“Customers are increasingly looking at the ethical credentials of their financial products, and are taking more of an interest in where their money is being invested,” Fitzpatrick told Mortgage Introducer. “The Sharia principles Nomo is governed by mean that we will never place a customer’s money in interest-bearing investments or tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. We do not charge interest, and we are completely transparent with our customers.
“The principles of fairness, honesty, integrity and transparency are at the heart of everything we do and shape how we treat our clients, employees and stakeholders. This is something which we feel customers will appreciate, even if they do not need to use a Sharia-compliant financial product.”
Do foreign investors want to buy property in the UK?
Nomo’s customers are typically based in areas of the GCC – The Gulf Cooperation Council. It is an organisation which comprises six members – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – to further integration between them. They often want to purchase a holiday home or invest in rental property in the UK.
“There are very few options for customers who want to do this,” Fitzpatrick observed. “The majority are looking for Sharia-compliance, but first and foremost it’s about being able to help them access the UK property market.
“As we soon hope to expand Nomo to UK customers, we anticipate the Sharia-compliance aspect of what we do will be really important, as many Muslim customers in the UK currently find it difficult to find Sharia finance to purchase property.”