Biography

Greg is both a lawyer and a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) who practices in the areas of business law, mergers and acquisitions, and taxation. Greg’s combined legal, taxation and accounting background enables him to advise clients on both the commercial and taxation aspects of transactions. Clients and their financial advisers particularly value his unique ability to converse with them at a high level on financial and accounting matters.

A significant part of Greg’s practice is focused on the formation of private equity funds and M&A transactions involving private equity funds. Greg is the head of Lawson Lundell’s Private Equity Group and is recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada (2023) as ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in the area of Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity law. He acts for a number of private equity clients including CAI Capital Partners, Highland West Capital, Lighthouse Equity Partners, Fulcrum Capital Partners Inc. (formerly, HSBC Capital (Canada) Inc.), Parallel49 Equity (formerly Tricor Pacific Capital Inc.), Stern Partners, Beedie Capital Partners, Yellow Point Equity Partners, Breakwater Management LP, Arviat Equity Partners, and Headland Capital Partners,

Greg has acted for both CVCA ‘Deal of the Year’ award recipients (2007, 2014 and 2022) and ACG Vancouver ‘Deal of the Year’ award recipients (2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019).

Greg qualified as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) in 1988 while working with Ernst & Young in Toronto. He joined Lawson Lundell in 1992 and worked in both the Business Law and Tax Groups of the firm until 1999. Between 1999 and 2004, Greg worked in Dublin, Ireland with William Fry, Solicitors, one of Ireland’s top corporate-commercial law firms, where he practiced both corporate-commercial and taxation law in the Technology and Taxation Groups of the firm. His practice in Ireland focused primarily in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and inbound and outbound investment. Greg re-joined Lawson Lundell in 2005 upon his return to Canada.

Greg is the former head of the Business Services Group at Lawson Lundell, which encompasses all non-litigation areas of practice in the firm.

Professional Activities

  • Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association, Member
  • Canadian Tax Foundation, Member
  • Canadian Bar Association, Member
  • Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, Member
  • Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia, Member
  • International Taxation Committee of the Irish Taxation Institute, Former Member

Recognitions & Rankings

Recognitions & Rankings

  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2024): recommended as a leading practitioner for Private Equity
  • Best Lawyers in Canada 2016-2024: recognised in Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law
  • Best Lawyers in Canada 2023 'Lawyer of the Year': Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law (Vancouver)
  • Legal 500: described as being “well thought of” and “recommended”
  • International Tax Review: described as being “well regarded for his work on inward investment and M&A”
  • Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory: BV Peer Review rated

Experience

Experience

Experience includes:

  • Providing tax and commercial legal advice to various Western Canada based private equity fund sponsors in relation to the formation and structuring of their private equity funds and the negotiation of fund terms with investors.
  • Providing tax and commercial legal advice to:
    • A consortium of investors in relation to the acquisition of British Columbia's largest fitness company.
    • A major international mining consortium with respect to the divestment of certain of its undeveloped Canadian mining assets.
    • A consortium of investors in relation to the reorganization of their investments in a Japanese private equity fund into an Irish holding company structure
    • The members of management of an aircraft service company with respect to a management buy-out of that company
    • Various Canadian and international private equity funds with respect to the structuring of their investments in and divestments of various investee entities, including:
      • The acquisition of a North American based specialty food importing and distribution business
      • The making of a minority investment into an oilfield services company
      • The making of a minority investment into an accounts receivable management company
      • The disposition of an industrial products distribution company (natural resource sector)
      • The disposition of a steel products processing and distribution company
      • The acquisition of an industrial valve supply company
      • The making of a minority investment into a building products manufacturing company
      • The making of a minority investment into a wireless goods and services company
      • The disposition of a plastic packaging company
      • The acquisition of a food products manufacturing and distribution business and subsequent reorganizations of that business
      • The acquisition of a truck tank and trailer manufacturing company
      • The acquisition of a concrete products manufacturing company
      • The acquisition of a heating systems manufacturing and supply company
      • The making of a minority investment into a consumer products company
      • The acquisition of a rail services company
      • The acquisition of a cellulose mill in British Columbia
      • The acquisition of a well known Western Canada based restaurant chain
      • The structuring of subordinated and mezzanine loan investments in various entities
  • Advising real estate developers with respect to the structuring of their development projects and other related activities;
  • Advising international insurance entities with respect to the tax aspects of establishing captive insurance companies in British Columbia and other Canadian based activities
  • Advising both issuing corporations and underwriters with respect to the tax aspects of various public offerings of securities

News & Publications

News & Publications

Greg has been a contributing author to a number of publications including American Lawyer Magazine, Tax Notes International, Tax Planning International – Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine, and The Irish Tax Review.

Speaking Engagements

Speaking Engagements

Greg has been an invited speaker at many conferences including the World Tax Conference, the World Captive Forum, and various legal and tax education seminars held by the Law Society of British Columbia, the Law Society of Ireland, the Irish Taxation Institute and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland.

Greg Hollingsworth, Lawson Lundell Photo
Vancouver
t 604.631.9240
f 604.641.2803
* Law Corporation

Assistant Contact

Bar Admissions

  • British Columbia (1993)
  • England & Wales (non-practicing solicitor) (2001)

Education

Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario (B.Comm., 1986)

Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) (1988)

University of British Columbia, Vancouver British Columbia (LL.B., 1992)

CICA In Depth Tax Course (1997)

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