The retail market for Islamic finance in the UK will evolve to meet the needs of a wider range of people, Sultan Choudhury has said.

The managing director of Islamic Bank of Britain said many of those using Islamic finance products were not Muslim but liked the ethical aspect of Islamic banking.

He pointed to findings from a poll of more than 300 investors by IBB, which showed one-third of respondents were non-Muslim.

Some 66 per cent of those surveyed believed sharia finance was appropriate in a modern western society.

A similar number (60 per cent) said sharia finance was relevant to all faiths, while more than half (58 per cent) said they considered Islamic finance to be an ethical system.

IBB also reported 81 per cent of its customers said they were likely to use sharia-compliant finance again.

Mr Choudhury added: “The bank has broken new ground by conducting our first piece of research, which will shape how the retail market for Islamic finance evolves.”

Adviser view

Keith Churchouse of Chapters Financial in Guildford said: “A diverse society is one of the benefits of living in the UK. Islamic finance products offer diversity in financial planning, which is a good thing.

“It is a very interesting survey and it will be interesting to see how the results develop over the years.”

*This article was originally published by FTAdviser on 14 February 2014. Read the originally article here.