Hilco Real Estate Finance (HREF) has recorded its strongest month to date, completing three major bridge loan deals worth over £43.8 million in February.
The specialist lender, which focuses on transactions between £3 million and £100 million, continues to expand its footprint across the UK.
The three deals, secured against assets in Leeds, London, and Wakefield, reflect HREF’s strategy of helping borrowers leverage their portfolios for exit or refinancing. The lender deployed over £200 million in 2024 and is now on track to exceed £300 million in 2025.
Max Lewis (pictured), chief investment officer at HREF, said: “A record month in Q1 on the back of such a strong maiden year is a great start to 2025 and speaks to the volume of good deals we are seeing with high-quality assets to lend against, both in London and especially in regions right across the UK.”
The three major February deals included loans secured against:
- A block of serviced apartments and high-end residential apartments
- An 83-unit residential development
- A 74-bed hotel.
The lender reports a strong pipeline of opportunities in the £15 million to £30 million range, as borrowers seek alternative funding solutions in a challenging economic environment.
Lewis added: “As we grow our team across the UK, we aim to deploy over £300 million of our own capital in 2025. Having certainty of our own funds is proving to be advantageous at a time when getting deals over the line—particularly for working assets tied to valuable businesses—is a challenge for some of the more traditional lenders.”
Jamie Jolly, who joined HREF in February to drive regional growth, pointed to rising demand for flexible lending solutions, particularly for complex transactions.
He said: “The appetite for borrowing from a pragmatic lending partner—who can swiftly value assets and businesses together, even in unusual or complex structures—is clearly very strong above the £3 million deal size.
“Market uncertainty globally, coupled with higher interest rates than a decade ago, has increased the urgency for borrowers to leverage assets and secure additional funding. We are gearing up to be highly responsive and open to less straightforward deals, as long as the quality of the security stacks up.”
