Merito Partners Attracts Support for Self-Storage Investment Fund, With Plans to Develop Across the Baltic States

Update 11/28/23 – Latvia-based Signet Bank AS, which provides financing and capital-management services to local entrepreneurs, has contributed €750,000 to the Merito Self Storage Fund.

“Signet Bank supports local entrepreneurs' business growth not only with traditional bank loans but also through alternative instruments such as organizing share and bond issuances,” said Roberts Idelsons, chairman of the board for Signet. “For our economy to grow faster, we need sustainable business ideas that are scalable across a broader market. An excellent example is a plan to develop an international self-storage network by the Latvian investment company Merito Partners. This project has a significant upside and potential return of investment. Given that this project currently requires capital investments, we have made the decision to invest in the Merito Self Storage Fund.”

“We are delighted that AS Signet Bank has placed its trust in the potential of Latvian investors since the establishment of the fund. Merito Partners has successfully secured almost €5 million in capital from over 10 Latvian investors and actively continues to fundraise. With the recent investment from Signet Bank, the fund’s total value is expected to reach at least €10 million in the next few months,” said Mārtiņš Baumanis, partner and cofounder of Merito Partners. “We are currently in active negotiations for the acquisition of additional properties, and we aim to conclude these discussions in the next months. This will allow us to further develop the self-storage facility network in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.”

Merito’s fund recently acquired the former Go Planet entertainment building on Gunāra Astras Street 2B in Riga, Latvia. With an investment of €6 million, the building will offer 10,000 square meters of rentable space once complete.

Since 2021, Signet has provided nearly €500 million in financing. Founded in 1991, its shareholders are nine private investors, only some of which are Latvian.

9/22/23 – Merito Partners, a Latvia-based private-investment company, has launched the Merito Self Storage Fund to develop 10 to 15 storage facilities across the Baltic states. The fund intends to raise €30 million from investors and secure another €50 million in bank co-financing. It’s already negotiating to purchase more than five properties, with projects targeted for Tallinn, Estonia; Riga, Latvia; and Kaunas and Vilnius, Lithuania, according to the source.

Merito expects its first project to be a building conversion offering storage units ranging from 4 to 6 square meters. Its portfolio goal is at least 10,000 units, the source reported.

Thus far, Merito has raised approximately €5 million from about 10 investors. The minimum commitment is €50,000, according to the company website.

Based in Riga, Merito specializes in implementing growth capital, sustainable energy and niche real estate investments. Its Sustainable Energy Fund 1 has a €20 million fundraising target to develop solar-power plants in Latvia, according to the source.

Sources: AIN, Latvian Merito Launches a €30M Real Estate Merito Self Storage Fund
The Baltic Times, Signet Bank invests EUR 750,000 Into Merito Self Storage Fund to Develop a Network of Self-Storage Facilities in the Baltic States