IslamicFinance.de

This Monday the world’s leading investors and experts will meet in London to discuss Islamic finance, with special focus on the Sukuk. Islamic finance has grown significantly within the UK in recent years. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB)’s funding plan for the first half of 2018 is estimated at $2.5bn, the largest since the Bank’s inception. A benchmark sized Sukuk issue will soon be launched ant the proceeds will be used to support infrastructure, education and health projects across the 57 member countries. According to IDB president Bandar Hajjar, the UK and London in particular will be at the heart of the Islamic finance revolution and Monday’s summit is a great place to start.

Alongside the P2P lenders and crowdfunding platforms, challenger banks have continued to make their mark as leaders of the alternative finance revolution. One of those challengers is OakNorth, which launched last year. Sitting in a similar space to P2P lenders in terms of loan size, co-founder Rishi Khosla tells me that they really want to be known as the ‘entrepreneurs’ bank’. After obtaining a banking licence, the serial entrepreneur immediately set about building a relationship between the bank and P2P platform Crowd2Fund. One of its recent deals involved Thesqua.re, a London-based serviced apartments provider.

Gatehouse?Bank has completed its first real estate financing deal. The £11.7m deal funds a joint venture between Princeton Property Partners and Resolution Property, and will turn an office block in Fitzrovia into eight flats. Meanwhile, Gatehouse Bank has hired Nick Westoby from RBS, Arnaud Schaller from Credit Agricole and Eduardo Martin from Banco Popular Espanol to bolster its real estate financing unit. Gatehouse said it has financing deal worth more than £500m in the pipeline.

Henry Thompson will take over the role of London-based Gatehouse Bank's new boss with immediate effect. He substitutes current chairman and chief executive Fahed Faisal Boodai, who will remain in his role as executive chairman. Thompson had been working in Shariah-compliant finance at Arcapita as head of legal before. Gatehouse, which offers investment banking services, has been aiming to get a foothold in London’s wealth management sector and recently opened a new office in Mayfair. Boodai said Thompson brings with him sector knowledge, which complements the activities of Gatehouse Bank.

Britain could become the first truly global Islamic finance centre if the government sets its mind to attracting infrastructure investment, according to Gatehouse Bank’s chairman Fahed Faisal Boodai. He estimates the industry is worth $1.5 trillion, and the sector is growing at around 20 per cent per year. Chancellor George Osborne is raising £200m with a sharia-compliant bond, the bank alone expects to buy £30m to £40m of the sukuk, and predicts bids for the debt to run into the billions of pounds. However, one problem is finding investment opportunities which meet stringent sharia standards. More certainty is needed if the government wants to unlock Islamic investment into infrastructure on the grand scale needed.