Investment Associate – Real Estate Debt (Origination) in London

At Octopus, we are entrepreneurs and investors, on a mission to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world. This is a chance to join a leading real estate debt team in a front-line origination role. You will 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 are 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 will bring a solid understanding of real estate, together with the drive and energy needed to generate deal flow. You will 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 will 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.

• 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.
• 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.

Benefits:

• 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 and to change our Articles of Association so that the interests of all our stakeholders – employees, customers, communities, environment and shareholders – are considered in every decision we make. We are committed to building a workplace where diversity is valued, and inclusion is a priority. By providing equal opportunities for growth and development, we embrace and celebrate all races, genders, religions, sexual orientations, ages, disabilities, and socio‑economic backgrounds. We believe teams achieve their best when every member feels safe, respected and empowered to be their authentic selves. We’re proud to be disability confident and are committed to supporting candidates with a disability, including neurodiversity and mental health conditions, throughout the recruitment process. Applicants are welcome to opt‑in to the disability confident scheme as part of our application process. If you require any adjustments to the interview process, we’ll be happy to accommodate where possible.