U.K. Self-Storage Operator Safestore Forms JV to Enter the Dutch Market

U.K.-based self-storage operator Safestore Holdings PLC, with facilities in France and the United Kingdom, has launched a joint venture with global private-equity firm The Carlyle Group to acquire the M3 Self Storage portfolio in The Netherlands and enter the Dutch market. The company will invest about €5 million for a 20 percent state in the Dutch operation, which has six properties in Amsterdam and Haarlem. It’ll also manage the facilities and brand them under the Safestore name. The transaction is expected to close this month, according to a press release.

The M3 portfolio comprises 277,000 net rentable square feet. Its three Haarlem locations are freehold sites, while two Amsterdam facilities are “subject to perpetual ground leases,” the release stated. A third Amsterdam location is a leasehold property with nine years remaining. One of the properties is still under development, with construction expected to be complete this month. The operating portfolio has a physical occupancy of 68 percent. The acquisition will be made by the Carlyle European Real Estate Fund.

“The acquisition of M3 represents an excellent platform for entry into the attractive Dutch self-storage market, and we expect that our [joint venture] with Carlyle will enable us to target additional selected development and acquisition opportunities,” said Frederic Vecchioli, Safestore CEO.

“This joint venture combines the extensive global and regional insights, and investing experience of the Carlyle Europe Realty team, along with the specialist industry knowledge of the Safestore team, to create a flexible and scalable platform to explore opportunities in the self-storage market,” added Marc-Antoine Bouyer, managing director of Carlyle Europe Realty. “We are pleased to have a recognized industry leader as our partner.”

In a separate deal, Safestore also acquired Ready Steady Store/Salus Services Ltd., a London self-storage facility near Heathrow Airport for £6.5 million in cash. It was acquired from Rockpool Investments. Opened in 2015, the business will be rebranded as Safestore. It had an occupancy of 86 percent at the time of the deal.

Safestore operates 146 self-storage facilities, including 119 facilities it owns in the U.K. and 27 in France. Its storage properties comprise 6.37 million square feet of storage space and serve approximately 64,000 customers.

Carlyle deploys private capital across four business segments: corporate private equity, global credit, investment solutions and real assets. With $223 billion of assets under management, it employs more than 1,775 people in 33 offices across six continents.

Sources:
Safestore, Safestore and Carlyle form Joint Venture to enter Dutch Self Storage Market/ Separate acquisition of London Store
Carlyle, The Carlyle Group and Safestore Form Joint Venture to Enter Dutch Self-Storage Market