Shurgard to buy ABC Selfstore for £50m
Self-storage provider Shurgard has exchanged contracts to buy ABC Selfstore for £50m.
London-based ABC operates across three locations and is owned by the Milton Group. The deal comprises a combined 125,000 sq ft across the three locations.
Average rent is around £34 per sq ft across the sites in Camden, N7; Southwark, SE1; and Wandsworth, SW18.
Self-storage provider Shurgard has exchanged contracts to buy ABC Selfstore for £50m.
London-based ABC operates across three locations and is owned by the Milton Group. The deal comprises a combined 125,000 sq ft across the three locations.
Average rent is around £34 per sq ft across the sites in Camden, N7; Southwark, SE1; and Wandsworth, SW18.
Simon Higgins, partner at Levy Real Estate, which represented ABC Selfstore in the sale, said: ”The self-storage market is currently very competitive and the portfolio generated considerable interest, with all the major providers looking to increase market share across the capital and a number of newcomers seeking to acquire a quality London platform.”
Shurgard chief executive, Marc Oursin, noted the acquisition meets its strategy to strengthen its position in “attractive urban areas” in London, Paris and Berlin.
Shurgard manages 228 self-storage assets totalling 12.9m net rentable sq ft across the UK, France, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. It holds the freehold interest for 195 of these properties.
In addition to ABC, the Milton Group also manages two property holdings in Hereford: The Belmont Estate, which measures 200 acres; and a 1.3-acre site on Mortimer Road.
A resilient market
The news comes as the self-storage industry in Europe continues to hold its ground against the challenges brought on by various economic factors, including Brexit uncertainty and rising oil prices.
According to the latest European Self Storage Annual Survey by JLL and Fedessa, three quarters of European self-storage operators expect 2018 to be a more profitable year than 2017.
The UK was found to be the largest market in Europe, tallying 40% of the total number of facilities in the region, followed by France and Spain.
Average rent per sq m per annum reached €283 (£252) in the UK at the end of March this year, with the highest average rate recorded at €620. The equivalent average across Europe was €262 per sq m, up by 1.6% on the previous year.
Ollie Saunders, lead director of JLL’s alternatives team, said in the report: “The outlook for the self-storage sector in Europe is positive. With good macro and demographic fundamentals, the next few years should see this entrepreneurial sector continue to evolve.
“There are some young portfolios which are growing steadily, and some more established players who are both consolidating and developing new stores. There is plenty of room for both the independents and the big players, with a variety of ways for new capital to invest in the market.”
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