Excerpt:
Shariah-compliant Gatehouse Bank has formed a joint venture with property developer Sigma Capital to build thousands of rental homes in Britain, as it looks to gain from a decline in home ownership.
Britain, traditionally seen as nation of homeowners, has seen record numbers of households move into the rental sector in recent years due to a shortage of homes and mortgages.
"For us the supply-demand dynamic is absolutely rock-solid. We only see that growing as affordability constraints continue to strengthen," Gatehouse Bank's vice president of real estate, Scott Nichol, told Reuters on Thursday.