Baroness Michelle Mone, one of Scotland’s best-known female entrepreneurs, has announced a £250m business venture selling luxury property in Dubai via bitcoin. The lingerie tycoon and House of Lords member launched Aston Plaza & Residences, which will consist of two 40-story residential towers, a major shopping mall, sports facilities, gardens, and views of the Dubai skyline. In a world first, the apartments will be priced and sold using cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

Mone said: “I am thrilled to be launching a project of this scale as a step in the property development business. My partner Douglas has been a fan of bitcoin for many years. There is a massive bitcoin community, and we believe it is the digital currency of the future. It is safe, transparent and secure and we believe other property developers will follow us.”

The residences will cover 2.4m square feet, and are due for completion in 2019. Work began on site in Dubai eight months ago, with 483 of the planned apartments pre-sold for cash, but bitcoin buyers are welcomed from now on. It comes as the volatile cryptocurrency’s value has plummeted, with bitcoin down 20% against the dollar in the last three days.

A flat in Glasgow’s south side became the first in Scotland to be sold using cryptocurrency last month, bought for 10m Scotcoins – or £60,000.