UK - UK Islamic Finance Secretariat welcomes Islamic Development Bank President to London

www.thecityuk.com -Following an invitation from the Lord Mayor of the City of London, President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali today visited London. 
In collaboration with Gatehouse Bank, TheCityUK’s UK Islamic Finance Secretariat (UKIFS) held a meeting at The Mansion House to enable representatives from across the UK Muslim community to meet Dr Ali and his accompanying delegation. At this meeting they discussed areas of potential market development, including microfinance within Islamic communities, job creation initiatives for women entrepreneurs and innovative methods for developing young Muslim talent.


Keith Phillips, Executive Director of UKIFS, commented: “I am delighted to welcome His Excellency Dr Ahmad Mohammed Ali and his delegation to London. His visit provides an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the UK’s undoubted strength as the leading western centre for Islamic finance. UKIFS aims to develop closer working ties with the IDB in its international work and important role in supporting innovation within the UK Muslim community.” (source)

UK - Gatehouse CEO first to receive UK Royal award for civic excellence in Islamic finance

Richard Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Gatehouse Bank, is to be inducted to the Order of the British Empire, an honour bestowed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Thomas will be inducted into the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth the Second, at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace.  

The OBE has been handed by Her Majesty on behalf of the UK Government, in recognition for civic excellence and the contribution that Thomas has made to the UK Islamic financial services industry.

Jamie Bowden, the UK Ambassador to Bahrain, who has worked with Thomas on many global Islamic finance promotional initiatives, said, “I am delighted that Richard Thomas’s work in support of the UK Islamic Financial Services industry has been recognised. In the many years that I have worked with him he has tirelessly furthered the UK’s and the industry’s interests. His efforts have strengthened the links between the British and Bahraini Islamic financial sectors.(source)

UK - UK’s Islamic Finance capability assured as UKIFS is integrated into TheCityUK

We are proud to announce that the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat (UKIFS) has today been integrated into TheCityUK. Launched in March 2010, the UKIFS is the leading cross-sectoral body assisting with the promotion and development of Islamic Finance, both domestically and to represent the UK industry internationally.

Under our structure, efforts will focus on safeguarding and further developing the UK's strengths in Islamic Finance, ensuring it not only remains the West's hub for this financial specialism but continues to be a significant contributor on a global stage. This latest step will see the UKIFS' working group structures and member base integrated into our operations with members of our Board and Executive appointed to the Board of UKIFS. Richard Thomas, CEO of Gatehouse Bank is appointed Chair of the Working Groups and in conjunction with our executive, will support the development and growth of the UKIFS within the UK and its position as a global hub for Islamic Finance. (source)

UK - EVENTS - Islamic Finance - Is it here to stay? (Cambridge - May 31, 2011)

Islamic Finance - Is it here to stay? 

31/05/2011

When:	31/05/2011 5:45pm - 7:00pm followed by a drinks reception
Where:	LT1 - Cambridge Judge Business School Trumpington Street Cambridge, Cambridgeshire  CB2 1AG United Kingdom
Contact:	Sharifah Bakar-Ali (sbb31@hermes.cam.ac.uk)

Schedule: 5:30pm: Registration 5:45pm - 7:00pm: Panel Discussion 7:00pm - 8:00pm: Drinks and canapé reception Registration Information

Online registration is available until: 29/05/2011 Register for this event » View the 1 person who has already registered (full story)

UK - The UK retains position as key Western centre for Islamic finance

The launch of TheCityUK's new report on Islamic Finance provides a landmark for promotion of the industry internationally as the UK maintains its position as the leading Western provider of Islamic financial services.

Richard Thomas, Chief Executive of Gatehouse Bank, said "Gatehouse Bank is pleased to support TheCityUK Islamic Finance 2011 report. As an active market participant in the growing community of financial institutions in the UK dedicated to delivery of sharia compliant solutions, we welcome this latest research that continues to raise awareness of achievements made by the UK Islamic financial services industry". (full story)

UK - Gatehouse in £60m Sukuk

UK-based investment bank, Gatehouse Bank is planning a £60m ($97.8m) Sukuk by the end of Q1 2011, according to Richard Thomas, the bank's CEO.

Thomas was speaking to journalists at a conference in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of the week. (full story)

UK - UK's Gatehouse plans $97 mln sukuk by end Q1 - CEO

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Gatehouse Bank, a London-based sharia compliant investment bank, plans to bring a 60 million pound ($96.77 million) Islamic bond to market by the end of the first quarter, its chief executive said on Sunday. (full story)

UK - GATEHOUSE - Islamic Sukuks need real revision: Thomas ‘Gatehouse Bank has no speculative mandate’

Richard Thomas, CEO (source)

U.K. Cancels Sukuk, Focus on Economic Growth

The U.K., Europe’s largest market for Shariah-compliant financial products and services, canceled what would’ve been the first sale of sovereign Islamic bonds by a Western federal government as issues fell 15 percent in 2010.

“The U.K. government has decided not to issue sovereign sukuk because it is judged not to provide value for money,” a spokesman for the U.K. Treasury in London, said in an e-mailed response to questions Jan. 13. “It will keep the situation under review.” The Treasury has been mulling the sale of Islamic bonds denominated in pounds since at least April 2007.

UK - UK leading the world in Islamic Finance

Manama, Bahrain: Following the success of the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) in Bahrain, the UK has been praised as the leading Western centre for Islamic finance and one of the world's most attractive destinations for Islamic banks.

The conference, supported by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), included an expert panel from the UK, which led debates on the future of the sector, both in the UK and around the world.

This panel included three members of the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat, as well as representatives of leading advisory firms.

UK - UK Islamic finance sector 'booming'

The Islamic finance industry in the UK has gone from famine to feast in the past six months, according to one of the country's leading Islamic institutions.

'We have seen more business transactions in the past six months than we achieved in the previous three years,' said Gatehouse Bank chief executive officer, Richard Thomas.

UK - Gatehouse nimble in picking up business

Gatehouse Bank plc, one of five standalone Islamic banks in the UK, says the industry is starting to benefit from the 2008 financial meltdown of conventional banks.
The London-based wholesale investment bank's business has picked up across all segments, particularly over the last six months, its chief executive officer Richard Thomas told Business Times.

While people were more receptive to Islamic finance in the wake of the 2008 crisis, it took time for that interest to translate into actual transactions, he said.

"I'm now taking business from conventional banks because I'm more nimble and have a different business model. We're not part of that mega-debt culture," Thomas said in an interview on the sidelines of the Global Islamic Finance Forum in Kuala Lumpur this week.