Sharia compliant bridging finance provider expands senior leadership team

By Bridging Loan Directory 1st June 2022

The UK’s first Sharia-compliant short-term bridge property finance provider OFFA have announced the arrival of Amir Firdaus as their new Chief Financial Officer and Sagheer Malik as the Chief Commercial Officer.

The pair, who have over 35 years combined experience in UK Islamic finance, join OFFA Executive Chairman Sultan Choudhury OBE and Chief Executive Officer Bilal Ahmed ahead of the company’s planned relaunch into the financial services market in Britain.

Both new recruits have moved across from Al Rayan Bank – the UK’s largest Islamic bank.

Amir will be part of OFFA’s executive team that delivers scalable systems and processes that ensure quick and efficient service for customers.

The new CFO will also be working with global banks, private equities and family offices to obtain and structure funding lines for OFFA, with the potential of launching capital markets products in the future.

Formerly CFO and Head of Treasury at Al Rayan Bank, Amir has been at the forefront of growth in Islamic finance in Britain.

The chartered accountant’s twenty year career has also seen him work at Aldermore Bank and Sainsbury’s Bank. While Head of Asset and Liability Management at Aldermore Bank, he facilitated its balance sheet growth from £150m to £4.5bn.

Completing the C-suite at OFFA is Sagheer. The new CCO built an impressive reputation whilst Head of Premier and Retail Assets at Al Rayan Bank.

With over 15 years’ experience in Islamic banking, Sagheer has developed and overseen a multi-channel distribution of Sharia-compliant products in the UK and worldwide, generating more than £1 billion from property finance.

Alongside retail banking, Sagheer is also a specialist in asset products such as the Home Purchase Plan (HPP), Buy to Let, Expat finance, Premier and Overseas HNW property finance

In his new role, Sagheer will be responsible for driving OFFA’s sales and marketing of existing bridging finance products, as well as developing new real estate financial products and services.

The experienced Islamic banker will oversee the sales, marketing, customer services, and product development functions, as well as expanding OFFA’s distribution channels.