tZERO, Tezos Foundation to Tokenize £500 Million in UK Real Estate

Overstock’s security token platform tZERO and the Tezos Foundation have partnered on a project that will tokenize £500 million ($643 million) in planned real estate development.

Announced Wednesday, the blockchain startups will tokenize portions of properties financed by U.K.-based Alliance Investments, which will then be opened up to investors.

Rani Zahr, CIO of Alliance Investments, said in a statement:

“Raising funds through an STO is more efficient, cost-effective, autonomous and democratic than traditional financing. We believe that we are at the forefront of a technological change that can disrupt the current funding paradigm.”

The first offering is due in Q1 2020, when tZERO will issue security tokens that represent £20 million in equity of a water-front development currently under construction in Manchester.

“This one building, a large multi-storage development, [is a] first for Alliance, but represents a large pipeline that they intend to fund using STOs [security token offerings],” Roman Schnider, chief financial officer at The Tezos Foundation, told CoinDesk.

The Tezos protocol will serve as the base infrastructure to “deploy, transfer and store the digital assets and smart contracts,” which will then be offered for secondary trading on the PRO Securities alternative trading system, an SEC-registered subsidiary of tZERO.

Other real estate developments will be tokenized over the course of several years, with the companies saying they would include residential and student accommodation, as well as commercial and hospitality properties. Financial consultant Megalodon has been tapped as an advisor for the project.

Manchester riverfront image via Shutterstock