Peakside launches blockchain-based real estate fund

Peakside Capital Advisors has teamed up with Brickblock Digital Services GmbH (Brickblock) to launch a real estate fund called Peakside Income Fund 1 via the blockchain platform ScalingFunds. The idea is to use blockchain technology as a way to simplify and set up the future of real estate investment. “We are looking to utilise the advances in digital technology to increase liquidity and transferability in the real estate fund sector as well as to broaden our investor base,” said Stefan Aumann, Founding Partner of Peakside. “We can now offer our institutional-quality investment products at smaller minimum investment sizes to qualified investors who would otherwise not have the opportunity to invest with us. On top, we strongly believe the underlying blockchain technology provides additional investor security.”

The fund shares are registered on the immutable blockchain as well as in an offline register with SANNE, a leading global provider of alternative asset and corporate business services. Peakside Income Fund 1 has an equity target of €200m and a focus on core and core-plus office properties across first- and second-tier cities in Germany. Asset sizes will range between €15 and €75 million, with a maximum leverage of 50 percent. The fund's managers are targeting a return of around 4 percent.

“I see enormous potential in digitising fund management processes,” said Jakob Drzazga, Chief Executive Officer at Brickblock. “However, the real impact of our blockchain-powered platform is far greater than efficiency gains and cost effectiveness. The ability to trade fund shares almost instantly creates a new segment between open-end and closed-end funds.” The platform allows fund investors to subscribe, access investment documents and sign contracts online on a self-checkout basis. Further functionalities will be added over time. Examples could be a transfer to external exchange platforms or additional reporting options.