UK-based Rosette Merchant Bank (Rosette), an independent, privately-owned, sharia-compliant financial services firm with close ties to Kuwait and the rest of the GCC, has announced the launch of a new alternative funding solutions division.  

Rosette offers a full range of real estate services including client advisory mandates, sourcing of real estate opportunities and investment structuring, asset management and development management services.  

The new alternative funding solutions unit will specialise in providing advice and structuring solutions to local authorities and housing associations on the utilisation of Islamic Alternative Finance Investment Bonds (AFIBs) as an alternative source of funding.
 
AFIBs are a type of ethical financial instrument commonly known as sukuk (Islamic bonds), which share synergies with local authorities and their important role in investing in the real economy.

This new division will have a particular focus on enabling UK public bodies access to the Islamic Capital Markets with a global reach.
 
The global sukuk market is currently valued at £78 billion ($100 billion) and with the pending renewal of the highly successful 2014 UK government's Islamic bond due next year, Rosette believes there is a proven demand for UK government and quasi government sukuk issuances.
 
With local authorities under pressure to meet their funding needs, Rosette’s new division will enable them to access an alternative pool of capital which will diversify funding options and possibly prove more cost effective than the current conventional means of financing.-TradeArabia News Service