Pubic Storage, a self-storage real estate investment trust, released its first-quarter operating results for the quarter ending March 31, 2011. Highlights include:

Public Storage also reported operating results for Shurgard Europe in which it owns 49 percent interest. On March 2, Shurgard Europe acquired its joint-venture partner's 80 percent interest in two joint ventures for $238 million, and as a result wholly owns the 72 properties previously held by the two joint ventures. Approximately $238 million was lent to Shurgard Europe to finance this transaction. Public Storage expects the joint-venture partner in Shurgard Europe to acquire 51 percent, representing its pro-rata ownership of Shurgard Europe, of the loan by May 31, 2011.

During the first quarter, Public Storage completed the acquisition of five facilities equaling 386,000 net rentable square feet in Nevada for approximately $19.6 million. In February, the company acquired the leasehold interest in the land at one of its existing self-storage facilities for approximately $6.6 million. Public Storage is also under contract to acquire two facilities totaling 227,000 net rentable square feet, one of which is in New York, and another in Los Angeles, for an aggregate of approximately $28 million.

 Public Storage is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that primarily acquires, develops, owns and operates self-storage facilities. Headquartered in Glendale, Calif., the company has interests in 2,052 self-storage facilities in 38 states with approximately 130 million net rentable square feet in the United States, and 189 storage facilities in seven Western European nations operating under the Shurgard brand.