Director- Licenced Leisure Transactions

Sondr; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Sondr is seeking an exceptional Director of Licensed Leisure Transactions to lead and expand its national licensed leisure investment practice in the UK. You will drive deal flow, cultivate institutional relationships, and position the firm as the preeminent advisor for licensed leisure investment transactions across the UK market.

Your remit includes growing a robust pipeline, leading transactions, and guiding a high-performing team while delivering market-leading advisory services and

Qualifications

• MRICS designation or demonstrable equivalent professional standing.
• BA or BS degree in a relevant field.
• Experience in licensed leisure or property investment is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Originate and close licensed leisure investment transactions across pubs, bars, restaurants and leisure venues.
• Lead end-to-end transaction processes including valuations, due diligence, and terms negotiation.
• Provide market insights and advisory on covenant strength, rent structures and sector trends.
• Build and maintain relationships with pub companies, restaurant groups and investors.
• Mentor junior team members and coordinate with valuation, agency and research teams.
• Represent the firm at industry events and contribute to market reports.

Skills

Relationship building

Negotiation

Financial modelling

Business development

Leadership

Education

MRICS designation or equivalent

BA or BS degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

We are seeking an exceptional Director of Licensed Leisure Transactions to lead and expand our national licensed leisure investment practice. This is a high-impact senior leadership position focused on driving deal flow, cultivating institutional relationships, and establishing our firm as the preeminent advisor for licensed leisure investment transactions across the UK market.

Primary Objective

Your core mandate is to accelerate growth of our licensed leisure investment advisory business. You will build a robust pipeline of buy-side and sell-side mandates across pubs, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and mixed leisure operators, expand our market share in the sector, and position the practice for sustained revenue growth and market leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development and Growth

You will originate and close licensed leisure investment transactions across all segments, from high street pub estates and casual dining portfolios to premium restaurant groups and experiential leisure venues. This involves cultivating relationships with pub company executives, restaurant operators, private equity investors, brewery owners, and family office principals to generate exclusive mandates and off-market opportunities. You'll develop and execute a strategic business plan that delivers year-on-year revenue growth and expands our national footprint.

Transaction Leadership

Leading the full transaction lifecycle, you will manage valuations, prepare investment memoranda, conduct due diligence coordination, and negotiate terms on behalf of clients. You'll leverage your market expertise to provide strategic counsel on pricing, covenant strength analysis, lease structures, and deal timing while ensuring seamless execution from pitch through completion.

Market Intelligence and Advisory

You will serve as the authoritative voice on UK licensed leisure investment trends, delivering market insights to clients, institutional investors, and internal stakeholders. This includes analyzing transaction data, monitoring operator performance, tracking covenant strength, identifying emerging concepts and regional market opportunities, and advising clients on portfolio strategy, disposals programmes, and capital deployment.

Client Relationship Management

Building and maintaining relationships with pub companies, restaurant groups, private equity firms, pension funds, REITs, property companies, breweries, and high-net-worth individuals is central to this role. You'll act as trusted advisor to key clients, understanding their investment criteria and proactively presenting opportunities that align with their risk-return objectives and sector preferences.

Team Leadership and Collaboration

You will mentor junior team members, share technical expertise, and foster a collaborative culture within the licensed leisure team. Working closely with our valuation, agency, and research departments, you'll ensure integrated service delivery and leverage the firm's broader capabilities to win instructions across both investment sales and lease advisory.

Thought Leadership

Representing the firm at industry conferences, contributing to market reports, and maintaining visibility within ALMR, British Beer & Pub Association, UKHospitality, and other industry bodies will strengthen our brand and generate opportunities. You'll produce regular market commentary, yield analysis, and sector research that positions our licensed leisure practice at the forefront of industry dialogue.

Required Experience

You bring 8+ years of specialist experience in licensed leisure transactions, pub and restaurant investment sales, or leisure-focused property investment, with a demonstrable track record of originating and closing deals. Your network spans institutional investors, pub companies, restaurant operators, private equity houses, and covenant analysis specialists active in the UK market.

You have comprehensive knowledge of licensed leisure investment metrics, covenant assessment, rent review mechanisms, lease structures, and valuation techniques across freehold and leasehold pub, bar, and restaurant assets. Your deal history demonstrates success across various transaction sizes and formats, from single-site premium assets to portfolio sales and sale-and-leaseback transactions.

