Moe joined Bricklane in September 2021 and has made a significant impact as Head of Acquisitions. Here we discuss what initially attracted him to working at Bricklane and his plans for expanding the Acquisitions department
What role does your team play at Bricklane?
The Acquisitions department is responsible for sourcing and acquiring the properties that Bricklane residents live in. We handle all stages of the acquisitions process, from the moment a property is shortlisted as a potential investment by our technology, right through to completion and ownership.
The process begins with the Valuations team who review every shortlisted property to ensure they meet our investment criteria. All properties that pass this stage are then sent to our Negotiations team who coordinate our bids with estate agents.
When a bid is accepted, the Negotiations team arranges the first stage of physical due diligence, such as viewings and surveys, and the Conveyancing team starts work on all legal matters, such as instructing solicitors and reviewing contracts.
Following this, the Transactions team conducts deeper diligence on the property and collates all the information for our institutional client to review. Once they’re satisfied, we can complete the acquisition.
Alongside this, the Property Analytics team is responsible for providing analysis to support the acquisitions process and reports on how we perform within the business and to clients.
What is your day-to-day like?
I oversee all of the teams within Acquisitions, so I spend a lot of time coaching and talking to people. Each week, we prioritise getting together regularly to cross-collaborate on projects and problem-solve.
A big part of my role is making sure each team has the tools and resources they need to do their work as effectively as possible. This could include anything from coming up with ways of refining an individual team’s process, to ensuring technology improvements which positively impact all teams are rolled out on time – whatever’s needed to enable the teams to work in sync as much as possible.
Alongside that, there are regular check-ins with the Tech and Data teams, as well as external client meetings. I also work on our team strategy and enjoy being hands-on with analytics, which are both really interesting parts of my role.
What do you like about working at Bricklane?
It’s a welcoming and supportive environment where people want to work hard because they believe in our mission, we prioritise work/life balance and the work is rewarding.
The fact that Bricklane has put a lot of work into building a culture that supports people and helps them develop was a big part of what attracted me to the company.
What’s the most satisfying part of your role?
For me, it’s about hearing from people on my team, particularly new joiners, that they enjoy their roles. It’s really rewarding to see people do good work and be recognised for that.
What are some of the most important skills to work in your department?
While each team within Acquisitions requires different skill sets, the one thing everyone in our department has is an eagerness to learn, develop and progress, which is particularly relevant because of how fast we’re growing.
Right now, Acquisitions is 24 people but we’re growing rapidly so it’s important that we have structures in place that allow us to scale and hire in a manageable way. To facilitate this, we’ve been doing a lot of work over the last few months to create pathways for people to progress and take on more responsibility, so there are going to be plenty of opportunities for people who want them.
We’re also looking for people who are team players. Everyone in the department is ultimately working towards a common goal so it’s not unusual for people to pitch in and help other teams if there’s an urgent need and they have the capacity. If you thrive in a collaborative environment, then this is the place for you.
How did you come to work at Bricklane?
I was at another start-up in a fairly similar role. That company was operating in a slightly different space but I was aware of Bricklane and thought it had an interesting model so when I saw a role come up, I was excited to apply.
I’ve been here for over a year and half, but honestly, the time has flown by. I’m loving it here – every week is a thrill and I’m really excited about what we’ve got coming up.
