A joint venture between investment firms ICM Asset Management and Meckelborg Financial Group Ltd. (MFG) has launched ICM Bluebird Canadian Self Storage Fund, with Bluebird Self Storage and StoreWest serving as asset managers. The fund is open to outside investors and will pursue acquisition and development opportunities in major metropolitan markets across Canada, according to the source.
Bluebird and StoreWest are working in partnership on seven new self-storage developments this year, with more planned for 2024, the source reported. The ICM website indicates the fund has proprietary rights to a national acquisition pipeline of 3.5 million square feet of existing storage space and 1.7 million square feet in planned for construction.
Acquisitions could come from existing assets managed by Bluebird in which the operator has a minority ownership interest as well as existing facilities that may be purchased on the open market. In addition, self-storage locations developed through StoreWest Bluebird Partners can become eligible to roll into the investment fund once they’ve been built and reach about 50% occupancy, according to the source.
“Our group has been in self-storage since 1983,” Bluebird principal Reade DeCurtins told the source. “We’ve built more self-storage than anyone else in the industry, and this partnership with StoreWest … is going to bolster our ability to scale the development across the country.”
Based in Saskatchewan, MFG is a boutique investment firm that provides customized wealth-management plans and related services.
Founded in 2003, Calgary-based ICM Asset Management specializes in alternative investments including real estate and private equity. It has more than $2 billion in assets under management, according to its website.
Bluebird operates 30 self-storage facilities across Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec.
StoreWest owns two facilities in Calgary, one in Montreal and two in Nova Scotia.
Sources:
Real Estate News Exchange, ICM, Meckelborg Launch Cross-Canada Self-Storage Fund
ICM Asset Management, ICM Bluebird Canadian Self Storage Fund