Blackstone Acquires Fort Knox Self-Storage of Australia

Funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate Partners (BREP) have acquired Fort Knox Self Storage, an 11-facility portfolio in Melbourne, Australia. The transaction is “one of the largest self-storage transactions in Australia,” company officials said. Blackstone intends to expand the Fort Knox footprint, according to a press release.

“We are pleased to begin our partnership with Fort Knox and grow our self-storage footprint in Australia,” said Chris Tynan, head of real estate Australia for Blackstone. “Backed by Blackstone’s scale and expertise, we aim to help Fort Knox expand and scale operations to accommodate customers’ increasing demand for high-quality storage space nationally. Self-storage is a rapidly growing trend in Australia, underpinned by its rising population particularly in urban areas like Melbourne and the country’s e-commerce boom.”

The Fort Knox transaction is Blackstone’s second investment in Australia self-storage. It acquired KeepSafe Storage, a Perth-based, four-property portfolio, earlier this year, the release stated.

BREP is an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. (BREIT), the non-traded real estate investment platform that acquired U.S.-based Simply Self Storage for $1.2 billion in December 2020. BREP also owns a majority stake in two Hong Kong self-storage assets, according to the release.

BREP and BREIT are arms of Blackstone Inc., a private-equity firm whose real estate business was founded in 1991 and has $230 billion in investor capital undermanagement. Its interests span several commercial real estate sectors including logistics, office, hospitality, residential, retail and self-storage.

Sources:
Blackstone, Blackstone Real Estate Acquires Fort Knox Self Storage in One of the Largest Self-Storage Transactions in Australia
Capital.com, Blackstone Real Estate Acquires Australian Self-Storage Firm