Meet the Investment team

Callum Bell

Head of Direct Lending and Alternative Investment Management

I joined Investec in 2010 and lead the Direct Lending franchise at Investec and is a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee. I have direct responsibilities for the Direct Lending business with responsibilities for sponsor coverage, origination and structuring of private debt solutions for mid-market European corporates and PE clients. The team have a flexible lending mandate that spans underwriting, unitranche and club/bilateral financing solutions and is a market leader across their target markets.

I have over 20 years of investment banking, strategy consulting and leveraged finance experience in Europe. Prior to joining Investec, I was a Director and in the Leveraged Finance team at the Royal Bank of Scotland. I hold a Chemical Engineering degree (Hons) from the University of Auckland (NZ), a Bachelor of Business from Massey University (NZ) and an MBA from Cambridge University (UK).

Greg Betz

Co-Head of UK Origination, Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2006 and have been in the Corporate & Acquisition Finance team since 2010. I'm responsible for the origination, structuring and execution of financing solutions for mid-market private equity-backed and corporate clients, with a focus on leveraged buyouts, refinancings and recapitalisations. Prior to joining Investec, I worked for Deloitte in both South Africa and New York, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 2006.

Helen Lucas

Co-Head of UK Origination, Direct Lending

With over 16 years’ experience within the leveraged finance, restructuring and credit markets, Helen is responsible for sponsor coverage, origination and structuring of bespoke financing solutions for UK lower mid-market corporates and PE, with a particular focus on supporting sponsors with primary buy outs and buy and build opportunities. She also leads the sustainability initiative within our Private Equity group.

Helen now Co Heads the UK Direct lending origination business having joined Investec in 2014 from the Debt Finance team in Barclays where she worked as a Vice President of Origination. She joined Barclays in 2007 and undertook a variety of restructuring and lending roles across all size businesses, having graduated from Loughborough University with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree and completed a Graduate Programme with Total UK.

Nicole Goodwin

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in May 2016 from The Royal Bank of Scotland where I worked in their Corporate Transactions team managing the structuring and execution of leveraged finance transactions in the UK mid-market.

James Haggie

Head of Legal, Direct Lending

I’m responsible for legal documentation – from non-disclosure agreements through to long-form financing documentation, and everything in between. I also play a key role in transaction execution, coordinating between various stakeholders on a deal, both internal (tax, operations, credit) and external (lawyers, advisors).

Alice Harrison

Legal, Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2022 and provide transaction management and legal support within the deal teams. My role varies from advice on deal structure to the negotiation and execution of final long form documents. Prior to joining Investec I was a Senior Associate in the leverage finance team at Ashurst and trained in New Zealand.

Cameron Jaques

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2023 and am responsible for the analysis and execution of new financing opportunities for private equity-backed clients, as well as monitoring the portfolio of existing assets. Prior to Investec I worked for HSBC’s Mid-Market Leveraged Finance Team.

Jean-Pierre le Roux

Direct Lending

Growth and Acquisition finance provides financing solutions (all through the capital structure) to clients seeking to grow their businesses. My role is to analyse these companies in order to identify their key strengths and find innovative solutions to help them achieve the goals they set out to achieve.

Natacha Longley

Direct Lending

I provide personal assistance to the head of Growth & Leveraged Finance and also support the wider team. I’m responsible for diary and email management, arranging travel and the preparation and processing of documentation. I work closely with teams across the business including the marketing and events team to help deliver events and communications to our clients.

Conor McMahon

Direct Lending

I focus on the origination and execution of financing solutions for mid-market private equity-backed and corporate clients in the UK and Eurozone. I assess cash flow-based facilities across the capital structure, with a particular focus on leveraged buyouts, refinancings and recapitalisations.

Caroline Moore

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2013 and am responsible for enabling, managing and supporting the smooth functioning of the team, alongside coordinating team marketing and events.

Jack Moore

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2019 on the Graduate Program following a Summer Internship at the bank. I hold a BSc Accounting & Finance from the University of Leeds.

Sam Newman

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in September 2013 on the Graduate Programme. Following rotations across the bank, I joined the Growth & Acquisition Finance (GAF) team in March 2015.

Lucian Purvis

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2018 as part of the Data & AI team, and have been in the Growth and Leveraged Finance team since 2021. I am responsible for the analysis and execution of financing opportunities for private equity-backed clients, as well as monitoring the portfolio of existing assets. I hold a Masters in Chemistry and DPhil in Cardiovascular Medicine from the University of Oxford.

