Category: Finance News

Investors in UK commercial property have experienced a rollercoaster ride over the past 18 months. When Covid-19 took hold in March of last year, the picture looked bleak, to say the least: as the UK went into lockdown, several sectors stepped into the unknown. The UK’s largest open-ended direct property funds suspended trading, while commercial property real estate investment trusts (REITs) swung to big discounts as panic set in. This was reflected in the FTSE Epra Nareit UK index, which plunged 32% between 1 February and 20 March 2020. More…

Since listing in late 2015, self storage property specialist Stor-Age has hardly put a foot wrong. Without stretching its balance sheet, it has built sturdy growth legs in SA and the UK. Like financial services specialist Transaction Capital (which listed three years earlier), it came to market with a fresh and innovative offering. But while transaction capital has been riding high, the market has still not properly grasped the longer-term growth and value proposition at Stor-Age. The share, in fact, trades roughly at NAV. Some punters may see this as…

Real estate investment firm Heitman LLC has raised $3.2 billion to launch three new funds that will seek commercial real estate investments focused on apartments, medical offices, senior and student housing, self storage and warehouses. It will also use funds to repurpose existing retail and office buildings as hospitality, mixed-use and residential properties, according to the source. Heitman Value Partners V will focus on North American opportunities, while Heitman Real Estate Debt Partners II and Heitman Global Real Estate Partners II will specialize in high-yield credit. Capital infusion came from…

U.K. self storage operator Lok’nStore Group PLC has released pre-close financial results for its 2021 fiscal year, which ended July 31. Self storage revenue increased 20.9% year over year, while physical occupancy across the portfolio grew from 69.6 percent to 85.8 percent. Total occupied space at year-end was up 35.3%, while leased price per square foot grew 8.7%, signaling expectations for continued revenue and profit growth, officials said. Lok’nStore has also remained active with development and believes new supply will contribute to future growth. “We have made significant progress on…

Self storage operator Big Yellow reported a 14.6% improvement in closing occupancy for its first quarter on Thursday, to 4.49 million square feet, as the maximum lettable area across its store estate grew by 6.3% to 4.98 million square feet. The FTSE 250 company said that as a result, its like-for-like closing occupancy was 9.3 percentage points higher year-on-year for the three months ended 30 June, at 92.9%. We are pleased to have delivered a strong trading performance in the first quarter and we have now achieved our long-held goal of…

Self storage operator Safestore Holdings PLC, with locations in Europe and the United Kingdom, has released its interim financial statement for the first half of its 2021 fiscal year, which ended April 30. The company experienced growth in revenue and occupancy for most of its operating portfolio, according to its report. Total revenue for the period was up 10.5% to £88.1 million, with “like-for-like” growth for the group also up 8.3%, using constant exchange rate (CER). Same-store revenue grew 9.1% using CER. Profit before income tax was £167.3 million, up…