Investment Associate

Apera Asset Management (“Apera”) is a leading pan-European mid-market private debt investor with >€5bn of AUM with offices in London, Munich, Paris and Luxembourg. Apera’s Private Debt strategy focuses on senior secured financings in the UK, Ireland, DACH, the Nordic region, France and Benelux. Target investments range from £10 million to £150 million with emphasis on providing capital solutions to mid-market businesses which demonstrate downside resilience, competitive market positioning and attractive growth prospects.

Job description

As an Investment Associate, you will work across the full investment lifecycle, including senior, unitranche, and hybrid debt instruments. You will be given responsibility for workstreams of your own, acting as a day-to-day point of contact for sponsors, advisers and management teams and contributing your own view on underwriting conclusions. You will source, evaluate, execute and monitor investments across a variety of industries and geographies, and will help guide analysts on your deals. The role requires strong analytical capability, sound credit judgement, a sense of ownership, and the ability to communicate investment views clearly and confidently, including to the Investment Committee.

Key Responsibilities:

• Evaluate and underwrite new investment opportunities through rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis, forming your own credit view.
• Build and maintain dynamic financial models, including operating models, cash flow and covenant models, downside cases, and return sensitivities, and review models prepared by junior team members.
• Analyse and conclude on risk/return, including expected returns, downside protection, optimal capital structure, and exit/refinancing scenarios.
• Help drive transaction execution across diligence, structuring, pricing, and closing: manage the deal timetable and co-ordinate commercial, financial, legal, tax, and accounting diligence workstreams.
• Act as a day-to-day point of contact for management teams, advisers, sponsors, and external counterparties, and build lasting relationships with them.
• Review, interpret and help negotiate loan documentation and key legal terms (covenants, security packages, baskets, EBITDA definitions, events of default, intercreditor terms), maintaining the issues list and working with counsel alongside senior team members.
• Prepare high-quality investment materials (IC memos, screening notes, model outputs, diligence summaries) and present recommendations for internal review and to the Investment Committee.
• Take responsibility for portfolio monitoring and management across a defined set of credits:
• Track performance vs. underwriting case and financial covenants.
• Monitor KPIs, liquidity, leverage, and compliance; identify early warning signals.
• Run amendments, waivers, restructurings (as applicable), and stakeholder communications, escalating judgement calls appropriately.
• Evaluate follow-on opportunities such as add-on acquisitions, incremental debt, refinancings, and other portfolio transactions.
• Conduct market research to develop investment themes, identify opportunities, and build relationships with sponsors, advisers and other market participants.
• Support the development of analysts, reviewing their work and helping maintain the quality of the deal team's output.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required (or equivalent practical experience).
• Typically, 4-6 years of relevant experience, including demonstrable ownership of live transactions from screening through to closing, in one or more of:
• Investment Banking (M&A, Leveraged Finance) or Debt Advisory
• Private Equity
• Private Credit / Credit Investing
• Debt Advisory
• Strong accounting and financial statement analysis capabilities.
• Advanced financial modelling skills (complex operating models, scenario/sensitivity analysis, returns and capital structure modelling).
• Excellent Excel proficiency; strong analytical and technical execution ability.
• Experience taking responsibility for workstreams, working directly with advisers and counterparties, and delivering to deadline.

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation package
• Private healthcare (covering services such as GPs, physio, dental and optical)
• Insurance cover (life assurance, travel, income protection and critical illness cover)
• 30 days annual leave
• Gym membership reimbursement, or Gympass reimbursement (unlimited access to gyms, studios, classes, and training including Barry’s Bootcamp, Soul Cycle and Fitness First)