US operator StorageMart has bought Big Box Self Storage in a £100m deal – the largest ever investment transaction in the self-storage sector in the UK.
BigBox Self Storage has 15 stores, totalling nearly 700,000 sq ft of self-storage, across the south east of England.
New stores have recently been developed and opened in Tonbridge, High Wycombe, and Colchester, adding to stores in the Brighton area as well as Maidstone, Norwich, Ipswich and Walton-on-Thames.
StorageMart, owned by the Burnam family, is the world’s largest privately owned storage company and has 189 storage facilities and 14.3m sq ft of storage space in the US, Canada and now the UK. The Burnam family has been in the self-storage business since 1973.
Cris Burnam, president of StorageMart, said: “Big Box is an important entrance into the UK for StorageMart. We plan to use the substantial self-storage platform to grow within the UK. These are great locations in solid markets and we look forward to applying our technology platform and revenue management strategies at these stores.
“Our goal is to bring UK self-storage customers a much easier to use and more friendly, stress-free customer experience with world-class service.”
Ollie Saunders, lead director, alternatives, at JLL, added: “There was strong interest in the portfolio from a variety of investors who were attracted to a sector which has demonstrated predictable cash flows and is benefiting from rapidly increasing consumer awareness. Strong user demand and increasing urbanisation are key factors driving the boom in the self storage market and opening up opportunities for old and new investors alike.
“Big Box is a great platform for StorageMart to enter the UK market – at a point when it is poised for further consolidation and new store development.”
Joe Guilfoyle, head of alternatives, corporate transactions, at JLL said: “This deal cements JLL’s leading position in advising on alternative assets in the UK. This was a complex corporate transaction involving cross-border investment. Not only is this deal noteworthy because of its size, but also because it occurred despite the headwinds from the EU referendum, further demonstrating the resilience of the sector.”
Debt funding was arranged by JLL’s debt advisory team and was secured with a loan from Blackstone Mortgage REIT.
The vendors were advised by JLL; Clifford Chance acted for StorageMart.
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