Experience working within a national or international property consultancy, specialist leisure agency, or licensed leisure-focused investment house is essential. You understand sector-specific dynamics including alcohol licensing, operator business models, EBITDA-to-rent ratios, and the regulatory environment affecting licensed premises.

Essential Capabilities

You are a proven rainmaker with the commercial acumen and competitive drive to build a market-leading practice. Your dealmaking instincts are matched by analytical rigor, particularly in assessing operator covenant strength and sustainable rent levels. You communicate complex investment propositions with clarity and conviction.

Your relationship-building skills are exceptional. You establish credibility quickly with both property investors and hospitality operators, maintain long-term client partnerships, and navigate complex stakeholder dynamics with diplomacy and professionalism. You're equally comfortable presenting yield analysis to fund managers as you are discussing trading performance with restaurant directors.

You possess the strategic vision to identify emerging leisure concepts and market opportunities before they become obvious and the tactical execution skills to convert opportunities into completed transactions. You understand the nuances between managed, tenanted, and leased pub models, the evolution of casual dining, and shifting consumer leisure patterns.

Qualifications

Degree qualified with MRICS designation required or demonstrable equivalent professional standing. Additional qualifications or deep knowledge in hospitality, retail property, or leisure sectors are advantageous.

What This Role Offers

This position provides genuine autonomy to build and shape a growth business with the backing of an established platform. You'll have the resources, support infrastructure, and brand reputation to compete for the UK's most significant licensed leisure investment mandates while enjoying the rewards that come from building something substantial. The role offers uncapped earning potential aligned with performance, together with a clear trajectory toward practice leadership and equity participation.

The ideal candidate is a highly motivated, intelligent, and capable real estate investment professional with robust financial modelling and analytical skills, preferably with some experience in logistics real estate and/or experience in major European markets. In addition to strong technical skills, the ideal candidate should be a self-starter and entrepreneurial, can effectively multitask and propose new investment ideas. It will be added quality if the candidate also brings some asset management, capital market, or development experience, though it is not required.

The ideal candidate shall possess the following professional qualifications:

• Candidates must have a BA or BS degree from an accredited institution, with preferred degrees in real estate, finance, business, accounting, economics, or related areas.
• 3-5 years of direct real estate investment experience, either within an investment management / private equity fund or real estate company, with a strong track record underwriting and executing deals (preferable logistics) in target markets.
• Possess robust financial modelling skills for complex real estate projects, including development, value-add, and core-plus projects with multiple shareholders/JV partnership structures and complex capital stacks. Candidate must be able to effectively and accurately build, alter, and update financial models to produce financial return analysis, scenario and sensitivity analysis, DCF, and multiple tiers of waterfall.
• Have a solid understanding of macroeconomic trends, capital market conditions, and real estate fundamentals, and are able to translate that knowledge into practical underwriting assumptions and analysis of potential and existing projects.
• Effective communication skills and cross-culture sensitivity with internal and external stakeholders of varied seniorities.
• Have a keen interest in private and public market real estate investments, cross-border commerce, and a global perspective of economic interactions.
• English proficiency is a must; professional working level Chinese and/or other European languages skill is a bonus but not required;
• Proficient in Microsoft Suite.

A successful candidate would also possess the following characteristics:

• High level of integrity and dependability are absolutely required.
• Entrepreneurial and proactive in driving preliminary acquisition work.
• Sound judgment and independent thinking, balancing proactive problem solving and seeking collaborative input to produce results/deliverables effectively.
• A respectful, professional, thoughtful, balanced work style that fits effectively across cultures and geographies.
• Well-organized and self-directed individual who is disciplined in oversight of details yet possesses a “big picture” perspective.
• Effective in engaging stakeholders, both internally as well as partners, third party firms, and industry leaders.
• A team player who motivates peers and builds cohesive teams.

Responsibilities:

This outstanding acquisition and investment position is part of the team responsible for the growth strategies in Europe and Americas by building and managing a logistics real estate portfolio thoughtfully and strategically that aligns with the company’s long-term objectives of globalizing its business. This position will also work closely with different regional teams.

The responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Interact effectively with brokers, sellers, and developers to source new deals.Develop financial models to evaluate potential deals, analyze the key risks and potential mitigants. Propose ways to optimize returns through better operations, different tax and capital structures, exit strategies, and other business plans.
• Research and prepare market and competitor intelligence to help with internal strategic directions. Provide research data