Mubasher: Offa, the first Shari’a-aligned bridge finance fintech based in the UK, unveiled a buy-to-let finance (BTL) service to offer fast funding decisions by carrying out a modern paperless process, according to a press release.
The new Islamic BTL products are available to all British expats living in the Gulf area, as well as Australia, the European Union, Canada, Singapore, and Brunei.
Furthermore, the services are powered by next-generation technological innovation to replace legacy finance systems with the flexible and ethical Islamic property finance solutions offered by Offa through end-to-end digital processes.
The new products will be available to anyone, including first-time landlords, purchasing property in England and Wales aged 21 or over and either under their personal name or as a limited company. Meanwhile, the property has to be valued between GBP 60,000 and GBP 1 million. In addition, the BTL solutions are available for houses in multiple occupancy (HMOs).
Upon the new service, customers can acquire the property in partnership with Offa and make monthly payments to increase their share, and over time owning it. Meanwhile, when a customer’s rental income is not sufficient for the required affordability criteria for the BTL finance, the UK company allows them to make up the difference with their personal monthly income.
In mid-2022, the UAE-based Gulf Islamic Investments group (GII) acquired a majority stake in Offa. GII is a leading Shari’a-compliant global alternative investment company with more than $4.50 billion of assets under management (AUM).
Offa’s Chief Commercial Officer and MD of Retail Finance, Sagheer Malik, said: “I have met many British expats who need Islamic buy-to-let finance, but who struggle to cope with the onerous paperwork and old-style systems that they typically face. Our modern, ultra-fast, paperless buy-to-let finance solves that problem.”
From their side, GII’s Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Mohammed Alhassan and Pankaj Gupta, said: “This latest market innovation from Offa brings additional investment opportunities in UK property to Britons resident across the Arabian Gulf and further afield.”
In April 2024, Offa announced a GBP 100 million credit line for its bridge finance arm from a fund managed by GII. The financing is considered the largest of its kind outside the Gulf region, creating significant capacity for the Birmingham-headquartered business to expand and diversify its financial propositions in the UK property market.
