Friday, March 29, 2024
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Editor's PickWahed acquires two companies to capture UK Muslim estate planning market

Wahed acquires two companies to capture UK Muslim estate planning market

Wahed has purchased a digital Islamic wills provider and a legal firm specializing in estate planning for Muslims for undisclosed sums as part of the Halal robo-advisor’s aggressive growth strategy to become a one-stop shop for Muslim-friendly financial services.

The legal firm is iWill Solicitors, which has advised on over 5,000 wills for the UK Muslim community since its founding in 2007. It was acquired in a seven-figure deal and its 10 employees will be absorbed into Wahed.

The other company is True Wills, established in 2020, and is one of the earliest platforms to fully digitalize will-writing services in accordance with Shariah law.

“At the start of 2022, there were no thoughts of a sale or acquisition, but we are pleased to share that at the beginning of 2023, we became part of Wahed Group,” shared Rizwan Rashid, director at iWill Solicitors.

Wahed will integrate will-writing services in its app alongside its Halal savings and pension products. In addition to that, Wahed’s clients will also have access to Shariah scholars and specialist solicitors for legal advice.

According to Wahed, 90% of Muslims over the age of 18 do not have a will. “The average British citizen creates a will at the age of 47, but the average British Muslim considers writing a will before the age of 40, with 86% believing it is required under Islamic law,” the robo-advisor noted.

The acquisitions follow the opening of Wahed’s first physical store in London and the launch of its gold-backed debit card last month. Wahed is one of the most active Islamic fintech start-ups to grow inorganically: it acquired Maydan Capital, which was relaunched WahedX, a global equity crowdfunding platform last September. In December 2020, it bought over Islamic digital banking start-up Niyah.

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