Gatehouse plans $97m Islamic bond by end Q1

ABU DHABI, Feb 28 (Reuters): Gatehouse Bank, a London-based sharia compliant investment bank, plans to bring a 60-million-pound ($96.77 million) Islamic bond to market by the end of the first quarter, its chief executive said Sunday. Richard Thomas, speaking on the sidelines of an Islamic forum in the United Arab Emirates' capital, said the bank would also arrange a 25-million-pound syndicated lease financing this year. Thomas declined to say who the sukuk was being arranged for, saying only that it was linked to an unidentified firm's "cash flow related to government contracts." The sukuk is waiting for completion, he said, adding that the bank was "nearly there." He added that Gatehouse was also mulling the creation of a real estate investment trust and looking at opportunities in trade finance.