A series of silver and gold complexes bearing N-heterocyclic carbene ligands with a -CH₂CO₂Et pendant group attached to one N atom of the NHC ligand have been prepared. The catalytic properties of the gold complexes toward the decomposition of ethyl diazoacetate (N₂CHCO₂Et) and the transfer of the carbene CHCO₂Et group to benzene and hexane have been investigated. A somewhat different reaction outcome has been found for this family of gold catalysts compared with the parent IPrAuCl catalyst.