Business

 Offa, the UK’s first Shari’ah-compliant bridge finance fintech, has unveiled an innovative new buy-to-let finance (BTL) service, offering rapid funding decisions for British expats through a modern, paperless process. This launch marks a significant disruption to traditional British Islamic finance, providing a highly attractive investment proposition for UAE-based Britons, family offices, and other investors seeking halal investment opportunities in the UK's property market, where demand is currently outstripping supply.

Powered by next-generation technological innovation, Offa’s BTL service replaces outdated finance systems with flexible and ethical Islamic property finance solutions. The end-to-end digital processes ensure a swift and easy application process for expats, leading to quick decisions.

These Islamic BTL products are available to both new and seasoned British landlords residing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Australia, the European Union, Canada, Singapore, and Brunei.

Sagheer Malik, Offa’s Chief Commercial Officer and MD of Retail Finance, commented: “I have met many British expats who need Islamic buy-to-let finance but struggle with the onerous paperwork and outdated systems they typically face. Our modern, ultra-fast, paperless buy-to-let finance solves that problem. With our team’s decades of industry experience and a streamlined digital application process, we are bringing 21st-century Shari’ah-compliant BTL finance to our customers.”

UAE-based Gulf Islamic Investments group (GII), a leading Shari’ah-compliant global alternative investment company with over $4.5 billion of assets under management, acquired a majority stake in Offa in mid-2022. GII’s co-Founders and co-CEOs, Mohammed Alhassan and Pankaj Gupta, praised Offa's latest market innovation, stating: “This latest market innovation from Offa brings additional investment opportunities in UK property to Britons resident across the Arabian Gulf and further afield. We applaud Offa’s initiatives to attract further expatriate capital to the UK’s vibrant property market as an exciting alternative asset management strategy.”

Offa’s BTL finance follows the Islamic finance principles of co-ownership-with-leasing, where customers acquire the property in partnership with Offa and make monthly payments to increase their share, eventually owning it. A key feature of Offa’s BTL product is the allowance for customers to make up any shortfall in rental income required for affordability criteria with their personal monthly income, a practice known as top-slicing.

The service is available to anyone aged 21 or over purchasing property in England and Wales, either under their personal name or as a limited company, with property values ranging from £60,000 to £1 million. First-time landlords can also apply, and Offa’s BTL solutions extend to houses in multiple occupancy (HMOs).

Offa's ethical finance model, designed in accordance with Islamic finance principles, avoids charging interest and excludes investments in sectors deemed harmful to society, such as alcohol, tobacco, and the arms trade.

In April, Offa announced a £100 million credit line for its bridge finance arm from a fund managed by GII. This credit line, the largest of its kind outside the Gulf, creates significant capacity for Offa to expand and diversify its financial propositions in the UK property market

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