Smartlands and UK Sotheby’s International Realty to Experiment With Tokenising Exclusive Luxury Properties

The Tokenizer February 2, 2020

The collaboration between Smartlands and UK Sotheby’s aims to explore the possibilities that blockchain technology provides for a luxury real estate market and the exclusive opportunities it opens for a new generation of investors worldwide; will start with a prestigious duplex in London.

UK Sotheby’s International Realty, an affiliate of a global estate agency network specialising in residential sales, lettings, development sales, investment and international sales, and Smartlands, a global digital securities platform and the first mover in regulated asset tokenisation on blockchain, sign a cooperation agreement to collaborate in a series of experimental projects in the field of tokenisation of luxury real estate.

UK Sotheby’s International Realty chose Smartlands as a partner to explore the opportunities related to the issuance of digital shares (security tokens) representing ownership rights for luxury real estate properties managed by the firm.

The pilot project will be a newly-built duplex apartment at Lillie Sq., near the famous Hyde Park in London, to be managed by UK Sotheby’s. The property will have practical completion on the construction and internal fit-out in Q1 2020; particular details of the offering will be announced then.

Robin Paterson, Joint Chairman & CEO, UK Sotheby’s International Realty, comments: “UK Sotheby’s International Realty is proud to have attracted the world’s wealthiest individuals with impeccable taste for the best in exclusive real estate. Our customers’ needs evolve with the advent of technology, in the meantime, the property industry is also going through digital transformation. Collaboration with Smartlands will help us explore how innovative tech can help us add value to our proposition. With this approach, the benefits for international sellers and buyers are immense. Smartlands is transforming the value exchange on a global level creating a wide array of opportunities for private high-net-worth individuals the world over by allowing them to find each other easily, create offers, issue equity, diversify their portfolios, and grow their wealth without ever having to lift their fingers off the computer keyboard or a mobile device.”

“We’re honored to collaborate with UK Sotheby’s on this endeavor,” Smartlands CEO Ilia Obraztsov says. “We realise that high-earning consumers from the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, India, China are looking for new ways to invest in luxury properties globally. We open the way to a new generation of investors – early adopters who successfully leverage tech innovations to make investment decisions and diversify their portfolio. The option to invest using fiat currency or cryptocurrency makes it an especially lucrative opportunity for overseas investors. The Sotheby’s centuries-old tradition and Smartlands’ technological edge is a perfect combination for creating a completely transparent global network of highly sophisticated investors in luxury property markets”.

Asset tokenisation is a process similar to traditional securitisation, however, the digital shares are issued on the blockchain in the form of security tokens. Just like in the classic stock markets, security tokens represent the immutable right of ownership in an asset and allow investors to receive dividends or profits.