He will be responsible for leading HREF’s expansion across the UK.
Jolly joins from Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB), where he led the bridging division for nearly three years, and before that, he was the managing director of short-term lender SoMo.
He began his career at Blemain Group, which later became Together, where he worked for more than 14 years, most recently as the head of the commercial specialists team. Jolly was in this role for just over six years.
Max Lewis, chief investment officer at HREF, said: “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.
“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.”
Are your clients ready for the first Making Tax Digital reporting deadline?
Sponsored by BM Solutions
Jolly (pictured) added: “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.”
HREF launched in 2023 and offers tailored, flexible property finance across real estate sectors and capital structures, including short-term bridging loans, acquisition loans, development exits and refinancing exits. Its loan sizes range from £2m to more than £100m.
It is a subsidiary of multinational financial services group Hilco Global.
