Pictured above: Dr Mohammed Nazir (WM Minority Ethnic Business Forum), James Watkins (Business Voice WM)

West Midlands professionals need specialist training if they are to take advantage of the growing Islamic finance market, a meeting in Birmingham heard.

Now lobby group Business Voice WM plans to drive the issue forward.

"We will be exploring what training can be developed to help professional services firms take advantage," said Mohammed Nazir, Business Voice WM lead on Islamic finance.

"The intention is to come forward with a package which will prove attractive to both companies and individuals, helping professional firms win work."

Legal firm Clarke Willmott sponsored the event at its offices in Edmund Street, Birmingham.                                                                                                  

Kathy Toon, Head of Office at Clarke Willmott, said: "We recognised the immense opportunity available in the West Midlands and immediately identified Islamic personal finance as a particular area we wished to specialise in. 

"We have created a special team to deal with this area of law and invested in training and marketing in order to ensure we are fully prepared to deliver a dedicated legal service.

"The expansion of Islamic finance has been barely touched by the recession and it is important that we embrace all that is on offer."

With Muslims forbidden by their religion to engage in the charging or receiving of interest, Islamic finance is essentially based on profit sharing.

Some projections have put growth over the next few years at 15 per cent per annum.

Pictured above: Fred Bromwich, Michael Reeves (Bigwood Chartered Surveyors), Kathy Toon (Clarke Willmott)

Leading institutions based in Birmingham include the Islamic Bank of Britain and consultancy Islamic Finance, Advisory and Assurance Services.

The Muslim Council of Britain - representing more than 500 local, regional and national Muslim associations and institutions across the country - and BVWM have a memorandum of understanding committing the two bodies to work together to further develop Islamic finance.

In 2007 West Midlands car maker Aston Martin was sold for £479 million to a Dubai-based consortium using an Islamic financing technique known as Murabaha.

Murabaha is a mark-up arrangement.

There are several different Islamic finance schemes available and the other most commonly used ones are: Mudarabah, an investment arrangement, Musharaka, a partnership/joint venture, Ijara, a leasing deal, Sukuk, for bonds, and Wakala, for deposit products.

There are said to be more than 550 Islamic financial institutions and Islamic mutual funds worldwide, with estimated combined assets of £360 billion. Another £130 billion in assets lie in Islamic "windows" at conventional banks and financial institutions.