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Qardus is no longer registered with the FCA as an Appointed Representative of ShareIn Ltd. As a result, Qardus will no longer be undertaking the FCA-regulated activity of arranging (bringing about) deals in investments.

Risk Warning

Read our full Risk Warning

Risk Information

Estimated reading time: 2 min

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be very complex and high risk. 

What are the key risks?

You could lose all the money you invest
- If the business offering this investment fails, there is a high risk that you will lose all your money. Businesses like this often fail as they usually use risky investment strategies.
- Advertised rates of return aren’t guaranteed. This is not a savings account. If the issuer doesn’t pay you back as agreed, you could earn less money than expected or nothing at all. A higher advertised rate of return means a higher risk of losing your money. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. 
- These investments are sometimes held in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). While any potential gains from your investment will be tax free, you can still lose all your money. An IFISA does not reduce the risk of the investment or protect you from losses.
You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
- Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
- Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated platform, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protectionhere
You are unlikely to get your money back quickly
- This type of business could face cash-flow problems that delay interest payments. It could also fail altogether and be unable to repay investors their money.
- You are unlikely to be able to cash in your investment early by selling it. You are usually locked in until the business has paid you back over the period agreed. In the rare circumstances where it is possible to sell your investment in a ‘secondary market’, you may not find a buyer at the price you are willing to sell.
This is a complex investment
- This investment has a complex structure based on other risky investments. A business that raises money like this lends it to, or invests it in, other businesses or property. This makes it difficult for the investor to know where their money is going.
- This makes it difficult to predict how risky the investment is, but it will most likely be high.
- You may wish to get financial advice before deciding to invest.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
- Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.<
- A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.

For further information about investment-based crowdfunding, visit the FCA’s website here.

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Funding FAQs

What fees does Qardus charge?

We charge an arrangement fee of up to 8% that is paid by the small business seeking financing on drawdown of the funds. In practice, it will be retained from the advance.

Are there any additional costs that could apply to your financing facility?

An administration fee of 15% of arrears is applied to any repayments that remain unpaid after 3 days from their due date.

Who can apply for a financing facility?

All UK registered business can apply for financing on the Qardus platform. Businesses must be:

Limited Liability Company with UK registered shareholders
Minimum of 3 years trading history (Start-ups and sole traders are not eligible)
No outstanding CCJ's
Stable cash flows

 As Qardus is a Sharia-compliant platform, businesses with their main activities in the following sectors are excluded:

Advertising if:

Advertisers of pork, alcohol, gambling, tobacco and all other non-Islamic activities

Advertising means and modes which contravene the tenets of Islam

Media & Entertainment (Exceptions that are allowed on the platform include: News Channels, Newspapers, Sports Channels, Children’s Channels, Educational Channels):

Producers, distributors and broadcasters of music, movies, television shows and musical radio shows

Cinema operators

Alcohol

Cloning

Financials, except the following that are allowed:

Islamic Banks

Islamic Financial Institutions

Islamic Insurance Companies

Gambling

Pork

Pornography

Tobacco

Trading of gold and silver as cash on deferred basis

How quickly can my business get financing?

Your application to obtain funding on the Qardus platform takes minutes to complete. Once this is done, our credit assessment team will review your complete application and get back to you within 48 hours (2 working days). After you have agreed to your financing agreement your application is approved.

What rate will my business pay?

The total cost of your financing facility includes a flat profit rate and Qardus fees. The rate (i.e. profit rate based on the commodity murabaha agreement) your business pays back is determined by a number of factors, including the risk band your financing facility is given during our credit assessment process, and the length of repayment term. The rate is applied to the outstanding principal at the outset to calculate the amount due on each repayment date.

The rates start from around 1.25% per month but can vary depending on the risk profile of the business.

What types of financing can a business get on the Qardus platform?

Qardus currently provides the following type of financing:

Small business (unsecured) financing facility.
From £50,000 to £500,000 for working capital purposes.
Tenors from 6 months to 36 months.
Personal Guarantees (PGs) will be required.

How does Qardus assign a business to a risk band?

As part of our credit risk assessment, if the SME passes our eligibility criteria, we conduct further credit checks on the business and the Directors using Credit Bureaus (such as Experian, Equifax, and CreditSafe). Upon satisfactory credit reports and analysis of the business’s financial statements, each business is then priced using our proprietary risk scoring model. Their risk band determines the profit rate which will be charged for the duration of the financing facility.

Secured vs. Unsecured business financing

Unsecured business financing typically requires a personal guarantee from the director(s). This is a common practice for this sort of agreement in the UK.

Unlike a secured financing agreement, an unsecured facility does not obligate the business receiving the financing to give up collateral (business assets) if the business defaults on payment.

The lender may still be able to take your collateral, but not without a court’s permission. It is typical for non-Sharia-compliant businesses to charge a higher interest rate for unsecured loans; whereas secured loans have lower interest rates.

Ethical and Sharia FAQ

What is Islamic finance?

Islamic finance refers to a financing system which is modelled on Islamic principles such as no interest-based products, transparency, fairness, equitable products, manageable debt products, risk-sharing products and many other noble concepts. Islamic finance includes Islamic banking, Islamic capital markets, Islamic money markets, Islamic insurance (Takaful), Islamic microfinance and Islamic wealth management firms.

What is Sharia?

In Arabic, Sharia means the clear, well-trodden path to water. Islamically, it is used to refer to the matters of religion that God has legislated for His servants. The linguistic meaning of Sharia reverberates in its technical usage: just as water is vital to human life so the clarity and uprightness of Sharia is the means of life for souls and minds.

What does Sharia compliant mean?

Any product or structure certified as Sharia compliant means that the product has been reviewed by a Sharia scholar and that the product and structure end-to-end meet Sharia requirements.

