Puma Property Finance has appointed Louise Gillon (pictured) as director, head of hotels.
Gillon joins from Leumi UK, where she was head of hotel finance for 16 years.
Before that, she worked as a commercial credit analyst at AIB.
The appointment comes after Puma revealed its partnership with Madison International Realty which included a major investment to support the launch of Puma’s new institutional credit fund series.
The partnership with Madison has allowed Puma to broaden its lending products, including increasing its maximum development loan size from £50m to £100m, and expanding its offer of standalone stabilisation loans for operational real estate assets.
Gillon said: “I am thrilled to be joining Puma at such an exciting time for the business, particularly as there is so much potential to deepen our funding of the hotels space.
“We are optimistic about the UK hotel sector, which continues to evolve through ongoing investments in refurbishment and repositioning of assets to maximise their trading potential.
“Additionally, the sector is increasingly embracing innovative technological solutions to enhance profitability and improve the customer experience, all while focusing on creating environmentally sustainable and resilient properties.”
Gillon added: “As Puma accelerates its growth strategy and expands its market presence following the recent partnership with Madison, it is wonderful to be joining such a motivated and ambitious team.
“I’m looking forward to leading our expansion in the hotels sector.”
Paul Frost, managing director at Puma Property Finance, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Louise to the team.
“Her experience and deep knowledge of the hospitality sector will be invaluable as we look to increase our exposure to this attractive asset class.
“The launch of our new debt fund series, on the back of our strategic partnership with Madison, gives us access to further attractively-priced, flexible capital to support our growing client base.”
Frost added: “We are excited to be investing in our senior squad as we enter this next phase of growth for the business.”
