Home Appointments Puma Appoints Louise Gillon as Head of Hotels

Puma Appoints Louise Gillon as Head of Hotels

Puma Property Finance, Louise Gillon, Madison International Realty, hotel finance, institutional debt fund

10 September 2025

Puma Property Finance has announced the appointment of Louise Gillon as Director, Head of Hotels, as it continues to grow its senior lending team and expand its focus on operational real estate.

Gillon joins from Leumi UK, where she led the Hotel Finance team for 16 years. During this time, she became recognised as a leading authority in the hospitality finance sector, supporting hoteliers and investors through multiple market cycles. She was noted for her role in guiding clients through the pandemic and the challenges that followed, adopting a collaborative and flexible lending approach.

Before joining Leumi UK, Gillon worked as a Commercial Credit Analyst at AIB. She has also built a profile as a regular speaker at hospitality and finance industry events.

The creation of the Head of Hotels position reflects the firm’s commitment to strengthening its presence across operational real estate. In May, Puma announced a strategic partnership with Madison International Realty, which included a cornerstone investment supporting the launch of Puma’s institutional credit fund series. This commitment will enable Puma to build a seed loan portfolio of more than £150 million, with the fund targeting an overall raise of over £350 million.

The Madison partnership has also supported Puma’s ability to broaden its lending products. This includes increasing its maximum development loan size from £50 million to £100 million and expanding standalone stabilisation loans for operational real estate assets.

Paul Frost, Managing Director of 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. We are excited to be investing in our senior squad as we enter this next phase of growth for the business.”

Commenting on her new role, Louise 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.

“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.”