Investment Associate - Real Estate Debt (Origination)

Octopus; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading real estate investment firm in Greater London is seeking an Investment Associate to drive the growth of their Real Estate Debt business. In this role, you will focus on origination and new business generation, working closely with brokers and borrowers to identify lending opportunities. The ideal candidate will have experience in real estate or related sectors and demonstrate strong networking skills. This role offers a hybrid working model, competitive salary, and a range of benefits including parental leave and private medical insurance.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Bonus

Pension and share incentive plan

Untracked holiday

Hybrid working model

Wellness hub including coaching and Digital GP

Paid parental leave

Life insurance and income protection

Private medical insurance

Electric vehicle leasing

Qualifications

• Experience in real estate, debt, finance or related sectors required.
• Client relationship management and business development exposure is essential.
• Understanding of the UK real estate market in various sectors is beneficial.
• Networking skills to build long-term relationships are critical.

Responsibilities

• Source and develop new lending opportunities across the UK.
• Build relationships with brokers, borrowers, and other market contacts.
• Support senior team members in meeting origination targets.
• Review and assess new opportunities to provide viability insights.

Skills

Experience in real estate, debt, finance or a related sector

Exposure to business development or client relationship management

Strong knowledge of the UK real estate market

Strong interpersonal and networking skills

Education

RICS / CFA / CAIA qualification

Tools

Financial modelling

Job description

Company Description

At Octopus, we’re entrepreneurs and we’re investors, on a mission to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world. We think working here is great, but we’re understandably biased. Click here to explore Life at Octopus.

Job Description

What’s in it for you?

This is a chance to join a leading real estate debt team in a front-line origination role. You’ll gain direct exposure to borrowers, brokers and a variety of transactions, while working in a collaborative, entrepreneurial environment. For the right person, it offers strong career progression and the opportunity to play a key role in the growth of our platform.

The role

We’re looking for a commercially minded and ambitious Investment Associate to help grow our Real Estate Debt business. The role is centred on origination and new business generation – building strong relationships with brokers, borrowers and advisers, identifying attractive lending opportunities, and supporting the expansion of our UK loan book.

You’ll bring a solid understanding of real estate, together with the drive and energy needed to generate deal flow. You’ll also support senior colleagues with the assessment and execution of transactions. This is a client-facing role with exposure to business development, market engagement and a broad range of transactions across commercial, investment and living sectors.

What you’ll be doing

Origination & New Business

• Source and develop new lending opportunities across the UK.
• Build and maintain lasting relationships with brokers, borrowers, advisers and other market contacts.
• Represent the firm at industry events, conferences and meetings to grow origination channels.
• Monitor market trends and competitor activity to spot opportunities.
• Support senior team members in meeting origination targets.

Deal Assessment & Execution

• Review and assess new opportunities, providing input on structure and viability.
• Support the execution of transactions from first engagement through to completion.
• Prepare investment papers for Credit Committee.
• Liaise with internal teams (legal, risk, operations) to ensure smooth delivery.

Market Insight & Collaboration

• Undertake market research to help shape origination strategy.
• Share market knowledge with the team to support pipeline development and work closely with colleagues across the investment and wider debt teams.

Qualifications

✅ Experience in real estate, debt, finance or a related sector.

✅ Exposure to business development, origination or client relationship management.

✅ Strong knowledge of the UK real estate market (investment, commercial, living and development sectors).

✅ Working knowledge of financial modelling (preferred but not essential).

✅ Strong interpersonal and networking skills, with the ability to build relationships over the long term

✅RICS / CFA / CAIA qualification an advantage.

Additional Information

A competitive salary, bonus, pension and share incentive plan
✈️ Untracked holiday
Hybrid working – our people spend 3 days a week in the office
⚓ Anchor (our wellness hub) which includes Headspace, one to one coaching through Wellness Cloud, Digital GP, Shout & more
Up to 6 months paid parental leave regardless of gender
❤️ Life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection
Private medical insurance for you and your family
Electric vehicle leasing

Our Values

At our core, we believe that how a company behaves is just as important as what it does. That’s why we chose to become an accredited B Corp …

We are committed to building a workplace where diversity is valued, and inclusion is a priority…

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