Update 5/12/22 – StoreAway has secured more than £16 million in expansion capital shortly after the launch of its flagship site in Liverpool, England. The investors are Nash Business Capital, a principal lender to small and medium enterprises in the United Kingdom, and European investment-management firm Redevco. StoreAway will use the funds to open four facilities in Bath, Birmingham, Basildon and Cheltenham within the next six months, according to a press release.

“For a relatively new company, investors have shown extremely promising interest, not just here in the U.K., but also further afield due to the main contributing factor of demand continuing to outstrip supply within the self-storage industry,” Yates said. “These new sites are in prime city and town-center locations, and include former supermarkets, department stores, furniture depositories and retail warehouses, with some being sat redundant since the height of the pandemic. They have low capital value, they’re spacious with functional lifts and good access, and they’re also relatively straightforward to convert.”

The opening and operation of each site will be supported by self-storage consultancy firm Engage Management Services Ltd. Led by Anthony Adams and Mark Van Adrichem, the company also provides marketing services.

“StoreAway is playing a pivotal role in monopolizing the burgeoning self-storage industry by setting the agenda for the next phase of development. We’ve successfully created a solution for investors who wanted alternative propositions in the property market while offering a service that encompasses modern life and what people need in their daily lives,” Lanyon said. “We want to continue to build a nationwide portfolio over the next three to four years with a clear ‘urban’ brand. By embracing the challenge of transforming such redundant buildings, we hope to open a total of 20 stores across the width and breadth of the country.”

4/13/22 – Self-storage developer StoreAway has launched in England with plans to build and open 10 to 15 facilities in the next three to five years. The company aims to convert abandoned retail spaces in city centers and other urban settings, beginning with a 40,000-square-foot former department store in Liverpool, England, which is scheduled to open in May. It’s also secured future sites in Bath, Basildon, Birmingham and Cheltenham, England, according to a press release.

StoreAway’s leadership team has experience in fund management and commercial-property investment. The company intends to “embrace digital and other forms of technology to drive sales and operational efficiencies,” including a smartphone app and space calculator, the release stated. It’ll also offer flexible lease terms of as short as a week, according to the company website.

“Prevailing property market dynamics, such as the demise of the traditional retail sector, has allowed us to take relatively abundant existing buildings, in commercially attractive locations, and convert them in order to meet self-storage operational needs,” said managing director Richard Lanyon. “StoreAway plans to be disruptive in its U.K. operations by building up an underlying added-value, operational real estate portfolio.”

Lanyon has more than 30 years of experience as a chartered surveyor, with a focus on property investment in the United Kingdom. He’ll lead the company with fellow managing director Christian Yates, who was formally CEO of global wealth manager Julius Baer in London as well as international CEO for Bear Stearns Asset Management Inc., according to the release.

Sources:
Bdaily, New Self-Storage Operator StoreAway Secures £16 Million in Investment as It Builds Nationwide Portfolio
Business Live, StoreAway to Open Four New Sites After Receiving More Than £16m in New Investment