Member Article

Muslim Power 100 award for Birmingham lawyer

Mohammed Saqub, a partner in the Birmingham office of law firm, Shakespeare Martineau, has been awarded the ‘Islamic Banking and Finance Award’ at the Al Khair Foundation Muslim Power 100 Awards 2018.

The ‘power list’ recognises achievements within the international Muslim community and promotes contributions made by Muslim men and women at a local, national and international level.

In his role at Shakespeare Martineau, Mohammed advises on high-value and complex property investment, development and finance transactions, specialising in Islamic Finance. His career has seen him working closely with both the UK and foreign governments and banks, providing support and advice on the intricacies of Islamic property transactions and the formation of Sharia-compliant business structures.

Mohammed’s award follows a period of growth for the Islamic Finance market in the UK, with increasing activity in terms of both inward and outward investment.

Mohammed Saqub, partner at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “With Brexit continuing to dominate discussions about the future of trade, many businesses are retraining their focus from the nearby shores of the EU onto the Middle East. Organisations seeking to attract overseas investment have begun to realise that thinking outside the box and looking further afield could be a shrewd commercial decision.

“The demand for specialist advice around Islamic Finance transactions is growing rapidly and these awards recognise that. Conducting transactions and structuring deals with Middle Eastern businesses, banks and investment bodies requires a different approach, which UK organisations may not be used to. There are many unique requirements which must be navigated to ensure that transactions are Sharia-compliant.

“With economic uncertainty close to home, the Middle East is an exciting and valuable market to explore for UK businesses, which offers many opportunities for mutually-beneficial investment. We must ensure that the UK business community is structured in the best way to capitalise on this perhaps previously-overlooked market.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Shakespeare Martineau .