December 11, 2014 HM Treasury appoints Elemental CoSec to UK Sukuk
Elemental CoSec are proud to announce that they have been appointed by HM Treasury to provide company secretarial services to HM Treasury UK Sovereign Sukuk PLC (the “Sukuk PLC”) and will be appointed as a formal company secretary shortly.
The Sukuk PLC was used to issue £200 million of sovereign Sukuk by the British government; making Britain the first country outside of the Islamic world to issue sovereign Sukuk, the Islamic equivalent of a bond. The Sukuk adopts the Al-ljara structure, with rental payments on property providing the income for investors and is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
Nick Lindsay (Director, Legal and Governance) commented “It is an honour to be involved in such an innovative and progressive product and one that is at the forefront of Western Sukuk issuing. The unique structure poses its challenges and these are challenges that we embrace.”
Kate Ivers (Deputy Finance Director, HM Treasury) commented “Following a competitive tender process, we are pleased to have appointed Elemental CoSec to assume responsibility as Company Secretary for HM Treasury UK Sovereign Sukuk PLC.”
The UK’s first sovereign Sukuk received very strong demand, with orders totaling around £2.3 billion, and allocations were made to a wide range of investors including sovereign wealth funds, central banks and domestic and international financial institutions.
Investors from the major centres for Islamic finance in the Middle East, Asia and Britain were all represented in the final allocation.
The profit rate on the Sukuk was set at 2.036% in line with the yield on gilts of similar maturity. For further information, please read the HM Treasury UK Sovereign Sukuk PLC’s Offering Circular.
