U.K. self-storage operator Big Yellow Group PLC has purchased a former Royal Mail sorting office in Cambridge, England, which it intends to convert to a 55,000-square-foot storage facility. The building on Henley Road closed earlier this year. The acquisition and refurbishing project is expected to cost about £9.3 million and reach completion in late 2015, according to the source.
In a statement to shareholders, Executive Chairman Nicholas Vetch said Big Yellow had been searching for a suitable site in Cambridge for 14 years. The new facility will sit on 1.8 acres. “This is our first new site acquisition for construction in seven years,” Vetch said. “The acquisition is a testament to our confidence in both Cambridge and our business model.”
Finding quality sites on which to build new self-storage developments is becoming a challenge, but Big Yellow will continue to look for opportunities, Vetch said. The company also recently purchased a storage property in Oxford, England.
“The freehold unit on Henley Road offers good-quality warehouse space in a prominent position in one of Cambridge’s most established trade areas,” said Phillip Ridoutt, director at Savills Cambridge, the real estate brokerage that represented the seller in the transaction.
Big Yellow Group operates 78 self-storage locations in the United Kingdom under the Big Yellow Self Storage and Armadillo Self Storage brand names, with most concentrated in Greater London. Its total portfolio comprises 4.9 million square feet.
