diff --git a/spring-data-rest-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/rest/webmvc/config/RepositoryRestMvcConfiguration.java b/spring-data-rest-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/rest/webmvc/config/RepositoryRestMvcConfiguration.java
index 7d5edf372..9e95e2303 100644
--- a/spring-data-rest-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/rest/webmvc/config/RepositoryRestMvcConfiguration.java
+++ b/spring-data-rest-webmvc/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/rest/webmvc/config/RepositoryRestMvcConfiguration.java
@@ -658,6 +658,7 @@ public class RepositoryRestMvcConfiguration extends HateoasAwareSpringDataWebCon
 
 		SpelAwareProxyProjectionFactory projectionFactory = new SpelAwareProxyProjectionFactory();
 		projectionFactory.setBeanFactory(applicationContext);
+		projectionFactory.setResourceLoader(applicationContext);
 
 		PersistentEntityResourceAssemblerArgumentResolver peraResolver = new PersistentEntityResourceAssemblerArgumentResolver(
 				repositories(), entityLinks(), config().projectionConfiguration(), projectionFactory, resourceMappings());