Gatehouse Bank plc announces the establishment and first issue under the Milestone Sukuk platform

27th January 2009

Gatehouse Bank plc, the latest Islamic bank in the UK to be granted a FSA licence and voted Best New Islamic Bank 20081, has announced the establishment of a US$1 billion Sukuk programme by Milestone Capital PCC (“Milestone”).  Gatehouse Bank is the Arranger and Dealer of the Milestone programme.
The first Sukuk issue under the Milestone platform was successfully completed recently. The Milestone programme is a comprehensive and flexible Sukuk issuance platform and enables Gatehouse to raise funds for itself or clients in an efficient and effective way from the Islamic capital markets. The unique structure of the programme also allows for maximum flexibility with regard to the underlying Shariah structure used for each issue under the programme. 
After completion of the first issue under the programme, Gatehouse CEO, David Testa, commented, “We are very pleased with the success of the first issue under the programme. Given the strength of interest in the Milestone platform, we are currently considering increasing the programme limit significantly and look forward to using the programme to produce tailored financing solutions for our clients, from private placements to public, benchmark issues.”
The credit crunch has seen companies and investment firms turning increasingly towards the Islamic investor base for fresh and diversified sources of financing. The Milestone Capital platform provides a timely solution to finance and repackage Shariah compliant assets whilst giving investors access to these assets at transparent and attractive prices.
The Milestone programme is listed on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange and certificates issued under the programme are entered into the Euroclear and Clearstream clearing systems, with BNP Paribas Securities Services acting as common depositary. Milestone Capital PCC is a Jersey based orphan Protected Cell Company, designed to allow the efficient creation of new, segregated, bankruptcy remote cells. Each cell has the ability to issue a diverse range of Sukuk certificates, which is proving very appealing for issuers and investors alike.
By purchasing the Sukuk certificates Islamic investors are able to finance a company’s activities or assets through a number of well established Shariah compliant structures. These structures can have the same economic return characteristics as conventional debt instruments and thus the certificates representing this return are often referred to as Islamic bonds.
Ashurst LLP is the legal advisor to Gatehouse Bank on the transaction.

For all media enquiries, please contact:

Angelena Lee
Gatehouse Bank plc
Email : info@gatehousebank.com