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PGIM Real Estate and Pithos Capital Launch Self-Storage Joint Venture in FrancePGIM Real Estate and Pithos Capital Launch Self-Storage Joint Venture in France
ISS Staff
December 17, 2024
2 Min Read
PGIM Real Estate, an investment firm, and Pithos Capital, a real estate investment and management company, have launched a joint venture to acquire and develop self-storage facilities in France that’ll operate under the Switzerland-based Zebrabox brand, according to a press release.
The partnership will focus on buying, redeveloping and upgrading existing structures, such as industrial and retail spaces, as well as building on greenfield land. It has already purchased six properties and has a list of potential acquisitions, according to the release.
“European self-storage has strong fundamentals with significant market-growth potential, making a traditionally granular sector an attractive opportunity for institutional investors,” said Nabil Mabed, managing director for PGIM. “Backed by highly experienced partners, Pithos Capital and Zebrabox, we are convinced that France represents a great opportunity to create significant value in this sector and aggregate a compelling sizeable portfolio attractive for core real estate investors looking to diversify away from office and retail, or specialized players looking for scale.”
“Self-storage has historically outperformed other real estate asset classes even in the toughest of times, and the French market is very under-supplied vs. comparable markets like the U.K., presenting a compelling investment opportunity,” said Alexandre Hamaide, managing director and cofounder of Pithos. “Our investment proposition for Zebrabox is to build an institutional-grade, French self-storage portfolio through a programmatic aggregation of assets in targeted geographical locations.”
PGIM Real Estate is the investment arm of PGIM, the global asset-management business of Prudential Financial Inc., with 42 offices in 19 countries. It provides investors and borrowers access to a range of real estate equity, debt, agriculture and impact solutions. It has $212 billion in assets under management.
Based in Switzerland, Pithos operates more than €330 million in assets across Europe. It specializes in self-storage, managing 61 facilities comprising 1.5 million square feet in France, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K., valued at CHF 350 million. The company also invests in light-industrial, logistics and residential real estate.
Founded in 2003 by Christian Schmutz, Zebrabox operates 15 self-storage locations throughout Switzerland. Last summer, it entered a franchise agreement with Barcelona-based storage provider YoGuardo to enter the Spanish market.
Source: PGIM, PGIM Real Estate and Pithos Capital Launch Self-Storage Venture in France
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