Storage King
During the year, Stor-Age continued to successfully capitalise on its strategic entry into the United Kingdom via its ownership of Storage King, the sixth largest self storage brand in the United Kingdom.
The acquisition in November 2017 represented an opportunity to acquire a portfolio of well-located properties and a growth platform with well-invested infrastructure and an experienced management team. The team has considerable industry experience and a track record of demonstrable operational management, improvement and acquisitive growth.
Despite the uncertainty created by Brexit, Storage King and the UK self storage industry continued to trade robustly.
Further details of Storage King’s performance are set out in the Financial Review.
Storage King operates 28 well-located properties throughout England.
- Sixth largest operator in the UK by number of stores
- Owns 16 properties – 11 freehold and five leasehold, with an average 13-year unexpired lease term
- A further 12 properties trade under licence of the Storage King brand, generating licence and management fee revenue
- Highly scalable, well-invested infrastructure and experienced management
- Additional upside growth potential – operational cost savings and revenue enhancement
- Well-positioned to secure upcoming opportunities via long-established relationships with independent operators
- Well-located, with a bias towards the south-east and east
- Near key market towns and major arterial roads
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GLA1711 000 sq. ft
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Occupancy80.3%
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Average rental rate£21.63 per sq. ft p.a.
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Average store size244 400 sq. ft
| 1 | 711 000 sq. ft = 66 100 m2 GLA |
| 2 | 44 400 sq. ft = 4 100 m2 GLA |
- Established management team in place, with significant on-the-ground experience
- Established operating platform, high-quality property portfolio and pipeline of opportunities
| The UK market presents a strong growth opportunity. | ||
| 1 582 Self storage properties, offering approximately 45.6 million sq. ft of space |
77.2% Occupancy on current lettable space (CLA) |
|
| 1.7 m sq. ft Added in 2018, with 78 new stores added |
28 800 sq. ft Average store size |
45.6 m sq. ft Total space available to customers (MLA) |
| 3.8% y-o-y increase in total space occupied or 1.3 m sq. ft |
c.30% Properties owned or managed by large operators |
|
| 46% The UK holds 46% of the total European self storage market |
Occupancy and rental rates have increased across the industry over the past 5 years, improving overall profitability | |
| Source: The Self Storage Association UK annual industry report, 2019 |
The UK self storage sector continues to prove resilient and demand is growing faster than supply – approximately 1.7 million square feet of space was added during the year.
Acquisitions
In March 2019, Storage King acquired two trading self storage properties in Weybridge and Bedford. The acquisitions demonstrate our ability to successfully identify, negotiate and close acquisitions in a competitive environment.
The acquisitions were in line with the stated growth and investment strategy and represented an excellent opportunity to acquire high-quality self storage properties in locations which complement the existing portfolio. Both properties are being rebranded as Storage King and are being managed off the existing operating infrastructure.
Storage Pod
Located in Weybridge, Surrey, in the south east of England, Storage Pod was acquired for £11.5 million and has 42 800 sq. ft1 GLA and a maximum lettable area (MLA) of 55 000 sq. ft.2 The property is well built and trades into dense residential areas in and around Weybridge.
Viking Self Storage
Located in Bedford, the county town of Bedfordshire in the east of England, Viking Self Storage was acquired for £12.3 million and has 48 000 sq. ft3 GLA and a MLA of 54 000 sq. ft.4 The property is well built and offers good visibility to a main arterial road, while trading into a dense residential area.
| 1 | 42 800 sq. ft = 4 000 m2 GLA |
| 2 | 55 000 sq. ft = 5 100 m2 GLA |
| 3 | 48 000 sq. ft = 4 500 m2 GLA |
| 4 | 54 000 sq. ft = 5 000 m2 GLA |