Harrison Street, an investment-management firm focused on alternative real estate assets, has entered the European self-storage market through a joint venture with property-management firm Pacific Investments. Together, they plan to develop a £150 million portfolio over the next three to five years by targeting undersupplied areas across the United Kingdom, according to a press release.
The partnership is projected to be seeded with three self-storage facilities comprising 138,000 square feet and a pipeline of ground-up and conversion development projects that have already been identified. Pacific’s majority-owned industry platform, Engage Management Services, will operate the assets under the Here Self Storage brand, which operates facilities in Loughborough, Northampton and Salisbury, England. Harrison Street plans to expand into other European markets, the release stated.
“We are thrilled to enter a new property sector in Europe and believe it’s the opportune time to expand Harrison Street’s self-storage platform into the U.K., a market that has a promising outlook supported by resilient fundamentals and increasing liquidity,” said Paul Bashir, CEO for Europe at Harrison Street. “With an established track record across our [U.S.] self-storage platform, we see a unique opportunity to apply our expertise and partner with Pacific Investments to deliver high-quality self-storage assets in the U.K. We remain committed to identifying and investing in compelling opportunities across alternative sectors as we continue to expand our presence in Europe.”
“We are delighted to partner with Harrison Street on the next stage of growth for the Here Self Storage Platform, which began with our investment in Engage, who we believe can become a category leader in the self-storage sector,” said Mark Johnson, executive chairman of Pacific Investments. “We believe that the joint venture will enable us to continue providing high-quality self-storage solutions to our customers across the U.K.”
Since its inception in 2005, Harrison Street has invested nearly $3.7 billion in 322 self-storage facilities comprising more than 210,000 units across Canada and the U.S. The firm has realized investments in 186 self-storage properties for a gross transaction value of $1.5 billion, and has approximately $55 billion in total assets under management.
Founded in 1993 by John Beckwith and Mark Johnson, London-based Pacific is a diversified investment group with a focus on asset management, financial services, real estate and private equity. Since its launch, the company has developed more than 7 million square meters of real estate globally across multiple asset classes. It’s also managed more than $50 billion in properties on behalf of institutional, high-net-worth and retail investors.
