Meet the Shojin team: Nicola Balmer, Head of Legal

In the first of a new series profiling the Shojin team, we are pleased to introduce Nicola Balmer, who joined Shojin as Head of Legal in January 2025.

Nicola is a Banking lawyer with over 15-years of experience, having spent most of her career in private practice. Prior to joining Shojin, she was a Real Estate Finance Partner and worked at Emirates Bank, gaining valuable insights into banking operations and credit risk management.

Nicola is passionate about collaboration, problem-solving, and making wealth creation more accessible, particularly for women. Outside of work, she enjoys cycling, going to the cinema, and spending time with her two daughters.

Q: What is your career background, and what has been the highlight of your career so far?

I began my professional career shortly after the Global Financial Crisis, and have worked in private practice law ever since. I started my legal training contract in 2010 as part of the intake of 2009 law school graduates that had deferred traineeship start dates, during a very uncertain time across the City.

I somehow managed to navigate the storm and have now been in private practice for 15 years. After qualifying as a general banking lawyer, I quickly found that I enjoyed real estate finance so my career naturally gravitated to this sector. After a couple of years, I remember having a lightbulb moment after completing refinance after refinance of an expanding commercial asset portfolio of warehouses: I saw the potential of property as an investment asset class.

I immersed myself in all things property, attended loads of networking events, and built up a great network of developers and entrepreneurs. Being in this community inspired me to think beyond the rigid structures of private practice law and to not shy away from opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Over the years, I have been involved in a number of businesses and love exploring business strategy and lifelong learning about the entrepreneurial mindset. I even did my own HMO development whilst pregnant with my second daughter, but now I much prefer the geekier (and less hands-on) side of property investing! I have a business partner in Australia who runs a digital marketing coaching business. We help women grow online businesses and love brainstorming ideas and strategy. So when I got a call one day saying that Shojin was looking for an entrepreneurial finance lawyer, I knew this was where I needed to be.

One of the most consistently rewarding aspects of my career is getting deals done—I enjoy the fast-paced nature of real estate finance and its collaborative elements. Some of the larger transactions I’ve worked on in London, like the Battersea Power Station, stand out. It’s rewarding to walk past projects in all corners of the city and know I played a part in financing them. My great-grandfather was a banker for Barclays and financed the original White Hart Lane stadium in the 1920s, so it feels like property finance is in my blood.

Q: Have you received any awards or recognition in your career?

Early in my career, I was involved in a lot of pro bono work, particularly in human rights law, which was a great way to get legal experience and give back to the community. As part of that, I received an award at the National Student Volunteer Awards for a judicial review application that we made against the Department of Work and Pensions' discrimination against claimants of widow's benefit allowance. That was a very encouraging experience, and I strongly believe in the responsibility we have as professionals to contribute positively to society.

Q: What are your core values and aspirations for your career?

Values are something I’ve reflected on a lot in recent years as my career has evolved and with general life experience. My most important values are connection and collaboration—I love working with people, which is why I enjoy transactional work. Finding solutions to problems and getting deals done is all part of the fun.

As for aspirations, being part of a small but growing team is an incredible opportunity. Working at Shojin gives me the opportunity to set up an in-house legal function in a rapidly growing scale-up. I'm excited to build on my experience from Emirates Bank, where I learned how a well-established Middle Eastern bank operates in London. Bringing those insights to Shojin is invaluable.

On a broader level, one of my personal missions has always been to help create more wealth in the hands of women. When I first interviewed with Shojin, I was drawn to its mission of democratising investment and making wealth creation more accessible. Being driven by a bigger purpose is fundamental to creating the persistence to deal with the challenges of any growing business.

Q: When you’re not working, what do you like to do for fun?

I have two young children, so they keep me busy! Weekends are usually chaotic—if we’re not at kids’ parties, we’re swimming, bike riding, or visiting Bushy Park. I am a passionate believer in lifelong learning—I don’t think I will ever stop learning something new; my goal is to learn Italian and study art history when I retire!

To connect with Nicola, you can find her on LinkedIn here.