Blog

Cinch Gets Boost For New Self-Storate Facility Plans in A4 Chippenham [England]

There has been a major breakthrough for controversial plans to build a new self-storage facility beside a busy A-road. Chippenham Town Council’s planning committee voted not to object to the latest proposal for the redevelopment of the former Vauxhall garage off the A4 Bath Road. In April, Cinch Self Storage submitted amended plans to knock down the garage, which has been empty for over a year, and build a three-storey storage facility on the site. Chippenham Town Council objected to previous designs for the scheme, which would have seen a…

Swiss Life Asset Managers Eyes Major UK Growth as New Head of Real Estate Takes Up Reins

Aims to grow UK assets under management from £2 billion to £5 billion by 2030 Swiss Life Asset Managers wants to grow its UK assets under management from £1.9 billion to £5 billion by 2030 as part of a major European expansion drive. Details of the proposals emerged this morning at a Swiss Life Asset Managers strategy update with journalists in London. The group will have a new head of real estate from 1 July when Jan Plückhahn, formerly head of real estate Germany, takes up the reins. Giles King,…

HESTA to Invest in European Alternative Property Types with Heitman

Investment solidifies Heitman as one of HESTA’s largest international property managers Heitman LLC (“Heitman”), a global real estate investment management firm, today announced an allocation from HESTA to invest in European alternative property types, including self-storage, student housing, residential, and health care. With over 1 million members and approximately AUD 93 billion of funds under management, HESTA is one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds dedicated to health and community services. This investment establishes Heitman as one of HESTA’s largest international property investment managers. “The new allocation with Heitman will support…

Padlock Euro Storage Fund I Completes the Acquisition of the Ashford Property in Ashford, London [England]

Padlock Euro Storage Fund I (the “Trust”) announced today that it has successfully completed the acquisition of a freehold property located in Ashford, London, United Kingdom (the “Ashford Property”) for a purchase price of £7,250,000 excluding costs. The transaction was satisfied by way of cash from the proceeds of the Trust’s recently upsized debt facility. The Ashford Property consists of a freehold interest in an undeveloped parcel of land on which a purpose-built self-storage facility will be constructed, netting approximately 70,000 rentable square feet of self-storage units. With in-place planning…

New Self-Storage Coming Together on Manchester Road in Bolton [England]

A new development in a prominent spot near Bolton town centre is set to open later this year. The scheme will see a large patch of wasteland at the corner of Manchester Road and Lower Bridgeman Street turned into a multi-storey self-storage unit. The development, which was approved in 2023, will be run by self-storage company Shurgard, which operates facilities across the country. The firm has confirmed that it is looking to open it in late December this year. It says it will feature online “eRental”, digital access and a…

Pink Storage Expands – With its Acquisition of StoreWise in Nottingham [England]

A Welsh-born self-storage company founded by Cardiff-based entrepreneur Scott Evans has invested £1.5m as part of its acquisition of a 102-unit facility in Nottingham. Pink Storage has acquired StoreWise for £1.1m, with an additional £370,000 being invested to upgrade the 1.3-acre site and add 150 new storage units. It will also bring the facility in line with Pink Storage’s technology-led standards. Now operating 16 sites across Wales, Pink is rapidly expanding into major cities in England as part of its mission to become the UK’s fastest-growing independent self-storage provider. The…

First Pocket Storage to Open in Historic Building in Bermondsey, London [England]

Pocket Storage, a U.K.-based vertically integrated owner and operator of self-storage properties, and Forum Partners, a leading global real estate investment and asset management firm, today announced that the historic Biscuit Factory in Bermondsey, London, will be the first site for their new technology-enabled self-storage platform that will deliver secure, convenient and fully automated self-storage facilities in ultra-urban markets in the U.K. “Our fully automated model allows us to price rents at a significant discount to the market average while ensuring a best-in-class customer experience,” said Max Wilson, co-founder and…

Lock Stock Self-Storage to Open new Self-Storage Facility in Winsford, Cheshire [England]

Winsford’s newest self-storage site will have containers big enough the lodge the contents of a whole three-bedroom house. Lock Stock Self Storage is set to open its new facility on Nat Lane in mid-June. The new site marks the company’s latest expansion and promises to bring ‘affordable, secure storage solutions for individuals and businesses alike’. Winsford is the 21st location in Lock Stock’s ever-growing network, making it the UK’s largest container storage operator. The first site opened in Denbigh, North Wales, in 1999, and since then, it has expanded steadily…

Approval Granted for Self-Storage Company Expansion Plans in Northwich, Cheshire [England]

Expansion of a Northwich company is set to go ahead after a planning application was approved. Cheshire West and Chester planning officers have backed an application by the storage firm SureStore on Chester Way Retail Park Chester to expand its current operations. Permission has been granted for an additional 29 storage units on the company’s car park, spanning an area of around 557sq m and single storey in height. A planning statement submitted in support said the scheme would expand the site’s self-storage capacity and in doing so ‘broaden the…

Barwood Capital and Flexiss Group Purchase Self-Storage Site in Doncaster, South Yorkshire [England]

Barwood Capital and joint venture partner Flexiss Group have purchased a 3.2-acre self-storage site in Doncaster. The acquisition, which was made through the Barwood Regional Property Growth Fund V, centres around a vacant 33,592 sq ft former Arnold Clark car showroom on Wheatley Hall Road in Doncaster. Once redeveloped, the facility will offer more than 60,000 sq ft of self-storage space arranged over ground and one mezzanine floor, alongside external drive-up units. Flexiss is acting as the operator and development partner for the joint venture, which aims to repurpose vacant…