Bridge lending veteran Jamie Jolly to lead Hilco regional expansion

Jolly joins HREF from London-based Hampshire Trust Bank where he led the bridging division for almost three years. He began his 24-year lending career in 2001 with Cheshire-based Blemain Group, (that later became Together), where he spent more than 14 years, eventually heading the commercial lending division.

“Jamie was the ideal partner to join us at a crucial time for HREF, as we expand our presence outside London, where we have been based to build our early market share in the specialist bridge lending market,” commented HREF chief investment officer, Max Lewis.

“His entire career has been in bridging and specialist lending, and Jamie has led some of the highest growth businesses in the industry for the last decade, and we’re excited to have him join our growing team,” he added.

Jamie said: “I’ve been watching HREF’s early progress with interest, and from a standing start two years ago they’ve already got great traction and the entrepreneurial team they have been building was the key to attracting me to join the business. In a market where deals can be tough to get over the line with some lender models, it was also an appealing opportunity to join a lender that is incredibly well capitalised and commercially minded when it comes to reviewing lending opportunities.”

“HREF has a clear strategy to grow regionally in the coming years, and from my base in the North I am well located to allow us to further support this region. The team have been doing an increasing number of deals with developers and brokers across the whole of the UK and Ireland, but we know there are a lot more opportunities out there in the areas that suit our direct, pragmatic approach to lending on deals that make sense, even if they involve unusual and what can be perceived as challenging deal structures and assets,” he added.

HREF was launched in 2023 and provides tailored, flexible property finance nationwide across various real estate sectors and capital structures, offering short term bridging loans for growth, acquisition opportunities, development exits and refinancing exits, with loan sizes ranging from £2m to over £100m.

The lender has grown rapidly to be one the UK’s most active specialist bridge lenders, and continues to target growth, intending to expand its loan book significantly in 2025 across all real estate sectors. Recent lending deals include loans from £3m to £30m against developments and property portfolios in London, Newcastle, Leeds and Waterford, Ireland.

HREF has offices throughout the UK and comprises a team of highly experienced finance professionals. It is a fully integrated subsidiary of Hilco Global (Hilco), the multi-national financial services group with more than $5bn of assets under management.