal was fantastic.

Looking back on your career journey, what drew you to BHSM, and what do you like about working here?

As I mentioned, I previously worked in two bigger firms, and I had heard a lot about the people who set up BHSM and their philosophy; the culture really appealed to me. Honestly, I was a little apprehensive starting here, thinking about the calibre of clients I might have or the type of work that would be coming across my desk, but I genuinely had nothing to worry about, and the Clerys deal is a prime example.

I enjoy that I still get to work on big deals and transactions, but because of the type of firm we are and the type of culture we have, we attract all kinds of clients, big and small. I could be working on a multimillion-euro transaction one day and the next, sitting down with someone just starting a business and looking for advice on buying or renting a property.

It’s often easy to lose sight of the fact that a lot of your bigger clients are property professionals, so there are a lot of elements that you don’t need to talk them through, whereas seeing someone come in who’s starting in business and chatting them through how the life of a lease is going to work while their company operates is really rewarding. It’s a great mix, and it keeps my job interesting.

What advice do you have for young professionals looking to build a successful legal career? What qualities or skills are most important for success in this field?

We get a lot of Interns and Trainees into BHSM, and what I say to them and what my advice to anyone starting in this field is that, you should always try to pursue an area that you’re interested in or have a passion for. I often find that people decide to do law because they want their job title to be “Solicitor”, without considering the bigger picture. They get pigeonholed into something unsuited to them because they didn’t prioritise their interests.

It sounds so cliché, but my advice is to be true to yourself and choose something that excites you to work and continue developing in. You will be coming into that job every day, and if you’re not happy, it can have a much broader impact on your life, so it’s a critical factor to consider.

In terms of skills to be a successful lawyer, hard work, patience and passion are required. Applying yourself academically to the law and taking a wider interest in how those legal aspects interact with the world around you. Ultimately, I think you need to be yourself – you will be interacting with a lot of people on a daily basis, and it’s essential not to mould yourself into something that you’re not.  Develop your own style, and own it.

If you have any queries, or would like more information on our firm and the legal services that we offer, you can contact us at info@bhsm.ie