Masraf Al Rayan completes £24m acquisition of Islamic Bank of Britain

THE Birmingham-based Islamic Bank of Britain has completed its £24m acquisition by Qatari bank Masraf Al Rayan.

IBB, the UK’s only wholly Sharia compliant retail bank, said Al Rayan (UK) Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Masraf Al Rayan, had become its new parent.

The acquisition by Al Rayan UK follows a cash offer made on November 28 for which MAR has received valid shareholder acceptances exceeding 95%, together with approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority.

The acquisition represents the combination of two complementary organisations; MAR is Qatar’s largest Sharia compliant bank by profitability with a full-service offering.  Since 2006 it has been providing retail, SME, corporate, private banking and investment banking services.  

IBB, formed in 2004, has attracted over 50,000 customers and offers the largest range of Sharia compliant retail financial products in the UK.  These include current, savings and business banking accounts, Home Purchase Plans and Buy to Let Purchase Plans.  

Commenting on the acquisition, Adel Mustafawi, Group CEO of MAR, said: “I am delighted to welcome IBB to the Masraf Al Rayan group.  The bank is considered the pioneer of Islamic banking in Britain and has very strong awareness amongst consumers there.  

“This provides the opportunity for Masraf Al Rayan to expand its footprint and introduce its range of products to a fertile market which has great potential for continued growth.  It will also enable Masraf Al Rayan to offer its existing Gulf-based customers additional services as they expand their activities into the UK.”

Masraf Al Rayan said its vision was to become a leading and innovative international financial institution and acquiring IBB was an important step towards achieving this.
 
Sultan Choudhury, Interim Managing Director of IBB, added: “IBB is joining Masraf Al Rayan, a fast-growing, international banking group. This represents a key milestone in IBB’s history and is a result of its impressive achievements so far, which include year on year growth in customer base, deposits and assets since its inception in 2004.  

“Going forward, IBB will have a parent company which has a clear focus on how to develop the Bank as well as having the necessary resources to achieve this.  We look forward to continued success as part of the Masraf Al Rayan group.”

The financial advisers to the Islamic Bank of Britain were Charles Cattaneo and Ian Stanway of Birmingham-based advisory firm Cattaneo and legal advice was provided by Keri Rees, Steven Hacking and Tom Milburn of Eversheds in Birmingham.

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