Senior Acquisitions Manager in London

Location: Office-based at 12 Dorset Street (5 days a week)

Reporting to: Investment Director

About Dominus

Dominus is a leading real estate investor, developer, owner and operator specialising in hotels and student living across central London and in key UK cities. Founded in 2011, we have built a £3 billion asset pipeline through investing our own equity and co-investing alongside institutional joint venture partners. As a fully integrated business, we create value across the entire project lifecycle. Our teams span investment, planning, development, finance, legal and asset management. Our portfolio of hotels is managed by Dominus Hospitality, our dedicated operating platform, and operates under Hilton and Marriott brands.

The role is based in our London head office, a team of 60, with a further 380 colleagues working across our hotel portfolio.

Role Description

As we continue to grow our portfolio, we are looking for a Senior Acquisitions Manager to lead the origination of new hotel investments across central London and key UK cities. The role focuses on the acquisition of underperformance existing hotels and office buildings suitable for conversion to hotel use. Working closely with our Senior Leadership Team, you will own opportunities end to end - from origination through to completion - identifying targets, building the investment case, undertaking due diligence and negotiating terms. This is a hands-on, deal-focused role where you will combine market knowledge, financial rigour and strong relationships with agents, vendors and property owners to build a consistent pipeline of opportunities, working alongside our development, planning, investment and operations teams to assess feasibility and to take deals through to a successful close.

Key Responsibilities

• Source and originate acquisition opportunities across the hotel market, including existing underperformance hotels and office buildings suitable for conversion to hotel use, through both on and off-market channels.
• Build and maintain relationships with agents, brokers, vendors, developers and other market contacts to generate a consistent pipeline of opportunities.
• Lead the co-ordination of underwriting new opportunities, including financial underwriting, valuation, the preparation of investment committee papers and business plans.
• Assess the feasibility of conversion opportunities, working with the development and planning teams to understand planning risk, physical suitability, costs and project timelines.
• Present investment committee papers and recommendations to the investment committee and Senior Leadership Team.
• Negotiate heads of terms, alongside the investment and legal teams.
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of the hotel and student living markets, including supply and demand dynamics, trading performance (ADR, occupancy and RevPAR) and comparable transactions.
• Leverage the use of AI and technology within the acquisitions process to drive efficiency and better decision-making.
• Contribute to wider business planning, investment strategy and target-market selection.
• Take a "continuous improvement" approach to the acquisitions and underwriting process.

Required Experience

• 5+ years' experience in real estate acquisitions or investment, ideally within hotels, hospitality or another operational asset class.
• A track record of sourcing and completing transactions, from origination through to close.
• Experience negotiating commercial terms and managing transactions and external advisers.
• An established network of market contacts (agents, brokers, vendors and/or lenders).
• A good working understanding of the UK planning and development process as it applies to change of use and conversion schemes.
• A degree in real estate, finance, economics or a related discipline; an MRICS or equivalent qualification is advantageous.

Key skills and attributes

• Strong commercial and strategic acumen, with sound judgement on deals.
• Exceptional negotiation and relationship-building skills.
• A self-starter with an entrepreneurial attitude, who takes the initiative in sourcing and progressing opportunities.
• Exceptional attention to detail, even when working to tight deadlines.
• The ability to manage multiple live transactions and competing priorities at once.
• The ability to work under pressure and be flexible with hours around periods of deal completion.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, able to present information clearly and concisely.
• A team player who can work collaboratively across the business.

We offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package including a performance-related bonus, pension, training allowance, private medical insurance, and 24 days' annual leave.