An affiliate of investment firm Berkshire Hathaway Inc., led by CEO Warren Buffett, has been launched to specialize in self-storage. Though other Berkshire real estate entities have been involved in commercial brokerage since 2012, Greenville, S.C.-based Berkshire Hathaway Storage Group (BHSG) marks the company’s formal entry into the self-storage sector.

BHSG is led by Parker Sweet, president, and Cameron Vale, senior vice president. Sweet was previously a senior associate with SkyView Advisors, a Tampa, Fla.-based investment-sales and advisory firm focused on self-storage. Vale also joins BHSG from SkyView, where he was most recently senior vice president. Sweet has grown BHSG from two employees to 10 in the past six months, Vale told the “SpareFoot Storage Beat,” a self-storage industry blog.

“Our goal is to continue to excel locally, regionally and then nationally. At this time, we have the capabilities and relationships to provide services nationwide. We are getting our name out there,” Vale said. “Generally, we are seeking individual opportunities with a minimum of 25,000 net rentable square feet all the way up to large multi-state portfolios. The sector is still under intense consolidation from [real estate investment trusts], private-equity firms and regional operators looking to capitalize on economies of scale.”

Though the coronavirus pandemic has caused some disruption to real estate markets, Vale believes self-storage is poised to attract continued investment interest, even if it’s cautious. “As operators quantify their existing operational impacts, no one wants to do a bad buy,” he said. “There have been numerous occasions where groups have walked away from deals because of risk exposure, financing difficulties and flat-out uncertainty in the market. This creates opportunities for groups that can execute and close deals.”

BHSG has brokered more than $50 billion in storage transactions, according to its website.

Sources:
SpareFoot Storage Beat, Berkshire Hathaway Storage Group Expands With Senior Hire
Berkshire Hathaway Storage Group, Website