2025 roundup: product launch, FCA authorisation, a major hiring spree and four award wins

It’s been a big year for Offa with the launch of an innovative new Islamic home finance product, authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a major staff hiring as part of our rapid growth strategy, and four prestigious award wins.

Our team were involved in multiple community and industry events across the country throughout the year as we continued leading the way for the Islamic finance industry through innovation – focusing more than ever on providing a fast and modern service for our customers, and outperforming the Islamic home finance industry by making financing decisions for buy-to-let applications in less than a day on average.

Let’s cast our minds back…

Solihull’s Mayor attends Offa’s Town Hall

We were honoured to begin the year with a visit from the Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Shahin Ashraf MBE – the first female Muslim mayor for the borough – who attended our annual Town Hall meeting at Solihull’s Crowne Plaza hotel, accompanied by her consort Jehangir Malik OBE.

Thanking Sagheer Malik, Offa’s Chief Commercial Officer & Managing Director of Retail Finance, and Sultan Choudhury OBE, Executive Chairman, for inviting her as a special guest, the Mayor said: “At the heart of Offa’s approach is a financial model inspired by a system that is rapidly gaining recognition as a force for good. It actively works to improve social justice, reduce poverty, and promote economic growth.”

First-time buyers accepted for Buy-to-Let

In February we announced that first time buyers are now being offered Sharia-compliant buy-to-let (BTL) finance by Offa, and the minimum age required has now dropped to 18-years-old – in a series of customer criteria changes aimed at widening access to Sharia-compliant finance for the general public.

BTL applicants only need to earn £18,000 per annum, and the way finance affordability is assessed has been simplified so that customers with terms under five years pay the standard  rate plus 1 percent, while those with terms of five years or more just pay the standard rate. Offa also expanded opportunities for overseas clients, with British expats in Malaysia and Hong Kong also now eligible for Offa’s Sharia-compliant BTL finance.

FCA authorises Home Purchase Plans

The following month we revealed that the Financial Conduct Authority had authorised Offa to provide Home Purchase Plans, the Sharia-compliant equivalent to conventional residential mortgages, for customers across the UK.

The authorisation clears the way for Offa to become the third active provider of HPPs in the market.

This was the first licence by the FCA for a home purchase plan to a newly-authorised entity in more than seven years.

Bridge-to-Let: launched

In January we hired Naseer Ahmed as Managing Director of Bridging & Development Finance after a series of recent new hires, as part of the company’s rapid growth strategy. He brings more than 20 years of experience within the banking and finance industry including key roles in bridge and development financing.

In July, Offa launched an innovative bridge-to-let finance service – combining our ultra-fast bridge product with our modern, paperless BTL. Speed is the crucial factor in real estate, and our ultra-quick bridge-to-let service is the first of its kind in this sector, allowing both Muslims and non-Muslims to save money, unlocking equity and providing wealth for their families.

Headcount: more than doubled

We went on a massive hiring spree in 2025, more than doubling our headcount in the past year to 45 staff members. Our new staff members include:

Mehreen Rafiq, Senior Underwriter, who previously worked at Barclays for more than a decade in senior underwriting roles and also as a contractor for Offa.

Aamna Khan, Operations Team Lead, who joined from HSBC where she was a Senior Mortgage Financial Support Specialist.

Shamim Rahman, Underwriter, who brings more than a decade of experience in the finance field, having previously worked at Precise Mortgages.

Mohammad Miah, Business Development Manager – Bridging & Development Finance, has 15 years of experience in banking across multiple roles within retail, commercial and bridge finance.

Khalid Rahman, Broker Support Specialist, brings more than a decade of experience across the financial and public sectors, having worked for HSBC, Al Rayan Bank, and the Ministry of Justice.

Qadeer Malik, Home Finance Advisor, worked for 16 years in the finance industry – most recently as a mortgage broker at Countrywide.

Ruth Chiu, Financial Crime Analyst, has more than a decade of anti-money laundering experience for institutions including Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Merril Lynch and Credit Suisse.

Mehwish Ahmed joined in a Customer Support role. She previously worked at Amplifi Capital as a Loan Underwriter and prior to that with State Bank of India as a Mortgage Case Manager.

Trevor Melly, Senior Underwriting Manager, who has 25 years’ experience in financial services, most recently at Signature Finance where he spent a decade as Credit and Risk Director.

Firoza Ismail, Business Development Manager, who brings a wealth of experience from the financial sector with deep expertise in Sharia-compliant finance and a strong background as a financial broker.

Winners!

We were honoured to have won prestigious four awards in 2025.

Sultan Choudhury OBE, our Executive Chairman, won two for Offa this year. First, he won Corporate Leader of the Year at the 12th British Muslim Awards 2025 in Birmingham. The award recognises decades of inspirational and pioneering work across the Islamic finance industry.

In his acceptance speech, Sultan said: “I’m privileged to lead a wonderful team and it’s really great to be receiving this on behalf of them.”

Sultan then won a second award – Entrepreneur of the Year at the Birmingham Awards in October. Sultan commented: “I am deeply honoured to receive this award, which beautifully celebrates our Birmingham heritage. It is a win for the entire Offa team, reflecting our collective drive and passion for leading the sector by providing modern, fast, and seamless Islamic property finance across the city and the UK.”

Best of all, Offa was awarded the Financial Services Business of the Year at the highly-respected Islam Channel Business Awards 2025 at the Hilton London Metropole later that month.

With stiff competition from major industry players and an esteemed panel of judges led by Sir Iqbal Sacranie OBE, it was a real honour to receive recognition of the Offa team’s tireless work providing innovative, fast and modern Islamic property finance. Accepting the award, Sagheer said: “Winning this award is a testament to the incredible team I have the privilege of working with every single day… As the first Islamic property finance delivering fast decisions and service that rivals even conventional banks, I think this recognition shows that we are on the right path.”

We rounded off the year with our third award win for Excellence in Professional Services award at the Chutney & Chat Awards, celebrating Birmingham’s entrepreneurs and business leaders, in December. Accepting the award, Sagheer said: ” We are focused on making Islamic finance faster, fairer and more ethical, so this award is further recognition that we are making that happen for our customers and brokers, with a quality of service that now sets the benchmark not just within Islamic finance in the UK but across the wider market, outperforming traditional high street banks as well.”

The year ahead

Our highly experienced and rapidly expanding team are working harder than ever, always focused on modernising British Islamic home finance and making it accessible and available to as many people as possible across the country.

We also have a huge product announcement coming very soon, so watch this space…