Hilco Real Estate Finance (HREF) has appointed Simon Pollins to join its expanding UK team.

Pollins (pictured), a London-based development and bridge lending specialist has been a qualified chartered accountant for over 35 years.

He joins the specialist real estate lender as senior business development consultant, bringing over 30 years’ experience in residential property lending to the HREF team.

PAN-EUROPEAN DEALS

For the last 10 years, he has set up and run specialist bridging and development lenders, and has also worked with the family offices of ultra-high net worth individuals.

Throughout his career he has been involved in complex pan-European transactions.

HREF launched in 2023 to provide bespoke, flexible property finance solutions nationwide across various real estate sectors and capital structures, offering short-term loans for growth, acquisition opportunities, development exits and refinancing exits with loan sizes ranging from £3m to £100m+.

Pollins said: “I have watched HREF’s early progress and numerous transactions since its launch last year, and I am excited to be joining a new lender at such an early stage of its journey.

“In a fast-changing lending market, HREF’s offering in the sub-£100m lending space is in high demand, and its approach to streamlining access to funding resonates in the property sector at a time when many mainstream lenders are unable to compete.”

“Simon has deep experience helping new and growing lenders gain traction in the market”

Andrew Ward, managing director at HREF, added: “Simon has deep experience helping new and growing lenders gain traction in the market, especially focusing on agile lenders which offer fast, flexible secured lending on property assets.

‘He’s a great addition to our growing team that has already been recognised with industry newcomer nominations, and he will be instrumental in helping us to meet and exceed our ambitious 2025 lending targets.”