Rob Rizk

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2022 and am responsible for the analysis and execution of financing opportunities for private equity-backed clients in addition to monitoring the portfolio of existing assets. Prior to Investec I worked for Santander in their Structured Finance team.

Matthew Skingle

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2020 and am responsible for the analysis and execution of new financing opportunities for mid-market private equity-backed clients. Prior to Investec I worked for HSBC in the Mid-Market Leveraged Finance team.

Greg White

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2014 and am responsible for the analysis and execution of new financing opportunities for mid-market private equity-backed and corporate clients, as well as monitoring the portfolio of existing assets. Prior to joining Investec, I worked for Deloitte in both South Africa and Canada, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 2013. I hold a Bachelor of Business Science (Finance and Accounting) Honours degree from the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

Amir Zakhir

Direct Lending

I joined Investec’s Direct Lending team in 2024 following a summer internship at the bank. I am responsible for the analysis and execution of financing opportunities for mid-market private equity-backed clients. I hold a BSc Economics from the London School of Economics.

James Cullen

Head of Asset Based Lending, Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2006 to help build and launch our blended asset based and cashflow offering. Before this I spent 17 years with Lloyds Commercial Finance, in various roles, culminating in running the Southern half of the business. During My time there, I was instrumental in pioneering the use of ABL structures in UK M&A transactions.

Nicholas Buxton

Direct Lending

My focus at Investec is on deal origination, structuring and execution of blended Asset Based & Cashflow lending transactions for growth companies, partnering directly with management teams, entrepreneurs and private equity sponsors. Deals I have worked on at Investec include NFT Distribution, Flamingo Horticulture, Freshpak Chilled Foods, Hanmere Polythene and Downton Logistics.

Chris Chatoor

Direct Lending

I joined at Investec in October 2023 and am responsible for analysis and execution of asset-based and cashflow lending opportunities. Prior to joining Investec, I worked in Growth and Origination Finance for National Australia Bank in Melbourne.

Laura Hall

Direct Lending

My focus is on portfolio management of existing clients with an asset-based & cashflow lending structure. Prior to joining Investec, I worked in audit qualifying as a Chartered Accountant.

Alex Hewitt

Direct Lending

Having joined from HSBC, my focus at Investec is on deal origination, structuring and execution of blended Asset Based & Cash Flow lending transactions for growth companies, partnering directly with management teams, entrepreneurs and private equity sponsors.

Warren King

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2005 and first worked in Internal Audit followed by the Private Bank Treasury team. I joined the Growth and Acquisition Finance Team in 2011. My focus is on due diligence and portfolio management.

Chris Lamb

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in March 2014, originally into the Private Bank Finance team, and subsequently moved into the Growth and Acquisition Finance team in November 2015. Prior to this I qualified as a Chartered Accountant with E&Y in the financial services division and more recently worked at Barclays in the capital markets division of the investment bank.

Ben Mills

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2007. Prior to this I qualified as a Chartered Accountant with BDO Stoy Hayward within their Transaction Services team.

Hannah O'Leary

Direct Lending

As part of the portfolio team, I work closely with clients in the operation of their facilities. I focus on the day-to-day monitoring of risk and the resolution of client queries.

Danielle Van Den Elshout

Direct Lending

With over 20 years’ experience in the banking industry, I joined Investec in January 2024. I have direct responsibilities for the origination, structuring and execution of Integrated Asset Based & Cash flow lending transactions in The Benelux both for financial sponsors and (mid) corporate clients, which enables Investec to deliver certainty for growth, acquisitions, refinancing and wealth realisation. Prior to joining Investec I worked for ING Bank in Amsterdam where I undertook a variety of roles within Working Capital Solutions, Corporate Banking, Restructuring and Credit Risk Management.  I hold a Master in Business Administration from Maastricht University, The Netherlands.

Alexandre Neiss

Head of Benelux Origination, Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2013 with responsibility to originate, structure and execute financing for financial sponsors and corporate clients. In this role I focus on arranging funding for buyouts, refinancings and restructurings across the spectrum of the capital structure. I joined Investec from Deutsche Bank, where I worked in corporate finance in the Healthcare Investment Banking team. As part of this role, I was responsible for client coverage and M&A execution as well as working on debt and equity opportunities. Prior to this, I worked in the Leveraged Finance division of Royal Bank of Scotland

Tim van Heusden

Direct Lending

I joined Investec's Growth & Leveraged Finance team in 2021, where I am responsible for the analysis and execution of new financing opportunities in the Benelux region. Prior to joining Investec, I spent seven years at ABN AMRO, of which the last four years in the Leveraged Finance team.

