|
Armadillo Self Storage Expands in U.K.
Edinburgh, Scotland-based Armadillo Self-Storage struck a deal in April worth nearly £2 million to buy Dundee, Scotland-based Asterix Storage, The Edinburgh Evening News reports. Armadillo, run by entrepreneur Alister Jack, made the acquisition as part of a nationwide expansion drive. Formerly a foundry near a busy ring route, the Asterix facility has 42,000 square feet of storage space and will bear the Armadillo name. The £1.9 million purchase comes just weeks after Armadillo, under the banner of Edinburgh Self Storage, shelled out a seven-figure sum for a former depository building in Glasgow. Armadillo is also expanding its south of the Scottish border with the purchase of a site in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, for an undisclosed sum.
Red Hot Strategy to Target U.K. Storage
|
Profits Up for LoknStore
LoknStore Group PLC, one of the leading companies in the U.K. self-storage market, announced interim results for the six months ending January 2006. The company operates 21 freehold and leasehold storage centers in the Southeast. Turnover increased by 10.2 percent to £4.28 million. Operating profit rose by 59 percent to £510,975. Profit before tax increased 102 percent. The company opened two new large freehold stores in Hampshire and Kent, adding 16 percent to total capacity. The new facility in Farnborough is LoknStores first purpose-built site.
Australias Storage King Looking at U.K. REIT Potential
Before going public in Australia, Storage King may pursue a listing in Britain, where it has 20 stores, the The Sydney Morning Herald reports. In the United Kingdom, upcoming legislation would allow the creation of real estate investment trusts (REITs), which would suit the group. The size of the U.K. storage market is close to £10 billion and is considered large enough to accommodate a specific storage REIT market. In Australia, storage REITs are unlikely because only two companies dominate the sub-sector, Millers Storage and Storage King. Last years sale of 18 Storage King Facilities to Abacus Storage Fund left Storage King founders David Scanlen and Michael Tate to concentrate on managing the remaining 110 independent operators franchised under Storage King in Australia and New Zealand, and the 20 now in Britain.
Alberta Auction Draws 100
