We are officially the first to tokenise a house in the U.K.

March 7, 2023
Ele Ward
We’re providing a new route to invest in property. You’ve heard of ‘buy-to-let’ and ‘shared ownership’ schemes, but what about ‘fractional ownership’? Keep reading to find out how we tokenised the first house in the U.K. in our Beta last year to bring fractional ownership and investing to life.

How it all began: 

Ctrl Alt was born out of our CEO Matt Ong’s own frustration with the property investment process and the general lack of investment options when it came to the alternative asset space. 

Property investing requires a large amount of capital to get started and even once you’ve saved enough, you’re then sinking all of your hard-earned cash into just a single property. 

That is before even mentioning the never-ending paperwork and fees involved. Matt asked, “Why can’t investing in alternatives like property be simpler and less capital intensive?” This is where Ctrl Alt was born.  

Fast forward to our Beta launch last year and we became the first to officially tokenise a property in the U.K.

What is Fractional  Investing / Ownership?

‘While fractional ownership has been around for decades within the elite, it’s slowly increasing in popularity among ordinary buyers. Unlike a timeshare, with fractional ownership, you own a right to the deeds and a proportion of the asset rather than just a right to use the property’ (Charlotte Duck, Yahoo 22)

Typically, if you want to invest in a property, you have to purchase the whole asset. But with fractional investing (read our previous blog for more details), you can buy a portion of an asset.  

This makes it possible to invest a fraction of the amount of money, regardless of the share price, making investing more affordable and accessible for people who don’t want to purchase the asset outright.

So, how exactly did we ‘tokenise’ a property?

The process of ‘tokenising’ an asset like property refers to fragmenting it into digital shares that provide the investor with ownership rights. This entitles the investor to have legal recourse to the underlying asset.

Tokenisation is unique to blockchain technology. We chose to build on Algorand, the leading most advanced, secure and reliable layer-1 blockchain, for its unmatched transparency, speed, reliability, security and cost savings.

How do investors get involved in the next assets? 

1. Download our free-to-use app and you'll soon be able to explore more properties and other assets accepting fractional investments. 

2. Each listing provides an overview of the asset, including key information such as yield.

3. Eligible investors are then able to invest.

4. Once the final amount is raised, the asset is purchased on behalf of investors and digital shares are granted. Proof of ownership is stored forever on the Algorand blockchain.

5. Investors receive regular income on their assets and can vote with their fellow investors on decisions pertaining to the asset, such as whether to sell.

We’re looking to introduce a secondary market later this year which would enable certain investors to sell their digital shares to other prospective investors within the Ctrl Alt investor community at opportunities presented during an investment period.

What’s next for us? 

The landscape is changing and Ctrl Alt is proud to be leading the way on this. We’ve got big plans for 2023 and are not stopping with just property.

Ctrl Alt is currently gearing up to launch their next asset, a green energy project. We can't wait to further show the opportunities of fractional ownership in the alternative asset space on Ctrl Alt.

DISCLAIMER

Your capital is at risk. Alt Ltd does not provide investment advice. Individual investors should make their own decisions or seek professional independent advice if they are unsure as to the suitability/appropriateness of any investment for their individual circumstances or needs, including potential tax treatment. The value of investments can go up as well as down and you may receive less than your original investment or lose the value of your entire initial investment. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Learn more by reading our full Risk Disclosure and our FAQs.