Silicon Docks

Simon Kelly is the founder and the sole named principal on the firm's website. The site notes that he will personally review all inquiries and that he co-invests his own capital in every deal the platform executes.

No. The firm describes itself as a direct-to-investor platform, not a fund. Each transaction is structured as an independent, ring-fenced SPV. Investors commit to specific deals rather than subscribing to a commingled vehicle.

The firm maintains a strict zero bank debt policy on land and minimal senior debt across all deals. This rule is a direct consequence of Kelly's earlier experience during the Global Financial Crisis, when callable bank debt in first position wiped out equity in his prior development portfolio.

No. The firm explicitly and permanently excludes residential development, citing Ireland's planning complexity, political interference, and construction cost inflation. Its mandate is confined to sectors where the team controls the asset and operations without dependence on uncertain planning permissions.

RQTwo was the active commercial real estate asset manager Kelly founded after the Global Financial Crisis. It raised over €70 million in equity for secondary Dublin offices. When remote work structurally impaired secondary office values and RQTwo's capital partner Blackbee Investments collapsed, Kelly dissolved that model and launched Silicon Docks with a permanent prohibition on handing investor relationships to third parties.

When a deal qualifies under Ireland's Employment Investment Incentive Scheme, Silicon Docks structures it so eligible investors can claim up to 50% income tax relief on investments of up to €1,000,000 per year. This is layered on top of the firm's preference for operating-business structures that attract the 12.5% corporate trading tax rate rather than the 25% passive rental income rate.

The firm's thesis is that Dublin's fundamentals — a young and concentrated workforce, a growing population projected to reach 2.6 million by 2040, and deep economic ties to US foreign direct investment — create structural, not cyclical, demand for hospitality and leisure infrastructure. The firm sees the daily circulation of capital from Dublin's large tech and pharma employers as a durable driver for the assets it backs.