Senior Business Development Manager

Location: London - Hybrid

Working Period: Full-time, Permanent

Hours per week: 37.5

Reports to: Head of Business Development, Europe

Salary: £75,000 - £80,000

Yugo is the trusted name for student housing, globally. Every day we connect young people to opportunities and students to amazing spaces. Here at Yugo, we like to do things differently. It's about people, planet, and passion.

As a Senior Business Development Manager, you will lead Yugo’s growth with institutional investors, portfolio owners and major asset holders across the UK&I. This is a deal-focused, revenue-driving role: targeting large single assets and multi-asset portfolios, deepening relationships with existing institutional clients, and originating high-value opportunities that make a material commercial impact. Reporting to the Head of Business Development, Europe, this is a role for an experienced commercial representative with a strong existing network across UK&I institutional real estate.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and grow Yugo’s relationships with institutional investors, portfolio owners and major asset holders across the UK&I.
• Identify, originate and close large-scale, high-value opportunities, including significant single assets and multi-asset portfolios.
• Lead commercial negotiation and deal structuring for institutional and portfolio-level transactions, from initial approach through to signed agreement.
• Proactively identify opportunities to expand Yugo’s footprint within existing institutional client portfolios.
• Build and maintain a strong network across the UK institutional investor, fund, agent and advisor community.
• Lead market and competitor analysis to identify and prioritise the highest-value opportunities in the UK institutional landscape.
• Develop and present compelling business cases and investment rationale for large transactions to the Head of Business Development and wider leadership team.
• Own the UK institutional and portfolio pipeline, ensuring accurate reporting and forecasting of opportunities and commercial performance.
• Maintain CRM discipline in HubSpot, ensuring deals, contacts and opportunities are accurately recorded to support reliable reporting and pipeline visibility.
• Lead the preparation of major proposals, RFPs and tender documentation for institutional-scale opportunities, working closely with the wider commercial team on structuring and positioning.
• Represent Yugo at a senior level with institutional stakeholders, at industry events, conferences and networking opportunities.
• Resolve complex issues or obstacles during negotiations by applying creative, commercially viable solutions.
• Share market insight and commercial context with the wider Northern Europe team as it scales.
• Monitor industry trends, regulatory developments and institutional investment activity to keep Yugo ahead of the market.

Additional Responsibilities

• Own and strengthen long-term relationships with Yugo's most strategic UK institutional partners and accounts.
• Act as the senior escalation point for contractual concerns on institutional relationships, ensuring swift resolution and continued client satisfaction.
• Partner with operations, finance and legal to ensure large transactions are structured, approved and mobilised smoothly.
• Where required, contribute to the Business Development business plan, including input into budget and incentive planning alongside the Head of Business Development.
• Identify opportunities to enhance existing agreements, renew contracts, or expand service offerings within current institutional relationships.

What else?

This job description serves as a guideline, this list of responsibilities is not intended to be exhaustive and other requests commensurate with the role may be made of you from time-to-time. This is a hands-on, senior commercial leadership role.

• Substantial senior-level experience in business development, institutional real estate, investment or portfolio-level transactions, ideally within student accommodation or residential/institutional real estate.
• A proven track record of originating and closing large-scale, high-value deals with institutional investors or portfolio owners.
• Deep understanding of transaction management, deal structuring and institutional investment logic.
• Financially astute, able to build and interrogate business cases and commercial models with confidence.
• Common sense in commercial negotiations.
• An established network across the UK institutional investor, fund, agent and advisor community.
• A strong understanding of the UK institutional investment and portfolio landscape.
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills, comfortable operating at senior / C-suite level.
• Confident in building, nurturing and progressing relationships, balancing short-term wins with long-term deal generation.
• A self-starter with a strategic, commercially-driven mindset and a genuine appetite for winning large, complex deals.
• Fluent English essential. Willingness to travel across the UK as required.
• An aptitude for AI as we continue to bring efficiencies to our business, freeing up more time to build relationships.

As part of the Yugo team, you'll have access to a great range of benefits, including:

• 25 days' annual leave, plus bank holidays (Pro rota if part time)
• Life Assurance at 4x your annual salary
• One YU Day each year to use however you choose
• Two paid volunteering days each year
• Company pension scheme
• Optional Medicash healthcare cash plans
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Private medical insurance