tZERO—the blockchain investment arm of crypto-friendly retailer Overstock—is joining hands with U.K.-based real-estate firm Alliance Investments to tokenize high-dollar properties on the Tezos blockchain.
The two companies plan to offer tokenized stakes in Alliance Investments’ River Plaza according to a press release issued earlier today. The structure, situated in Manchester, is comprised of 180 luxury condominiums, and roughly $25 million-worth of those condos are set to be tokenized.
What’s more, Alliance explained in today’s announcement that it’s looking to tokenize nearly $650 million in U.K.-based real estate through the third quarter of 2022.
Per data from a Savills World Research report, real estate is still among the most lucrative investing arenas the financial world has to offer, and one of the biggest asset classes available. Currently valued at more than $217 trillion, real estate represents more than 50 percent of the world’s total assets, though less than one-third is readily available for public investing.
Security token offerings (STOs) have made such investments more obtainable, providing access to real-estate ownership without buying or investing in individual properties themselves. Instead of purchasing a home, apartment or commercial building, an investor buys digital stakes in companies that own that real estate. The investor then possesses equity not in an individual property, but in the venture that holds it.
For example, in the case of Alliance Investments’ sale of the River Plaza, investors aren’t purchasing ownership rights to the building’s physical condominiums, but rather digital shares in those condos.
Rani Zahr—CIO of Alliance Investments—explained in statement: “We are excited to partner with [tZERO] on our first STO. We strive to stay ahead of the innovation curve and believe that security token offerings are the future. They are more efficient, cost-effective, autonomous and democratic in comparison to traditional financing.”
Alliance Investments is an established U.K. property developer that has been around for roughly 29 years. The company sells both residential and commercial real estate, and since 2011, has managed more than 60 property assets worth approximately $354 million.