Young Portsmouth entrepreneur creates start-up allowing people to buy and sell property through NFTs and blockchain

Todd Walker, 22, of Portsmouth, launched Villator in a bid to speed up property transactions. It uses an online marketplace to list a digital asset, or NFT (non-fungible token), attached to a limited company.

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The NFT is set up for the sole purpose of the property transaction. The residential or commercial building would be owned by the limited company, and buyers would purchase the digital asset using cryptocurrency.

The previous owner of the limited company would then transfer the ownership of the firm to the buyer and hand over all of the assets – including the property. Villator is aimed at property developers and cash buyers who want to complete transactions quicker than normal.

Every stage of a transaction – including offers – is documented on the blockchain. Mr Walker, who bought his first home at 21, said it makes it harder for buyers to be ripped off and wanted to use NFTs for a tangible purpose.

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He added: ‘When you go down the traditional route with an estate agency, there is a lot of back-and-forth with phone calls being made every time an offer is made, declined, accepted etc. Often buyers are put under pressure to make a higher offer, with estate agents telling them about counter offers that sometimes don’t even exist.

‘The way this new process works will mean the buyer has full transparency on each offer, everything is documented and wholesaling real estate will be eliminated.’

Villator is in the pre-launch stages and is seeking £500,000 worth of investment.