U.K.-based self-storage operator Safestore Holdings PLC has acquired the remaining 80% equity in its joint venture (JV) with global private-equity firm The Carlyle Group for €67 million.
The portfolio of 15 self-storage facilities in Belgium and the Netherlands comprises 592,000 square feet. The partnership had an enterprise value of €146 million, according to a press release.
Safestore formed the JV in 2019 to acquire the six-property M3 Self Storage portfolio and enter the Dutch market. That purchase was followed by the six-property Lokabox self-storage portfolio in Belgium in 2020 and the three-facility Opslag XL portfolio in The Netherlands last year. The facilities are primarily in the Amsterdam and Brussels metropolitan areas.
“Combining Safestore’s highly scalable operating platform and development experience with Carlyle’s investment expertise proved to be a successful partnership,” said Safestore CEO Frederic Vecchioli. “We are now exploring further opportunities to work together.”
“This transaction marks the culmination of a major acquisition and asset-management effort through our joint venture with Safestore to assemble an institutional-quality self-storage portfolio of scale with exposure to prime cities in the Netherlands and Belgium,” said Marc-Antoine Bouyer, managing director of the Carlyle Europe Realty advisory team. “We believe that the market fundamentals for European self-storage remain highly attractive and look forward to working alongside Safestore in identifying further opportunities on the continent.”
Safestore operates 162 other self-storage facilities, including 129 it owns in the U.K., 29 in France, and four in Spain. Its properties comprise 7.1 million square feet of storage space and serve approximately 80,000 customers.
Carlyle deploys private capital across four business segments: corporate private equity, global credit, investment solutions, and real assets. With $301 billion of assets under management, it employs more than 1,850 people in 26 offices across five continents.
