Offa, the UK’s first Shari’ah-compliant bridge finance fintech, has announced the appointment of three new senior staff members – as the company continues to expand after the recent launch of its buy-to-let product.
Qasim Sajad is the new Senior Home Finance Manager. He has more than 12 years of experience in Islamic Banking including sales, team management, supervisory training, and staff development. Prior to joining Offa, he was part of the sales management team that grossed over £1 billion in home finance and buy-to-let (BTL) finance at Al Rayan Bank.
Reflecting on joining Offa, Qasim said: "I am passionate about bringing faith based financial solutions to those who wish to have access to inclusive and ethical financial products. Joining Offa gives give me the opportunity to work with some of the top Islamic finance leaders in the country in a company whose cultural and faith-based values resonate with my own.”
Saalik Haleem joins Offa as Senior Intermediary and Product Manager. With 11 years in the Islamic finance industry, he brings a track record of developing and enabling teams to deliver exceptional customer service and achieving company targets. Saalik was part of the same successful sales team at Al Rayan Bank as Qasim, and he has many years of broker departmental and relationship management experience, working with brokers both in the UK and Internationally.
Saalik said of his appointment: “I have joined Offa firstly to help bring innovation to the Islamic finance industry via its groundbreaking products and platform, and secondly to challenge myself in a fantastic new opportunity for personal growth. I am proud to be part of this team, which is led by some of the pioneers and leaders of Islamic Finance in the UK.”
Dominic Squires has joined Offa as Head of Compliance & Money Laundering Reporting Officer for BTL and Bridge. He has worked within financial services for more than 20 years, with 16 of those years in the compliance space. He honed his craft across a variety of firms – from large international banks to fintechs.
Dominic said: “I am keen to take on the challenge of this role, especially because of Offa’s unique Islamic finance proposition and to help the team succeed with our current and future offerings”.
Qasim and Saalik report to Sagheer Malik, Chief Commercial Officer & MD Retail Finance. He said: “These senior appointments are part of our strategy of focusing on the quality of our service along with the speed. Offa has just successfully expanded into the BTL space, and our growing top-class team will help us bring further innovative Islamic finance offerings in the coming months and years.”
Amir Firdaus, Offa’s Chief Financial Officer whom Dominic reports to, said: “I am delighted to have Dominic joining our team. We value his significant industry experience, which will result in a better Islamic property finance service for our customers across the UK and beyond.”
Offa recently launched an innovative new BTL service – with fast funding decisions delivered via a modern paperless process – aiming to disrupt and transform the traditionally old-fashioned and cumbersome world of Islamic finance.
In April, Offa also announced a £100 million credit line for its bridge finance arm from a fund managed by UAE-based Gulf Islamic Investments Group (GII). The credit line is the largest of its kind outside of the Gulf, creating significant capacity for the Birmingham-headquartered business to expand and diversify its financial propositions in the UK property market.
