Goodbody appoints Finbarr Griffin as corporate advisory head

Goodbody Stockbrokers has appointed Finbarr Griffin to the influential position of head of corporate advisory, effectively taking on a role that was previously held by Brian O'Kelly, who left the business as it was taken over by AIB last year.

Mr Griffin, previously head of corporate finance within the Goodbody’s corporate advisory unit, has taken charge of a team of 30 across Dublin and London.

"I'm really delighted that Finbarr will lead our ambitions to continue to build out from our established, broadly based Irish franchise and create a much larger investment banking business focused on sectors where we can truly add value from our expertise in research, execution and corporate advice," said Goodbody chief executive Martin Tormey.

Mr Griffin joined Goodbody in 1999, having previously worked with Cazenove, Lazard and PwC. He became head of corporate finance in 2016.

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Aer Lingus IPO

High-profile deals in which Mr Griffin has been involved include being among advisers to the Government on Aer Lingus’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2006 as well as International Airlines Group (IAG) on its takeover of the carrier nine years later.

He was also among a slew of corporate financiers involved in AIB’s return to the main Dublin and London stock markets in 2017.

More recently, Mr Griffin was involved in advising Applegreen’s independent directors as management made a private equity-backed bid for the forecourt fuel retailer in late 2020, resulting in the company being taken private last March.

Taxpayer bailout

He has also been advising property company Yew Grove Reit on its imminent takeover by Canadian peer Slate Office Reit and played a role as Goodbody managed Dublin-based medical technology company HealthBeacon's IPO last month.

Mr O’Kelly left Goodbody at the end of August, on the eve of AIB completing its repurchase of the stockbroking and wealth management group in a €138 million deal. AIB sold the unit a decade earlier amid heavy restructuring in the wake of a taxpayer bailout.

Since leaving Goodbody, Mr O'Kelly has become chairman of Bellingham Capital, an investment company set up last year by beef magnate Larry Goodman's son, Mark Goodman, to target opportunities in the agribusiness, food and renewable energy fields across Ireland and Britain.

Mr O’Kelly is also currently advising “a number of private companies on their strategic options”, according to his LinkedIn profile.