Real Estate Corporate Finance, Associate

Description

About this role

Business Unit Overview:
BlackRock Real Estate manages over $31 billion in private and public real estate equity and debt in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. BlackRock’s Real Estate team manages investments on behalf of public and private pension plans, insurance companies, foundations, endowments and private investors. The platform manages a broad array of investment strategies, including core, value-add and opportunistic, through separate accounts and commingled funds. Our extensive experience encompasses many major geographies as well as all major property types including office, industrial, retail.

Job Purpose/Background:
The Blackrock Real Estate Corporate Finance team is recruiting for an Associate located in the Frankfurt office, with a primary focus on providing support with the execution of transactions and debt financing for the German and Dutch portfolio. The role includes assisting with closing acquisitions, disposals, bank financings, hedging strategies, implementation of tax structuring.

In addition, as part of the wider European Transaction Support team the role may include supporting transactions and financing for investments in other EMEA countries.

Key Responsibilities:
Providing support with investment level debt financing:

- Managing the debt tender process and drafting of request for proposals
- Term sheet negotiation and lender selection
- Review and execution of loan documentation (arrangement of fulfillment of conditions precedent) and preparation and execution of interest rate hedging strategies
- Oversight of loan compliance including lender reporting requirements and monitoring of loan covenants.

Providing support through the due diligence phase of investment opportunities and with the execution of acquisitions and disposals:

- Ownership of the financial due diligence process.
- Preparation of deal timelines to sequence workflows, DD, timing of board meetings, funding, etc and coordination with other internal and external teams.
- Management of set-up of investment holding structures
- Operational and financial review of key transaction documents (SPAs, JVAs etc.)
- Review of preliminary and true-up NAV calculations for share deals
- Implementation of internal funding arrangements and management of funds flows

Collaboration with external advisors and the in-house tax team to lead the planning, implementation, management and monitoring of tax-efficient structures:

- Implementation of appropriate tax structures in liaison with the in-house tax team and external advisors
- Monitoring tax developments and potential legislation changes, including considering the potential impact on current and future investments.
- Identifying potential risks and taking measures to further investigate and mitigate such risks accordingly
- Working alongside local asset management and global fund administration services teams to ensure adherence to internal procedures and identification and mitigation of operational risks. Ensure consistency of approach with the overall EMEA Real Estate business model.
- Management of coordination between the RE business and business partners including Legal, Corporate Secretarial and Tax.

Knowledge/ Experience:

- Experience of transaction management either with a professional services firm of within an investment company, ideally with exposure to Real Estate investment
- Strong technical financial / accounting knowledge
- General understanding of the German or Dutch tax system
- Experience of implementing real estate financings or strong motivation to build expertise in this area

Competencies:

- Personal Characteristics: Results focused / good communicator / highly organized / enthusiastic / team player but able to work under own initiative with mínimal supervision
- Ability to transition between working independently and working closely with others in the team
- Strong interest in the Real Estate sector
- Excellent organizational and project management skills and ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines
- Capable of meeting deadlines and working under pressure

Our benefits

To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of employee benefits including: retirement investment and tools designed to help you in building a sound financial future; access to education reimbursement; comprehensive resources to support your physical health and emotional well-being; family support programs; and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.

Our hybrid work model

BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 3 days in the office each week, with the flexibility to work from home up to 2 days a week; some business groups may require more time in the office due to their