IslamicFinance.de

The Church of England is circulating a video which discusses investment issues within the church. The initiative is part of Good Money Week to stimulate responsible investment. The YouGov research for Good Money Week shows that there is a high demand for ethical and sustainable investment. 57% of Britain's public believe investment managers have responsibility to ensure holdings are managed in a way positive for society and the environment. There is a rising demand for fossil free funds: 40% want a fossil free option, up from 35% last year and 32% in 2015. This rises to 57% of adults under 24. The research also found that UK savers feel disempowered by financial intermediaries. 76% of Britain's public don’t know how much of their pension is invested ethically and 30% believe they have no say in how their assets are invested. During Good Money Week, the Church of England provides the tools to find out more about ethical investment and helps to take the first steps.

Dubai-based GFH Capital is snapping up central London property in search of attractive yields and may launch technology funds with a U.S.-based partner as it seeks to capitalize on business startups in the GCC. GFH Capital has been buying London properties with values between $15 million and $50 million. It is currently looking at purchasing a pair of properties for about GBP20 million, according to chief executive David Haigh. Those investments aim to exploit good prospects for returns on luxury flats in central London. In addition to its London property strategy, GFH Capital is looking at launching private equity funds that seed startups in the region. Besides, the investment in Leeds, Haigh said, was doing well.

Aston Martin's indebted majority owner has won the backing of sufficient creditors to proceed with a fresh debt restructuring plan – using the British luxury carmaker as collateral – ahead of a planned seven-year asset disposal program. Investment Dar's proposed restructuring received the minimum required backing of at least 13 per cent of creditors, but did not exceed the 56 per cent maximum that the company would allow.

Investment Dar has become overextended in the global financial crisis and its complex debt restructuring has dragged on for four years. The indebted Kuwaiti shareholder of ASTON MARTIN has offered a new debt restructuring deal to creditors, using its shares in the British luxury car brand as collateral. Under the plan, creditors of Kuwait’s Investment Dar will be given the option of becoming lenders to Oasis Holding (a Jersey-registered 'special purpose vehicle', SPV) while taking a 50 percent discount on what they are owed. The private equity group’s 24 per cent stake in Aston Martin and its 28 per cent stake in affiliate Asmar, which also holds shares in Aston Martin, will be among assets to be shifted across to the SPV. Altogether, Kuwaiti investors own 60.5 per cent of Aston Martin.

Venture Capital Bank successfully secured the acquisition of a prime boutique new-build freehold residential development in Mayfair Chambers, one of London's most eminent residential districts.. This investment opportunity comprises of a building currently being developed to house six luxurious residences. Construction of the development has commenced and delivery of the apartments is expected to be in April 2014. VCBank has been working on this development and investment opportunity for several months. The Bank has engaged Trowers & Hamlins - an international law firm- to conduct a full legal due diligence on the site and offer advice given the new changes in the tax regime addressing matters such as stamp duty land taxes, capital gain taxes, and annual tax on enveloped dwellings (ATED).

London-based firm Cobalt has developed a sharia-compliant insurance platform that uses a syndication model to help spread risk across a panel of underwriters. Cobalt allows multiple insurers to pool their capacity and each can subscribe to the desired level of risk though individual Islamic Windows. The company aims to address capacity constraints in the takaful industry. The platform allows each insurer to have a takaful window, where policyholder funds are segregated from conventional funds, without affecting their rating levels and helping price the risk competitively. The risk is priced by a lead insurer and other firms must then subscribe under similar terms, a similar approach to the subscription model used in London's insurance market.This novel format could boost capacity in the sector.

Dubai-based GFH Capital, owners of English football club Leeds United, have confirmed the appointment of Brian McDermott as the club's new manager with immediate effect. McDermott has agreed a three-year contract and will be joined by Nigel Gibbs as his assistant. The pairing previously worked together at Reading, where McDermott won promotion to the Premier League last season. McDermott brings with him the experience of having clinched promotion from the Championship last season when he guided Reading to the Premier League.

Gatehouse Bank announced its expansion in South East Asia following the acquisition of the law firm SJ Berwin's offices in London, in collaboration with a flourishing Malaysian Sovereign Wealth fund in September 2012. Richard Thomas OBE, will relinquish his current responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer and will take over a new role with the Bank to spearhead this SE Asia business expansion and operations. Mr Fahed Boodai, Chairman has been appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer.

More than 100 West Yorkshire Muslims attended an event in Bradford which focused on Islamic finance. The networking dinner was organised by the Professional Muslim Institute and sponsored by the Islamic Bank of Britain plc and Ummah Financial, two of West Yorkshire’s leading Islamic finance providers. Guest speaker was Imam Qari Asim, senior Imam at Leeds Makkah Mosque.

