Nadine Buckland
Chief Executive Officer, Zenzic Capital
Nadine, you moved from insolvency advisory into real estate credit. What opportunity did you see in the market to create Zenzic Capital?
When we decided to launch our firm, the UK was seeing a rapid emergence of a non-bank lending market. It was already much more established in the US, but in the UK, despite abundant capital inflow, it became clear that very few people could truly access and understand that market.
Borrowers often did not understand which lenders were active, how their structures worked, the types of deals they wanted to do, or their actual cost of capital. In other words, the sector was opaque and in its infancy.
My co-founder, Tom Lloyd-Jones, and I felt our experience gave us a genuine edge in that space. He had worked on structuring funds and transactions as a lawyer, while I had been advising and originating alongside many of the lenders entering the UK market. We founded Zenzic to help bridge that gap.
Our longer-term ambition was always to become an investment manager. But we did not yet have an investing track record, so we first built an advisory business and a balance sheet that would allow us to invest our own capital. Ultimately, it let us grow into the business we had envisaged.
You mentioned identifying a gap in a still-growing market and building around that. That explains the direction you chose, but could you tell us why you decided to become an entrepreneur in the first place?
Honestly, that decision was very personal. I was never much of a rule follower, and I found it difficult to operate within large corporations. Very often, it requires you to follow a slower and more hierarchical path. I always wanted to help shape a firm's direction, but in large businesses, those opportunities are naturally reserved for very senior people.
That’s why I realised quite early that being an entrepreneur suited me the most — it is a type of environment where personal pace and merit matter more. When I met Tom, I felt we had complementary skill sets and shared a common ambition to build something innovative. Our journey has been different from the typical spin-out from a large investment manager. It has been far more entrepreneurial, and, as I said, that suits me.
In terms of our sector focus, we initially looked more broadly at asset-backed opportunities, but after we began investing our own capital, we found attractive opportunities in real estate credit. Especially interesting were mezzanine positions in a zero-interest-rate environment. That allowed us to further build our balance sheet. In the end, we could finally shift from advisory into the investment management business that defines Zenzic today.
It is inspiring to recognise how many entrepreneurial opportunities can be found if you just dare to think outside the box. But building a business like that couldn’t have been easy. Zenzic navigated significant challenges, including Brexit, COVID, and rapid rate rises. Which of those was the hardest to manage as a leader?
I would say the pandemic was definitely the hardest to manage, without a doubt. The first challenge was people. We suddenly found ourselves operating in a remote environment: it became necessary to manage the team from a distance, while keeping everyone motivated and connected. And all of it needed to be done almost overnight.
Like many businesses at the time, we had not had a particularly flexible working structure, so the learning curve proved steep. To help our team, we leaned heavily into communication — we had daily team calls, weekly quizzes, and other ways to keep morale high.
The second challenge was strategic. At that point, we were still running both our advisory and investment management businesses. The decision was made to temporarily prioritise advisory and pause new investments, as we wanted to understand what COVID would mean for real estate market dynamics before putting capital to work.
Sitting on capital and wanting to deploy it was not easy, but it was the right decision. As a lender, caution matters, and in that environment, we did not feel like we had enough confidence in where values were heading. Looking back, I am very pleased we took that disciplined approach.
Making choices like that never comes with any true certainty, does it? It’s fortunate that things worked out well for you. Now, seeing as you are an accomplished leader in this field, could you share some topics that may be helpful for emerging managers to look into?
Personally, one of the most interesting themes I’ve observed in the industry — particularly, at allocator-led conferences — is the importance of genuine relationships with underlying managers.
Today, there is a great deal of discussion about consolidation, scale and platform growth. Yet many allocators still place enormous value on building direct, transparent relationships with principals. That is something I think more emerging managers should pay attention to since it is a clear advantage. Many of them can offer a level of openness and alignment that is hard to replicate in larger organisations.
Another point I want to mention is the continued strong interest in differentiated, often more niche, strategies. And in managers who can deliver alpha. I think it is another area where emerging managers can excel: they are often highly specialised, deeply relationship-led and more agile in their approach. Those qualities are increasingly valued in the market right now, and I think that message deserves to be heard more widely.
Thank you for this advice! Seeing as you touched on relationships and access, I believe it’s also important to touch on the topic of gender diversity and opportunities in the industry. How do you see the progress in this area?
I think the industry has evolved meaningfully over the last decade. I can see many more women coming through into both mid-level and leadership roles than when I first started Zenzic.
There is a general challenge in investment management, whether in private equity or private credit: it still demands a huge amount of time, dedication and energy, which puts additional pressure on anyone trying to balance leadership with family life.
That said, I think the industry is increasingly recognising the real value of diverse thinking. Take the credit sector, for example: here, you often have to debate whether to back a transaction or not. So having people with different backgrounds and perspectives around the table is helpful, as I believe it leads to better outcomes.
I don’t feel that being a woman in this field has particularly held me back, but I do think there has historically been a stronger culture of mutual sponsorship among men. Now we can see a really encouraging change as women’s networks are growing much stronger, which makes a real difference in supporting careers and capital-raising journeys.
Of course, there is still some way to go, but I would definitely say that the progress is visible and positive.
That’s wonderful to hear! Now, you mentioned the pressure that one has to face if they want to build both a family and a career. Given that you yourself are a co-founder, CEO, and a mother, how do you actually balance all these things in your life?
The truth is that balance — at least in that sense people often describe it — does not really exist. I love my work, and I feel deeply fulfilled by leading a business in a sector I am genuinely passionate about. And in that sense, I do not think about work and life as two completely separate things.
At the same time, though, I admit that it can be hard to have a family and accept that you cannot give 100% of yourself to everything all at once. Here, I would say that support is what makes it possible. I am fortunate to have an incredibly strong support network around me: my husband, my mother, our nanny, and a brilliant business partner who understands the realities of family life.
For me, it is much more important to be fully present where I am rather than trying to achieve a perfect balance. When I am at work, I try to be completely focused on work; when I am at home, I try to be focused on home. That is probably the most realistic version of balance I have found.
Indeed, when faced with such a multi-tasking environment, committing your full presence sounds like a challenge. Thank you for sharing what you found works for you. Now, let us move to the final question: what would you tell women who are thinking about starting something of their own but keep waiting for the right moment?
I would say that there is never a “perfect” moment. You are never going to wake up and find that the stars have suddenly aligned and that everything is risk-free. If you are driven and resilient enough to build something, you simply have to take the leap at some point.
What matters most is being realistic and disciplined in how you do it. When Tom and I started, we focused on short-term milestones, but we also always kept our long-term vision and ambitions in mind. In year one, the goal was simply to build something that could generate income and sustain us into year two. In year two, it was about proving that we had built a viable business, not just occasional transactions. In year three, it became about building enough scale to afford offices and start hiring.
I think that approach really helped us. You need a big vision, but you also need some near-term goals to track your progress.
The other thing I want to say is that too many women still feel like they need every box ticked before they act, whether they’re applying for a position or starting a company of their own. Men are often more willing to push themselves ahead before they feel fully ready.
So, in this, my advice is quite direct: do not wait for complete certainty. You do not need every box ticked to succeed. Sometimes, the willingness to step forward and trust what you bring is exactly what makes the difference.
