Islamic Bank of Britain

Islamic Bank of Britain was formed by a group of investors from the Middle East to take advantage of the growing market for Sharia compliant financial services in the UK. In July 2002, consultants and advisors were employed to confirm if such type of bank was needed and if it would be accepted by the Financial Services Authority, FSA.

Potential investors were invited, mainly from the Persian Gulf, who put together a private placement document which allowed the company to raise £14 million in start up capital by early 2003. In the same period, its first managing director, Michael Hanlon was recruited. Later that year, a draft business plan was proposed and formal application to the FSA was submitted.

By August 2004, the FSA granted authorisation of the bank, and subsequently led to the Islamic Bank of Britain becoming available to the public.

Giles Cunningham is the current CEO of Al Rayan Bank; he joined the Bank in April 2021.

In 2022, the Bank acquired a new headquarters in London's West End, 4 Stratford Place. The Grade II listed mansion houses the Bank's Board, Executive, Commercial and Premier Banking divisions.

On 16 January 2014, IBB confirmed that its new parent company was Masraf Al Rayan, one of the largest Islamic banks in the world.

In December 2014, Islamic Bank of Britain officially changed its name to Al Rayan Bank PLC, to reflect its status as part of the Masraf Al Rayan (MAR) group of companies.