Rudolf Bakker

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2023 and am responsible for the analysis and execution of new financing opportunities for private equity-backed clients in the Benelux region. Prior to Investec I worked for ABN AMRO in their Leveraged Finance team.

Omar Ellithy

Direct Lending

I joined the Growth and Leveraged Finance team of Investec in 2023. My responsibilities encompass the analysis and execution of new financing opportunities for mid-market private equity-backed clients, as well as the monitoring of existing assets. Prior to joining Investec, I worked in the Direct Lending team of Federated Hermes. I am a Dutch native speaker, hold a Msc in Finance & Investments from Rotterdam School of Management (Erasmus University), a BSc in Business Administration, have passed the CFA Level II exam and hold the CFA ESG certificate.

Kai Stengel

Head of DACH Origination, Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2008 and am responsible for the origination, structuring and execution of mid-cap senior lending transactions for Private Equity and Corporate clients. During my time at Investec, I worked in a number of roles in the leveraged loan space, from participation in syndicated transactions for the Gresham CLO platform to portfolio monitoring and restructuring. Prior to Investec, I worked for six years for IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, where he was responsible for sourcing and executing transactions in the Acquisition Finance team and the Project Finance team. I hold a BA in Business Administration (Honours) degree from the University of San Diego.

Fred Kinsman

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2021 and am responsible for the analysis and execution of new financing opportunities for UK based mid-market private equity-backed clients, as well as monitoring the portfolio of existing assets. Prior to joining Investec, I worked for Deloitte UK in debt advisory and in the leveraged & acquisition finance team for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Sydney). I hold a Bachelor of Business (Management & Finance) from Queensland University of Technology and a Master in Applied Finance from Macquarie University.

Jan Straube

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2020 from the Leveraged Finance team at Lloyds Bank, where I worked with listed and private corporates as well as financial sponsors across the UK, Western Europe and the US. At Investec, I will focus primarily on the German-speaking region, helping to further grow our Leveraged Finance franchise in Continental Europe. I hold a BSc in Corporate Finance and Masters in International Business.

Viet Trinh

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2025 and am responsible for the analysis and execution of new financings for mid-market private equity-backed clients in the German-speaking region. I assess cash-flow based facilities across the capital structure, with a dedicated focus on leveraged buyout, refinancing and recapitalisation transactions. Prior to joining Investec, I worked for the global investment bank Houlihan Lokey in the capital markets team. I hold an M.A. in Accounting and Finance from the University of St. Gallen and a B.Sc. in International Business from Maastricht University.

Edward Botha

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2024 into the newly created Private Credit Management team. My role is to manage a portfolio of UK companies both from a client coverage perspective as well as the responsibility to monitor company performance on an ongoing basis.  I joined from Citibank where I worked in a transactional environment underwriting and executing on Private Equity backed buyouts and related transactions, with responsibility for the portfolio too.  I started my career at HSBC primarily working in Leveraged Finance origination in both the UK and Hong Kong.

Michael Miller

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2024 to lead the Private Credit Management ("PCM") team.  The PCM team is responsible for managing the credit as well as providing operational risk oversight over Investec’s Direct Lending portfolio.  The team also looks to originate new revenue opportunities by supporting our clients through their growth lifecycle.

I previously worked at HSBC for over 20 years having previously worked across M&A, loan markets and portfolio management.   In my last role I had responsibility for HSBC’s sponsor coverage and the leveraged finance portfolio team.  I hold a BSc in Financial Services from Manchester University and a BSc in Geography from the University of Southampton.

Jade Ord

Direct Lending

I joined Investec in 2014 and am responsible for the analysis and execution of financing opportunities for mid-market private equity-backed and corporate clients in the UK, as well as monitoring the portfolio of existing assets.

Stuart Sweeney

Direct Lending

Having joined Investec in 2024, I work as a Director within the Private Credit Management ("PCM") team providing operational risk oversight for the Direct Lending portfolio and supporting management teams in accessing our range of financial products to help achieve their growth strategies. Prior to Investec, I spent five years at a Corporate Finance firm supporting Private Equity and Corporate clients in structuring and executing lower mid-market and mid-market financing solutions. Before that I held roles at Lloyds Bank and CIT Bank as part of their Leverage Finance teams supporting clients with their M&A, recapitalisation and refinancing activities across a broad range of sectors, both in the UK and internationally.