Ivanhoé Cambridge Enters Self-Storage Sector in Partnership With Safely Store Investment Platform

Ivanhoé Cambridge, a Montreal-based real estate development and investment firm, has entered the self-storage industry through a partnership with Safely Store Self Storage, an investment platform launched by Iron Point Partners LLC and Taylor/Theus Holdings Inc. Together with an unnamed “global institutional investor,” the companies will invest $400 million to amass a national self-storage portfolio over the next few years, according to a press release.

The partnership will pursue acquisitions, ground-up development and conversion projects in primary and secondary U.S. markets. Regarding purchases, it’ll look specifically for lease-up and value-add opportunities, the release stated.

“Self-storage has proven its resilience throughout economic cycles, outperforming almost all other sectors over the short and long term, which makes it an attractive addition to our portfolio as we continually seek diversification in buoyant segments,” said Michael Neuman, head of industrial in the U.S. and Latin America, for Ivanhoé. “What's more, this asset class, by its very nature, supports our strong sustainable investment convictions by servicing local communities with a high-quality offering for a low associated carbon footprint.”

Iron Point and Taylor/Theus have an existing relationship and experience in the self-storage industry established during the last 15 years, according to the release.

“The Iron Point team is very excited to continue our long-standing relationship with Taylor/Theus through the creation of the Safely Store platform alongside our new partners, Ivanhoé Cambridge and another preeminent, global institutional investor,” said Ryan Haas, partner at Iron Point. “We feel that Safely Store, with its nimble management team and strong historical track record, coupled with our blue-chip investors, should create a tremendous opportunity going forward.”

“Our initial, lower-leverage capital structure and the ability to adapt to real-time market conditions by investing across the spectrum of self-storage opportunities should allow Safely Store to be uniquely positioned to create a high-quality, national portfolio,” said Tyler Colpini, CEO of Safely Store. “The self-storage sector is recession-resilient and possesses many attractive attributes that typically make the property type inherently lower risk and higher return, including high [net operating income] margins, low capital expenditures, a sticky customer base, and monthly leases that provide a hedge against inflation.”

Ivanhoé invests internationally alongside strategic partners and real estate funds. Through its subsidiaries and partnerships, it holds interests in 1,500 buildings, primarily in the industrial and logistics, office, residential and retail sectors, the release stated. The company is a real estate subsidiary of global investment group Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Founded in 2007, Iron Point is a private-equity firm that specializes in real estate investments and other assets in Europe and North America. It pursues investment opportunities across multiple commercial property types including data centers, hospitality, industrial, medical, multi-family, office, retail and self-storage. It has $9.3 billion in assets under management, according to its website.

Founded in 2007, Taylor/Theus specializes in self-storage acquisitions and development in micro markets. Its interests include mixed-use projects that require rezoning, special land-use permits and brownfield agreements, according to the company website.

Source: PR Newswire, Ivanhoé Cambridge Makes First Investment in Self Storage Alongside Strategic Partners