Venture Debt Investment Analyst

Job title : Venture Debt Investment Analyst

Location : Covent Garden, London

Hours : 9am to 6pm

Manager : Finance Partner

Working pattern : primarily office based. We value in-person collaboration and learning, and offer two remote Fridays per month.

Role

Columbia Lake Partners is a specialist European venture debt fund investing in high-growth technology companies. We provide structured growth capital to ambitious companies, with a focus on downside protection, credit quality and commercial judgement.

We are looking for an Investment Analyst to join our investment team. This role is suited to someone who wants to build deep venture debt underwriting experience: understanding business models, assessing cash flow durability, analysing risk, structuring investments and forming clear investment views.

The successful candidate will need to be excited by the combination of technology, growth companies, financial modelling, downside analysis and credit judgement.

As an Analyst, your work will directly inform investment decisions. You will support live transactions and portfolio monitoring, while contributing to discussions with senior team members from an early stage. As a small team, we provide close mentorship, regular feedback and increasing responsibility as Analysts develop towards Associate level.

Responsibilities

Financial modelling & credit analysis

• Build and maintain robust financial models for prospective and portfolio companies
• Analyse cash flow durability, liquidity runway, unit economics, revenue quality, churn dynamics and margin sustainability
• Conduct downside and sensitivity analysis
• Identify key credit risks and articulate mitigants

Transaction execution

• Support underwriting of new investments through detailed financial and commercial analysis
• Draft sections of the Investment Committee materials
• Contribute to discussions on structure, covenants, security packages and downside protection

Portfolio monitoring

• Analyse financial reporting from portfolio companies
• Identify early warning signals and emerging risks
• Update internal reporting systems and contribute to quarterly portfolio reviews

Market & sector insight

• Develop a strong understanding of the European venture ecosystem
• Track relevant sectors and identify companies of interest
• Build pattern recognition across business models and financing structures

Candidate profile

We are open to candidates from a range of analytical finance backgrounds, including investment banking, credit, venture or growth investing, transaction services, consulting, ACA-qualified routes or other roles involving strong modelling and commercial analysis.

More importantly, we are looking for evidence that you can analyse a business rigorously, build a clean model, understand cash flow and downside risk and communicate a clear investment view.

We would typically expect:

• 18 months to 3 years of experience in an analytical finance environment, although we place greater weight on capability, judgement and potential than exact tenure
• A strong academic background in a relevant analytical discipline
• ACA or equivalent accounting training is helpful but not required
• Right to work in the UK

We recognise strong candidates may not meet every listed requirement. If you have strong analytical ability, curiosity and motivation for venture debt, we would still encourage you to apply.

You should be able to:

• Build a clean, auditable financial model from limited information
• Identify the key drivers of revenue growth, cash burn, runway and liquidity
• Assess downside cases and explain what would need to be true for CLP to be comfortable lending
• Translate financial analysis into clear investment recommendations
• Understand the basics of capital structures, debt instruments and covenant mechanics
• Write clearly and concisely for an investment audience
• Defend your assumptions when challenged, while being open about uncertainty
• Stay organised while managing multiple workstreams, deadlines and details without losing sight of the bigger commercial question
• Demonstrate a genuine interest in technology businesses and venture debt

What makes someone successful at CLP

In line with our values of Collaboration, Curiosity and Transparency, successful Analysts at CLP combine analytical rigour with commercial curiosity, intellectual honesty and strong ownership.

You are likely to thrive here if you:

• enjoy understanding how businesses operate, grow and manage cash
• are interested in downside risk and credit quality
• take ownership of detailed work and follow through reliably
• are organised and able to manage competing priorities in a fast-moving investment environment
• ask thoughtful questions, seek feedback and are transparent when you do not know something
• communicate clearly, both in conversation and in writing
• enjoy working closely with others in a small team where people are expected to contribute, learn quickly and support each other

Compensation and Benefits

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package designed to support health, wellbeing, family life and contribution outside work.

Our commitment

We are committed to building a team where people feel able to contribute, challenge and grow, regardless of background. We monitor pay equity, use transparent performance criteria for progression and regularly seek team feedback.

We particularly encourage applications from individuals who may be underrepresented in venture and private credit.

About Columbia Lake Partners

Founded in 2014, CLP is a specialist European venture debt fund investing in high-growth technology companies. We have invested in over 90 companies across Europe, with typical investments of €3m to €25m. We partner with leading venture capital firms and founders to provide structured growth capital with a disciplined credit approach.

As a focused investment team, we offer meaningful responsibility, direct exposure to decision-making and the opportunity to contribute to investment outcomes.