South African REIT buys Storage King for £77m
South African self-storage REIT Stor-Age is entering the UK market with its £77m acquisition of the UK’s sixth-largest self-storage operator, Storage King.
The purchase includes Storage King’s 25-strong UK portfolio, which is based in the South East and East. The portfolio has a current average occupancy of 78%. Thirteen of the assets are freehold, and the remaining 12 are leasehold, trading under the Storage King brand.
The investment is in line with Stor-Age’s strategy to target international self-storage markets outside South Africa.
South African self-storage REIT Stor-Age is entering the UK market with its £77m acquisition of the UK’s sixth-largest self-storage operator, Storage King.
The purchase includes Storage King’s 25-strong UK portfolio, which is based in the South East and East. The portfolio has a current average occupancy of 78%. Thirteen of the assets are freehold, and the remaining 12 are leasehold, trading under the Storage King brand.
The investment is in line with Stor-Age’s strategy to target international self-storage markets outside South Africa.
Storage King launched in the UK in 2008 with the acquisition of Keepsafe Self-Storage. In September last year it acquired Storage RSA – a family owned business of seven self-storage units.
Following the acquisition the assets will not be rebranded and will continue to trade under the Storage King brand. The Storage King management team, headed by Robin Greenwood, will continue to operate the business.
Ollie Saunders, lead director, alternatives at JLL, said: “The self-storage sector has seen more than £250m of transactions in the past 12 months, and the Storage King deal shows the continuing demand from investors and consolidators.
“This transaction is hot on the heels of Schroders’ recent acquisition of The Self Storage Company, and US operator Storage Mart’s acquisition of Big Box for in excess of £100m.
“The market appetite for the sector is due to its strong cashflow fundamentals and expanding platforms of scale.”
The transaction is scheduled to complete in October.
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