How Offa is helping streamline Shariah-compliant property finance in the UK

UK-based Islamic property finance provider, Offa, is looking to obviate shortcomings in traditional real estate finance, whilst dispelling misconceptions regarding Sharia-compliant financing.  

We speak with Sagheer Malik, chief commercial officer and managing director of retail at Offa, on the company's offerings and its growth plans moving forward. 

How has Offa's new buy-to-let (BTL) service fared since its launch?
Malik: There has been a huge amount of interest in our Sharia-compliant BTL product since we launched it. 

For too long we had seen customers facing old-fashioned and cumbersome systems when they attempted to obtain Sharia-compliant finance – with mountains of paperwork to supply and fill in, and long waiting times for decisions.

We changed all of that with the launch of our BTL product, using a modern, end-to-end digital system so that our customers can potentially get a fair decision within minutes, depending on credit rating and risk criteria.

How will the acquisition of the Alburaq Islamic home finance portfolio benefit customers? 
Malik: Purchasing Bank of Ireland’s Alburaq Sharia-compliant home finance portfolio was a landmark deal, and our chief financial officer, Amir Firdaus, was responsible for this.

More than 350 customers have been seamlessly migrated to our servicing platform, and they will now have access to a wider range of Sharia-compliant property re-financing options, including Sharia-compliant bridge and BTL.

Both myself and Sultan Choudhury, our executive chairman, are very much familiar with Alburaq’s clients because we helped distribute this book almost two decades ago – so we are delighted that these customers are now coming home to us.

What are some of Offa’s short- to medium-term expansion plans?
Malik: We will continue to grow both organically, focusing on the speed and quality of service and expanding our product range, and also through acquisitions.

The Alburaq deal is a perfect example of this strategy, and you can expect to hear more announcements from us in 2025.

What are the key challenges in offering Sharia-compliant finance products in the UK? 
Malik: The image of Sharia-compliant finance has been that it takes a long time and mountains of paperwork before customers can get a financing decision. Right from the outset, we at Offa have been working hard to change that image, leading the industry by example.

We are demonstrating through our ultra-quick, modern and paperless systems that Islamic home finance can offer service levels equivalent to those in the conventional finance world, and even beyond.

For example, we can give a finance decision to most BTL customers within the same day of application and for many we can give offers within eight days. The fastest time from application to offer so far has been approval on the same day and offer by the next day.

What are the key trends that will dominate the Islamic property fintech landscape in 2025 and beyond? 
Malik: We have caused a stir in the UK’s Islamic finance industry with game-changing speed and a focus on customer satisfaction.

I hope that we can raise the game for the whole industry in 2025, because the real winners from that will be the people we are focused on: customers who need fast home finance decisions.