The way of working at Urban Partners

Introduction

My internship at Urban Partners has been a great experience so far. I started my internship in the Transaction team in the fall and continued in the Portfolio Management team in the spring. Throughout the internship, I have learnt a lot about the real estate industry and the diverse functions that enable successful investment processes at Urban Partners. I have felt welcomed to the company since day one, thanks to the team day before my internship started, comprehensive onboarding and fun company activities.

My internship journey and the way of working at Urban Partners

Since I have worked in two different teams at Urban Partners, I have gained a comprehensive view of the daily life and operations inside the leading Nordic real estate investor. I began my internship in the Finnish Transactions team, which is primarily responsible for finding new investment opportunities, leading acquisition processes, and executing exits. Since my background is in finance, I was familiar with transaction processes, but I lacked experience in real estate. Because of that, it was extremely helpful to receive a thorough onboarding regarding both Urban Partners and the real estate industry. Gradually, I became familiar with analysing new investment opportunities and conducting market research, including involvement with our largest segments - residential, care and logistics.

I was surprised to see how many different functions are involved in successful processes. For example, I had the chance to work with the asset management and debt financing teams in my daily tasks. Overall, the work culture at Urban Partners is non-hierarchical, which makes it easy to ask for advice and information - both within my own team and from senior members of other teams - even as an intern. We also had many informal events during the fall, with highlights including Urban Partners’ 20-year anniversary in Copenhagen and the pre-Christmas party, where I had the chance to get to know colleagues from Helsinki and other offices.

Currently, as an intern in the Portfolio Management team, I have seen Urban Partners from anotherperspective. Our team acts as the investment owners and is responsible for all completed investments in Finland.Our involvement spans throughout the investment lifecycle, starting from signing off commercial assumptions for new investments, covering the execution of business plan for completed investments, and initiating and overseeing exit processes. In addition, the Portfolio Management team is responsible for investment and divestment strategies that are made in close cooperation with other key teams including Transactions, Asset Management, and Debt Financing. With this scope, I have had the opportunity to also personally collaborate with even more teams: Asset Management, Transactions, Fund management, Investor relations, and Debt financing, to mention a few. Also, I had a chance to travel to Stockholm and meet up with Portfolio Management teams from other countries – learning more about the perspectives across all of our countries and segments. It has become evident that managing a real estate portfolio with over €20 billion worth of investments requires the contributions of many teams and individual colleagues, and it has been interesting to be part of this complex but effective structure.

Why and how to apply

I would encourage applying to anyone who is interested in private equity and real estate. Urban Partners is a great opportunity for students who want to be part of large-scale investmentteamwith a low‑hierarchy work culture where you can experience an ambitious yet relaxed atmosphere. To apply, you do not need prior knowledge of real estate - curiosity and motivation to learn are key. I personally spent some time online reading up on real estate private equity before my interviews and did not feel disadvantaged by not having work experience in real estate.