diff --git a/src/filebuf.c b/src/filebuf.c
index a71c57a47..73f0a70f4 100644
--- a/src/filebuf.c
+++ b/src/filebuf.c
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ int git_filebuf_commit(git_filebuf *file)
 	gitfo_close(file->fd);
 	file->fd = -1;
 
-	error = gitfo_move_file(file->path_lock, file->path_original);
+	error = gitfo_mv(file->path_lock, file->path_original);
 
 cleanup:
 	git_filebuf_cleanup(file);
diff --git a/src/fileops.c b/src/fileops.c
index 9938011d7..7691129f6 100644
--- a/src/fileops.c
+++ b/src/fileops.c
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ void gitfo_free_buf(gitfo_buf *obj)
 	obj->data = NULL;
 }
 
-int gitfo_move_file(char *from, char *to)
+int gitfo_mv(const char *from, const char *to)
 {
 #ifdef GIT_WIN32
 	/*
@@ -165,6 +165,29 @@ int gitfo_move_file(char *from, char *to)
 #endif
 }
 
+int gitfo_mv_force(const char *from, const char *to)
+{
+	const int mode = 0755; /* or 0777 ? */
+	int error = GIT_SUCCESS;
+	char target_folder_path[GIT_PATH_MAX];
+
+	error = git__dirname_r(target_folder_path, sizeof(target_folder_path), to);
+	if (error < GIT_SUCCESS)
+		return error;
+
+	/* Does the containing folder exist? */
+	if (gitfo_isdir(target_folder_path)) {
+		git__joinpath(target_folder_path, target_folder_path, ""); /* Ensure there's a trailing slash */
+
+		/* Let's create the tree structure */
+		error = gitfo_mkdir_recurs(target_folder_path, mode);
+		if (error < GIT_SUCCESS)
+			return error;
+	}
+
+	return gitfo_mv(from, to);
+}
+
 int gitfo_map_ro(git_map *out, git_file fd, git_off_t begin, size_t len)
 {
 	if (git__mmap(out, len, GIT_PROT_READ, GIT_MAP_SHARED, fd, begin) < GIT_SUCCESS)
diff --git a/src/fileops.h b/src/fileops.h
index 16e71038b..fd150df5e 100644
--- a/src/fileops.h
+++ b/src/fileops.h
@@ -68,7 +68,13 @@ extern git_off_t gitfo_size(git_file fd);
 
 extern int gitfo_read_file(gitfo_buf *obj, const char *path);
 extern void gitfo_free_buf(gitfo_buf *obj);
-extern int gitfo_move_file(char *from, char *to);
+
+/* Move (rename) a file; this operation is atomic */
+extern int gitfo_mv(const char *from, const char *to);
+
+/* Move a file (forced); this will create the destination
+ * path if it doesn't exist */
+extern int gitfo_mv_force(const char *from, const char *to);
 
 #define gitfo_stat(p,b) stat(p, b)
 #define gitfo_fstat(f,b) fstat(f, b)
diff --git a/src/odb_loose.c b/src/odb_loose.c
index 735d9394f..4e2d9a639 100644
--- a/src/odb_loose.c
+++ b/src/odb_loose.c
@@ -528,7 +528,7 @@ static int write_obj(gitfo_buf *buf, git_oid *id, loose_backend *backend)
 	gitfo_close(fd);
 	gitfo_chmod(temp, 0444);
 
-	if (gitfo_move_file(temp, file) < 0) {
+	if (gitfo_mv(temp, file) < 0) {
 		gitfo_unlink(temp);
 		return GIT_EOSERR;
 	}
diff --git a/src/refs.c b/src/refs.c
index 19f5406a4..5bbc7770e 100644
--- a/src/refs.c
+++ b/src/refs.c
@@ -1183,7 +1183,7 @@ int git_reference_rename(git_reference *ref, const char *new_name)
 		git__joinpath(old_path, ref->owner->path_repository, old_name);
 		git__joinpath(new_path, ref->owner->path_repository, ref->name);
 
-		error = gitfo_move_file(old_path, new_path);
+		error = gitfo_mv_force(old_path, new_path);
 		if (error < GIT_SUCCESS)
 			goto cleanup;
 
@@ -1218,7 +1218,7 @@ rename_loose_to_old_name:
 	git__joinpath(new_path, ref->owner->path_repository, old_name);
 
 	/* No error checking. We'll return the initial error */
-	gitfo_move_file(old_path, new_path);
+	gitfo_mv_force(old_path, new_path);
 
 	/* restore the old name */
 	free(ref->name);