Director | Debt Finance | Real Estate

OakNorth Bank plc; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Personalised benefits — opt-in to what

Subsidised Private Medical Insurance

Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

Wellbeing and social events

In-house Barista Bar — London office

Volunteering time off

Salary sacrifice schemes — cycle to

Job summary

OakNorth Bank plc is seeking a Real Estate Director in London to originate, structure, and manage high‑quality real estate deals end‑to‑end. You will work closely with senior leadership, maintaining a sharp focus on credit excellence and client experience.

You will lead transactions across senior, stretched senior, and mezzanine facilities, while nurturing relationships with SMEs, advisors and private equity firms in a fast‑paced environment.

Qualifications

• In-depth understanding of the London real estate market and a strong, active network across relevant counterparties.
• Strong credit, financial analysis, and modelling skills, with ability to write high-quality credit papers.
• Experience originating, structuring, and executing senior, stretched senior, and mezzanine real estate transactions, with strong legal documentation skills and a Finance/Commerce degree.

Responsibilities

• Originate, structure, and execute real estate transactions that meet lending requirements (senior, stretched senior, mezzanine).
• Manage and develop existing customer relationships while identifying new opportunities across SMEs, KBIs, advisors, and private equity firms.
• Analyse financial accounts, spread financial models, and prepare credit memorandums with cash flow forecasts and sensitivity analysis.
• Present credit cases to sanctioning authority and ensure transactions align with credit-approved terms; maintain client relations and reporting to Credit.
• Meet team and individual targets (profit, credit quality, new customers, retention, satisfaction) while innovating product propositions.

Skills

Credit analysis

Financial modelling

Relationship development

UK real estate knowledge

Education

Finance/Commerce degree

Job description

ABOUT US

At OakNorth, we're on a mission to empower ambitious businesses and the communities they serve. Since 2015, we've lent over $21 billion across the UK and US, helped create more than 58,000 new homes and 36,000 new jobs, and supported hundreds of thousands of personal savers — all while driving economic growth in the markets we serve.

ABOUT THE TEAM

Our Real Estate Finance team sits at the heart of OakNorth's lending business, backing the UK's most ambitious property entrepreneurs and developers. The team originates and executes high-quality real estate transactions end-to-end — from senior debt to stretched senior and mezzanine structures — across a wide range of asset classes. We work closely, move quickly, and hold ourselves to a high standard on both credit quality and client experience.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Real Estate Director, you will be at the forefront of OakNorth's mission to back the UK's most ambitious entrepreneurs and growing businesses. You will originate, structure, and own high-quality deals end-to-end — from first conversation to successful close — with a sharp focus on credit excellence and delivering a standout client experience. Working closely with senior leadership, you will have the autonomy to shape your own portfolio and take an entrepreneurial approach to every opportunity.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Originate, structure, and execute real estate transactions that meet OakNorth's lending requirements, including senior, stretched senior, and mezzanine facilities
• Manage and develop existing customer relationships while identifying new opportunities across SMEs, KBIs, advisors, and private equity firms
• Analyse financial accounts, spread financial models, and prepare high-quality credit memorandums — including forecasted cash flows and sensitivity analysis to assess debt capacity and repayment
• Present credit cases to sanctioning authority, ensure transactions are documented in accordance with credit-approved terms, and maintain close customer relationships with timely reporting to Credit
• Meet team and individual targets (profit, credit quality, new customers, retention, and customer satisfaction) while driving innovation in the product proposition to improve client experience

YOU'LL BE A GREAT FIT IF YOU HAVE…

• In-depth understanding of the London real estate market and a strong, active network across relevant counterparties
• Strong credit, financial analysis, and modelling skills — including the ability to write structured, high-quality credit papers and present cases to a credit committee
• Experience originating, structuring, and executing senior, stretched senior, and mezzanine real estate transactions, with strong legal documentation skills and a degree in Finance, Commerce, or equivalent

Nice to Have

• Experience working within a bank or regulated lending environment, with exposure to credit policy and governance frameworks
• Existing relationships with private equity sponsors, property advisors, or intermediaries active in the UK real estate market

WHAT WE OFFER

• 25 days holiday
• Personalised benefits — opt-in to what matters to you
• Subsidised Private Medical Insurance with Bupa
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Wellbeing and social events
• In-house Barista Bar — London office
• Volunteering time off — support causes that matter to you
• Salary sacrifice schemes — cycle to work, nursery, gym, electric car scheme