What makes Sharia compliant bonds different to conventional lending?

Sharia compliant financing uses only those structures and processes which are according to Islamic principles. Sharia compliant financing does not lend on interest. Furthermore, all the features of financing facility uphold the ethical values encouraged by Islam.

Is Qardus only for Muslims?

Qardus operates within an Islamic framework but is there to meet the financing requirements for all SMEs regardless of their faith. Qardus does not discriminate based on faith and anyone and everyone who qualifies can benefit from the ethical offering of Qardus.

Is Qardus certified as Sharia compliant?

Qardus has an experienced and renowned Sharia advisor who has advised and assisted us. The Sharia certification can be viewed on the Ethical & Sharia page.

Wind-down of Regulated Activity

I have investments on the platform, what happens next?

All current investments made via the Qardus platform remain valid and will continue under the terms set out when you invested. Qardus will continue to work with the SMEs to ensure payments will continue to be paid to your portfolio wallet. If the investment was an ISA investment, when returns are made, they will go into your IFISA wallet from where you can either withdraw the cash to your bank account (please note you will lose your ISA wrapper) or request an ISA transfer to a new ISA provider (maintaining your ISA wrapper).

How will you update me on my investments?

The platform will remain accessible to you. You will continue to be able to Log In to your account and view your investments. Qardus will endeavour to share updates from SMEs via the platform, and you'll receive an email to alert you that an update has been posted. Your investments will continue under the terms set out when you invested.

Where can I see the payments I have received on my investments?

When you’re in your Account Portfolio, select any investment you hold and go to the Payouts tab. There, you’ll find a record of all payments made to you for that specific investment.

If you want to view all cash related activity across your entire account, open your Cash Transactions Statement in your Account Portfolio. This will show every cash transaction, including all payouts you’ve received.

I’ve got money in my main wallet on the platform, what do I do?

You can withdraw all cash from your main Qardus wallet as and when you wish:

Log in to your account
Visit your portfolio
If you already have a bank account attached to your account, simply withdraw the cash
If you do not have a bank account attached, please add this using the link on the left-hand side of your portfolio. Please note the bank account must be in your personal name if you are registered as an individual, or in your business name if you invest as a business. You can then withdraw your funds.

I have money in my IFISA wallet, what do I do?

You have two options available to you if you have cash in your IFISA wallet.

Withdraw the funds to your bank account. If you opened your ISA account with Qardus this year the cash can be withdrawn, up until the end of March 2026, and used instead in another ISA wrapper and your allowance is not impacted.
Transfer the cash to a new ISA provider. Particularly if the cash relates to prior year ISA then to maintain the tax wrapper the cash must be transferred to another ISA Manager.

How do I transfer money to a new ISA provider?

You should identify a new ISA provider and make an ISA transfer in request with them. This can be any sort of ISA, it doesn’t need to be an IFISA.
The new ISA manager will send the required paperwork to the Qardus ISA Manager, ShareIn.
Once the paperwork is processed you will receive a message to approve the transfer out via the Qardus platform.
Following your approval ShareIn will process the request and transfer the cash to your new ISA Manager.

Is there any change to my ISA investments?

All current investments made within an IFISA will continue under the terms set out when you invested. Your ISA will remain within the tax wrapper unless you choose to withdraw your money directly into your bank account.

I have an ISA transfer in progress, what should I do?

Qardus are not taking any new subscriptions or accepting any new ISA transfers. We would advise you to contact your existing ISA manager to cancel any outstanding ISA transfer request.

How do I communicate with you?

To discuss anything relating to your account on the Qardus platform you can communicate through the messaging service, you’ll find functionality to send us a message via your account area.

Who are Share In Limited?

Share In Limited (“ShareIn”) is the FCA-authorised entity who was responsible for supervising certain activities of Qardus while Qardus was an Appointed Representative (AR) operating under ShareIn’s regulatory permissions. Qardus ceased to be an Appointed Representative of ShareIn from 27th November 2025.

What were ShareIn responsible for?

During the AR relationship, ShareIn was responsible for:

Verifying that the investor journey on the Qardus website complied with FCA rules.
Verifying that Qardus offer documents were clear, fair and not misleading
Holding investor funds before disbursement to SMEs in accordance with FCA rules
Acting as ISA Manager

What were ShareIn not responsible for?

Selecting SMEs to invest in
Repaying investors
Communicating investor updates
ShareIn are not responsible for any activity carried out by Qardus after the date Qardus ceased being an AR

What do I do if my personal details change?

You can update your personal details (address, password, marketing preferences) via the platform in your account area. You can also add or update your bank account details via your portfolio.

If you require any further information, please contact us via the platform messaging service.

Who should I contact if I have a complaint?

We strive to provide the best customer experience for our investors but sometimes things go wrong. If you would like to make a complaint to Qardus in relation to customer service, investor communications or deal repayments, please contact [email protected]

If you would like to make a complaint in relation to the regulated activity that Qardus carried out between 20th February 2020 and 27TH November 2025, please contact our former regulatory Principal, Share In Ltd (FRN 603332). ShareIn’s complaints handling process and contact details can be found here https://sharein.com/complaints

In order to help you determine if ShareIn can help please refer to the FAQs What were ShareIn responsible for? and What were ShareIn not responsible for?

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[email protected]
020 3997 4757

Address:

3.09a 1 Lyric Square
London
W6 0NB

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Qardus Limited (12181387) - a company registered in England & Wales at 3.09a 1 Lyric Square, London, United Kingdom, W6 0NB - is no longer an appointed representative of ShareIn Limited. This website is operated by Qardus Limited and ShareIn is not responsible for its content.

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