London-based Gatehouse Bank plc (Gatehouse) has completed the acquisition of a 163,000 sq ft, state of the art office building in Salt Lake City, Utah. The deal is expected to return a stable and healthy yield over the investment period. The property is 100% leased to theGeneral Services Administration (GSA) for a fixed term of 20 years. The Class-A office building has been built specifically to meet the critical security requirements of the tenant. Gatehouse Bank was assisted by Arch Street Capital Advisors and sister company GSH in this transaction.

The former Chief Executive of Gatehouse Bank David Testa has successfully appealed in the first-tier tax tribunal against HM Revenue & Customs' "flawed" refusal to suspend a penalty imposed for a careless inaccuracy. HMRC rejected David Testa's offer of using a qualified tax practitioner to ensure he ironed out future self-assessment errors after he mistakenly failed to declare his severance payment after he left his post with the bank in 2009. The tribunal upheld Testa's view, noting HMRC's policy "sits uneasily" regarding inaccuracies arising from one-off events. Judge Kevin Poole described HMRC's logic as "flawed" and added there is "a danger of taking too narrow a view of the legislation".

London-based Gatehouse Bank is participating in the youth mentoring initiative 'Mosaic' that seeks to inspire young people from deprived communities to realise their talents and potential. The seminar saw business leaders, including the CEO of Gatehouse Bank, Richard Thomas, sharing important insights and experiences on activities undertaken in 2012. According to a press release from Gatehouse Bank, Mosaic addresses the role that businesses can play in responding to social and environmental problems. Therefore, it directly reflects the business ethos of a socially responsible Shari’ah banking model.

Alderman Roger Gifford, the Lord Mayor of The City Of London, said that London is becoming increasingly important in the Islamic finance world. A lot of infrastructure exists to service Islamic finance, however it is nothing more than a niche product in London which represents less than 1 per cent of the entire market. Gifford is therefore promoting further cooperation between Dubai and the wider UAE market with London. This can help Dubai to become a global capital of the Islamic economy, according to the Lord Mayor.

Bahraini GFH Capital is considering selling a majority stake of Championship club Leeds United which it has owned since December 21. GFH bought Leeds from Ken Bates for £17million plus payments based on reaching the Premier League within four years. A multi-national consortium led by former Hull City executive Adam Pearson has made proposals to buy either 51 per cent or all of GFH's shareholding, which values Leeds at around £25m. According to a GFH statement, they received an offer for a majority stake that has not been accepted, although they have been seeking strategic investors.

Leeds United owners GFH Capital are reportedly planning to sell the football club, just seven weeks after completing their takeover. Current owner of Hull FC rugby league club Adam Pearson is believed to be leading a bid by a consortium of Yorkshire businessmen. The deal is understood to be for 51 per cent with a full takeover later this year. A GFH Capital statement last night said that they had received several offers to invest in the club alongside them, but none had been accepted.

After advising Goldman Sachs on a controversial 2$ billion sukkuk programme, Dar Al Istithmar has closed down.
Sources say that most of the staff moved to Khalij Islamic, with offices in London and Dubai. Clients have moved to Khalij Islamic as well.

The finalists for the inaugural British Muslim Awards were announced. The event will be held on Tuesday, 29th January 2013 in Manchester and honors achievements of Britain’s Muslim individuals, groups and business people. The Islamic Bank of Britain sponsors the event that will also raise money for Mosaic, a charity enterprise.

Gatehouse Bank has issued its first real estate-backed Sukuk that comprises shares in a company which owns a property leased to Fujitsu Services Limited. Rental payments will be applied to fund payments to the Sukuk holders and investors have the option to redeem their investment on a quarterly basis. Therefore, this asset constitutes a short term cash instrument with an annual yield of three per cent.

Gatehouse Bank's acquisition of a diverse industrial portfolio of 19 operationally critical properties all over the USA has been competed. The properties are leased to 16 tenants, whereby the remaining lease term is 14 years in average. The portfolio is stabilised at 100% occupancy. The acquisition worth $178 million was carried out in partnership with the Brennan Investment Group (BIG).

QIB UK, which is situated in London, has closed its seventh Islamic capital-protected note. The bank's plans further include rolling out similar products every year. Since the launch of its "Hemaya" structured note programme in 2010, QIB UK was able to raise over US$190m. US$153m of the sum were raised by the first six tranches.According to Anouar Adham, the bank intends to launch several tranches every year.