Sutherland Mortgage Services has announced Gatehouse Bank as its first UK client. The pioneering Sharia-compliant bank offers savings products and finance for UK residential and commercial real estate.

The five-year contract will be delivered by Sutherland Mortgage Services’ UK team and will handle all of Gatehouse Bank’s buy to let finances on completion, managing the growing book for all the bank’s buy to let finance.

The third party servicer, which has around $250 billion in mortgage assets under management worldwide, will take a digital focused approach with the mortgage servicing.

Sutherland was chosen because of its vast worldwide experience and servicing methodology, its customer-led approach and its detailed knowledge of the Sharia-compliant mortgage market having previously worked with one of the biggest lenders in Dubai.

Sutherland has the capability to offer user experience insight through Sutherland Labs, its in-house experience design agency, providing deeper insight and understanding of customer behaviours in the UK mortgage market and customer base.

Gatehouse Bank’s CEO, Charles Haresnape commented:

“We chose Sutherland because undoubtedly it has the expertise and everything in place to deliver, and like us is on a growth journey in the UK. We may be the first UK client, but Sutherland’s global experience and capability speaks for itself. I was very impressed with Sutherland’s dedication to getting under the skin of Gatehouse, as an example Sutherland staff are undertaking the same training as our staff to really understand our values.”

Sarah Green, Director of Business Development at Sutherland Mortgage Services said:

“We are thrilled that Gatehouse is our first UK mortgage client; they have an exciting prospect for growth in the UK, to service the Islamic market and really make a difference in this area. I believe working with Sutherland gives Gatehouse a step up with better customer experiences, quicker processing time and access to the latest technology, and Sutherland’s global expertise.”

Sutherland has so far originated around $45 billion of mortgages for its clients in the US, and has over $250 billion of mortgage assets currently under management. It is aiming to replicate that success in the UK by providing highly efficient mortgage services driven by the customer, with the newest technology at the forefront.