John Gleeson

Partner, Dublin

john gleeson

John joined Saffery as a Tax Partner in April 2019 when the firm acquired Grant Thornton Ireland’s Media and Entertainment Practice.

John began his career in tax in 1995 and has over 20 years’ commercial experience in providing tax advisory services to individuals and corporates across a broad range of issues. He spent seven years at a Big 4 firm where he was acknowledged as a leading technical expert in interpreting taxation legislation. He then spent nine years at a mid-tier firm where he was Tax Partner. He is a skilled negotiator of technical tax issues and has finalised countless Revenue audit settlements. In 2014, he moved to Grant Thornton where he led their local and global Media and Entertainment Practice.

He has particular experience in financing film and television projects, having raised finance and advised on a broad range of transactions involving numerous large international television series, animation series for the US market and countless feature films, including: Nightflyers, Game of Thrones, Room, The Breadwinner and Star Wars Episode VIII– The last Jedi.

He is acknowledged as the leading expert on the Irish Film and Television Tax Credit, Section 481.


Key experience

  • Advising on financing of over 600 individual film and television projects since 2005 from the largest to the smallest.
  • Raising over €500 million in equity finance for film, television and animation projects.
  • Assisted and advised BCP Asset Management on the first and only Irish film finance investment scheme available for lending to blue chip, fully financed film and TV projects.
  • Providing corporate finance advice on numerous contract discounting and gap finance transactions.
  • Advising on a broad range of business, acquisition/disposal and strategic issues to media and entertainment companies all over the world.
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