REG - Safestore Hldgs plc - New Carlyle JV, Rotterdam development property

Safestore HoldingsAnnouncement

02/12/2022 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20221202:nRSB3538Ia&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 3538I  Safestore Holdings plc  02 December 2022

02 December 2022

 

Safestore Holdings plc

("Safestore" or the "Group")

Safestore and Carlyle form joint venture to enter German market

 

Rotterdam development property added to Safestore's pipeline

 

Notice of results

 

Highlights

·    Entry into German market via a new joint venture ("JV") with Carlyle
which has acquired the seven-store myStorage business with 326,000 sq ft of
MLA¹

·     New development site secured by the Group in Rotterdam in the
Netherlands

 

Frederic Vecchioli, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

 

"Following our previous successful JV with Carlyle in the Benelux region, we
have established a new German JV which has acquired the seven-store myStorage
business. Germany is one of Europe's most under-penetrated self-storage
markets and I look forward to growing our presence there."

 

"In addition, we have added a new development site in Rotterdam which supports
our continued strategy of expanding our footprint in the Benelux market and
extends the Group's development pipeline to 1.5m sq ft."

 

Joint venture with Carlyle and Investment in myStorage in Germany

 

Safestore has entered the German Self Storage market via a new joint venture
with global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG), which has acquired the
myStorage business.

 

Safestore has developed a multi-country highly scalable platform with leading
marketing and operational expertise in self-storage, with a proven track
record for developing its platform in new markets.

 

The acquisition of myStorage represents an excellent opportunity to develop
our platform into the attractive German self-storage market. The JV builds
upon our previous successful relationship with Carlyle having entered the
Benelux market in 2019. Our common intention is to target development and
acquisition opportunities through the JV, providing the opportunity to achieve
operational scale and to develop local market knowledge, whilst also retaining
the option for Safestore to develop its own wholly owned self-storage sites in
Germany. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with Carlyle,
and to developing a long and mutually beneficial relationship.

 

The German market is one of Europe's more under-penetrated markets with just
0.09 sq ft of storage space per capita which compares to 0.76 sq ft in the UK,
0.24 sq ft in France, 0.24 sq ft in Spain, 0.60 sq ft in the Netherlands and
0.20 sq ft in Belgium. According to the 2022 FEDESSA report, there are just
320 facilities in Germany and 7.6m sq ft of lettable space.

 

myStorage has seven medium to long term leasehold stores and 326,000 sq ft of
MLA¹ in Berlin, Heidelburg, Mannheim, Fürth, Nuremburg, Neu-Ulm and
Reutlingen.

 

The occupancy of the portfolio is 67% with two of the stores having opened in
2021.

 

Safestore's initial investment in the joint venture is a c. €2.2m equity
investment for a 10% share of the JV. Safestore will also earn a fee for
providing management services to the JV. The Group expects to earn an initial
return on investment of c.15% for the first full year before transaction
related costs reflecting its share of expected joint venture profits and fees
for management services.

 

Rotterdam development

 

Safestore has secured a freehold site in Rotterdam for construction of a
71,000 sq ft MLA¹ store subject to planning.

 

Rotterdam is one of the major cities in the Netherlands with a population of
588,000 and forms part of the larger Randstad area. The new site forms part of
a larger re-development.

 

With the addition of this site, the total group property pipeline is now at
1.5m sq ft and represents c. 19% of our existing portfolio. Outstanding
capital expenditure on the pipeline is £148m.

 

Notice of results

 

Safestore will announce its results for the year ended 31 October 2022 on
Tuesday, 17 January 2023.

 

Ends

 

1 - MLA is Maximum Lettable Area.

 

 

Enquiries

 

 Safestore Holdings PLC
 Frederic Vecchioli, Chief Executive Officer    via Instinctif Partners

 Andy Jones, Chief Financial Officer

 www.safestore.com (http://www.safestore.com)

 Instinctif Partners
 Guy Scarborough/ Bryn Woodward                 07917 178920 / 07739 342009

 

 

Notes to Editors

 

·      Safestore is the UK's largest self-storage group with 179 stores
on 31 October 2022, comprising 130 wholly owned stores in the UK (including 72
in London and the South East with the remainder in key metropolitan areas such
as Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds,
Newcastle, and Bristol), 29 wholly owned stores in the Paris region, 5 stores
in Spain, 9 stores in the Netherlands and 6 stores in Belgium.

·      Safestore operates more self-storage sites inside the M25 and in
central Paris than any competitor providing more proximity to customers in the
wealthiest and more densely populated UK and French markets.

·      Safestore was founded in the UK in 1998. It acquired the French
business "Une Pièce en Plus" ("UPP") in 2004 which was founded in 1998 by the
current Safestore Group CEO Frederic Vecchioli.

·      Safestore has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since
2007. It entered the FTSE 250 index in October 2015.

·      The Group provides storage to around 90,000 personal and business
customers.

·      As of 31 October 2022, Safestore had a maximum lettable area
("MLA") of 7.698 million sq ft (excluding the expansion pipeline stores) of
which 6.317 million sq ft was occupied.

·      Safestore employs around 750 people in the UK, Paris, Spain, the
Netherlands and Belgium.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  NORBFLLBLLLLFBE