U.K. company Lok'nStore Group PLC, which operates self-storage and records-storage facilities, has acquired a 3-acre property in Bournemouth, England, on which it intends to build a freehold storage asset. The £8 million project on Castle Lane, next to a grocery store and Bournemouth Hospital, will comprise about 80,000 square feet of rentable space. It’s expected to be complete in 2019, according to a press release.

The site is one of seven Lok’nStore has under development. Facilities in Hemel Hempstead, Gillingham and Wellingborough, England, are expected to open either later this year or by next spring, the release stated.

"This excellent new location adds to the recent rapid growth in our pipeline of stores,” said CEO Andrew Jacobs. “Our objective is to grow by both acquiring sites to build new landmark stores from Lok’nStore’s own balance sheet and to increase the number of stores we manage under the Lok’nStore brand for third parties.”

The Bournemouth project will be funded from cash flow and existing banking facilities, according to the release.

Founded in 1995, Lok’nStore builds, buys or leases large warehouses or industrial buildings and rents storage units to customers on a weekly basis. It operates 25 self-storage facilities and two records-storage locations in Southern England. The self-storage portfolio is comprised of 12 freehold or long-leasehold properties, seven leasehold sites and six locations under management.

Sources: