ASK Partners

Doug King co-founded ASK, where he oversees internal processes such as deal appraisals, due diligence, deal execution, and transaction monitoring, and holds compliance oversight for the business. He is a chartered accountant who qualified with Arthur Andersen and has a background in corporate finance, restructuring, banking, and real estate.

Paul Stevens is a co-founder of ASK Partners, where he oversees credit due diligence and investor relations. He has worked in banking for over 40 years, with the last 25 focused on property finance, and in 1995 established Investec Bank plc's European property finance business, later becoming Co-Head of Investec Specialist Private Bank. He remains on the board of Investec Bank (Channel Islands) Limited and serves as Strategic Advisor to Westbrooke's Investment Committee with a focus on real estate.

Head of Debt Finance at OakNorth, leading origination, structuring, and execution of bespoke lending for entrepreneurial businesses and property developers, with deep real estate and corporate lending expertise.

Belinda Inocco leads ASK's Private Client division, managing a base of over 300 high net worth investors and overseeing the operational aspects of clients' portfolios with an all-female team. She focuses on encouraging investment among women to help close the gender investment gap and has spoken on panels about macroeconomic effects on property investment. Before ASK she worked at Capital A Finance building a property loan portfolio for a family office, and held roles at a private residential developer and a property investment plc; she holds a diploma in surveying practice.

Ben Bellman joined ASK Partners as a graduate trainee in September 2023 after completing a BA in Philosophy at the University of Bristol. He is pursuing a part-time MSc in Real Estate at Henley Business School and has previously interned at Landhold Developments, Firmbase Properties and FocusPoint Private Capital Group. At ASK he works across the business, focusing on real estate debt finance structuring.

Cameron Chweidan joined ASK Partners in May 2018 as an investment analyst, after working at MFL. His role covers the origination and analysis of transactions across asset classes and capital structures, as well as digital transformation and the development of the firm's investor platform and loan management system. He holds a BSc in Geography from the University of Bristol.

David Bolger joined ASK in March 2023 as Head of Compliance and Financial Crime, where he manages compliance for the firm's investment platform development. He previously held contract roles including Chief Compliance Officer and MLRO for an alternative investment company, and worked with Konexo (the compliance arm of Eversheds Sutherland) and banking software developer Finova. He holds an International Diploma in Anti-Money Laundering from the ICA, a BSc in Economics and Business Finance, an Advanced Diploma in Insurance and Risk Management, and an MBA.

Eve Freeder joined ASK in October 2021, working alongside Belinda to support company operations and investor relations. She has over a decade of experience across various start-up organisations, and previously handled operations and accounts at a commercial property management business. She holds a BA in Ancient History and Social Anthropology and an MA in History of Art.

James Crocker joined ASK in December 2023 as an accountant, working alongside the firm's CFO. He is a graduate of the University of Bath, completed a one-year internship at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and previously worked as an accounts assistant at the London accountancy firm Finsbury Robinson.

Jamie Holt joined ASK Partners in March 2021 as personal assistant to Daniel and Doug. Prior to this role, Jamie worked for over 13 years as a personal assistant at investment management firm MML Partners.

Joe Freedman joined ASK in June 2021 and leads the origination team, sourcing and executing transactions across asset classes and capital structures. He has overseen completion of more than £500m of bridging and development finance lending, with a focus on value-add and transitional assets in the UK. He previously spent four years at property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton in roles spanning property finance, corporate finance, investment, and asset management, and holds a BSc in Industrial Economics from the University of Nottingham and an MSc in Real Estate from the University of the Built Environment.

Jon Murch has served as ASK's preferred planning consultant since 2019, advising on the planning aspects of the firm's loans. A private practice town planner since 2001, he previously worked at HepherDixon and Savills, and now runs his own planning consultancy, DaviesMurch, focusing on complex, mixed-use residential-led development projects for PLC housebuilders, registered providers, landowners and private developers.

Julia Stevens joined ASK in April 2024 as an investor relations analyst, arriving from Stonehealth Alpha, a Jersey-based property investment firm. She previously interned at Equites Property Fund in South Africa and holds a Bachelor of Science in property from the University of Cape Town.

Mike Ginsberg joined ASK Partners in June 2022 as an investment analyst, working on transaction analysis across asset classes. He is a qualified chartered accountant who previously spent three years in the financial services audit division at KPMG in South Africa auditing JSE-listed insurance companies, and later worked at ARIA Property Group as an acquisitions and disposal analyst and financial manager. He holds a Bachelor of Business Science degree from the University of Cape Town and a Post Graduate Diploma in accounting.

Naomi King leads marketing and PR at ASK Partners, which she joined in the summer of 2020. She previously ran her own agency for nine years serving financial services and technology companies, and has worked with clients in the energy sector.

Sarah Smith joined ASK Partners in April 2025 as Head of Portfolio Monitoring, having built her career in commercial real estate lending. She previously served as director of portfolio monitoring at OakNorth Bank, overseeing commercial real estate-backed loan facilities, and held earlier roles at Arbuthnot Latham, Victoria Asset Management and Nationwide.