Commodity Murabaha Used To Finance UK Office Deal

The Shariah-compliant refinancing of high value office accommodation in Aberdeen has been completed using a commodity Murabaha structure. Gatehouse Bank, a wholesale Shariah-compliant investment bank based in London, advised Youngberry on the investment and financing aspects of the deal.

The funding was completed by way of a commodity murabaha facility from an established international bank. A murabaha transaction is a form of Islamic financing based on the purchase of underlying assets and their sale at a profit mark-up that enables a financier to provide funding without an interest-bearing loan.

Shepherd and Wedderburn provided Youngberry with banking, real estate, construction and tax advice.

The properties, which total 159,170 sq ft of floor space, are fully let to the oil and gas service provider Petrofac as its North Sea office headquarters and NHS Scotland.