Storage group completes £56m acquisition of UK rival
Storage group Safestore has completed the acquisition of a UK rival in a deal worth more than £56m.
Safestore has acquired the 12-unit portfolio of Stork Self Storage (Holdings), the 11th largest self-storage operator in the UK.
The SSSH portfolio, which had been controlled by funds managed by York Capital Management, includes two storage facilities in Birmingham, one in Oldbury plus units in Bolton, Nottingham, Bristol, Camden, Fareham, Farnham, Luton, Southampton and Winchester.
Safestore said the acquisition reinforced its position as the UK’s largest self storage group by number of sites with a combined total of 120 UK stores, 67 of which are in London and the South East with the remainder in key metropolitan areas such as Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol.
The SSSHL business, which had pro forma gross assets of £56.4m at September 30, 2016, has been acquired on a debt and cash free basis. The acquisition has been funded from the group’s existing debt facilities, with the group’s £60m accordion facility converted into a committed revolving credit facility.
On a pro forma basis, the group’s loan to value ratio following completion of the acquisition is c.35% compared to 32% at April 30, 2017 (adjusted on a pro forma basis for a refinancing in May 2017).
The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to group earnings per share and will support the group’s future dividend capacity.
Frederic Vecchioli, Safestore CEO, said: “Over the past 15 months, Safestore has cemented its market leading position in the UK, investing £100m in two earnings accretive acquisitions, and opening four new sites with a further two stores in the pipeline. These transactions have supplemented the organic growth being delivered by the existing business.”
