StorageMart, a Columbia, Mo.-based self-storage operator with facilities in Canada and the United States, has expanded its footprint to the United Kingdom by acquiring Big Box Storage Centres for £100 million. The Big Box portfolio includes 15 locations in Southern England comprising 674,756 square feet in 9,655 units. The deal is believed to be the largest investment transaction in U.K. self-storage history, according to the source.
“Big Box is an important entrance into the United Kingdom for StorageMart. We plan to use the substantial Big Box platform to grow within the U.K.,” Cris Burnam, president of StorageMart, said in a press release. “These are great locations in solid markets, and we look forward to applying our technology platform and revenue-management strategies at these stores.”
Big Box locations serve the counties of Brighton and Hove, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, and West Sussex. The acquisition expands the StorageMart portfolio to 189 facilities comprising nearly 12.5 million square feet of storage space in more than 110,500 units.
Founded in 1999, StorageMart is privately owned and operated by the Burnam family, which has been in the storage industry for three generations. It serves more than 75,000 self-storage customers, and operates in Chinese, English, Punjabi, Quebecois French and Spanish.
Sources:
- Estates Gazette: StorageMart Buys Big Box Self Storage
