diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/PackedBatchRefUpdate.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/PackedBatchRefUpdate.java
index 9c1d33dc3..8b0ea4fcd 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/PackedBatchRefUpdate.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/PackedBatchRefUpdate.java
@@ -86,10 +86,16 @@
  */
 class PackedBatchRefUpdate extends BatchRefUpdate {
 	private RefDirectory refdb;
+	private boolean shouldLockLooseRefs;
 
 	PackedBatchRefUpdate(RefDirectory refdb) {
-		super(refdb);
-		this.refdb = refdb;
+		this(refdb, true);
+	}
+
+	PackedBatchRefUpdate(RefDirectory refdb, boolean shouldLockLooseRefs) {
+	  super(refdb);
+	  this.refdb = refdb;
+	  this.shouldLockLooseRefs = shouldLockLooseRefs;
 	}
 
 	/** {@inheritDoc} */
@@ -155,7 +161,7 @@ public void execute(RevWalk walk, ProgressMonitor monitor,
 		refdb.inProcessPackedRefsLock.lock();
 		try {
 			PackedRefList oldPackedList;
-			if (!refdb.isInClone()) {
+			if (!refdb.isInClone() && shouldLockLooseRefs) {
 				locks = lockLooseRefs(pending);
 				if (locks == null) {
 					return;
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/RefDirectory.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/RefDirectory.java
index 07e38147f..b46ffe367 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/RefDirectory.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/RefDirectory.java
@@ -587,6 +587,21 @@ public PackedBatchRefUpdate newBatchUpdate() {
 		return new PackedBatchRefUpdate(this);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Create a new batch update to attempt on this database.
+	 *
+	 * @param shouldLockLooseRefs
+	 *            whether loose refs should be locked during the batch ref
+	 *            update. Note that this should only be set to {@code false} if
+	 *            the application using this ensures that no other ref updates
+	 *            run concurrently to avoid lost updates caused by a race. In
+	 *            such cases it can improve performance.
+	 * @return a new batch update object
+	 */
+	public PackedBatchRefUpdate newBatchUpdate(boolean shouldLockLooseRefs) {
+		return new PackedBatchRefUpdate(this, shouldLockLooseRefs);
+	}
+
 	/** {@inheritDoc} */
 	@Override
 	public boolean performsAtomicTransactions() {