Moorfield Group, Stor-Age form £100m UK self storage joint venture

Moorfield Group, Stor-Age form £100m UK self storage joint venture

UK-focused real estate fund manager Moorfield Group has entered into a joint venture with Stor-Age, a South African self storage Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and owner of UK self storage business Storage King.

The joint venture aims to build an initial £50-100 million portfolio of modern, tech-enabled high-profile self storage assets in the UK.

Moorfield will be the majority investor, on behalf of its Moorfield Real Estate Fund IV. The joint venture aims to develop self storage assets with a focus on London and the South East. The portfolio will benefit from being operated under the Storage King brand, which currently trades from a platform of 28 stores, providing over 1 million sq. ft. of high-quality storage space across the UK.

The joint venture is in advanced discussions on a number of acquisitions, leveraging Storage King’s established relationships and industry experience to secure off-market opportunities. The pipeline comprises a mix of subject-to-planning development sites, turn-key developments and existing investment assets.

Self storage as an asset class has been one of the more resilient during this period of uncertainty..”

Marc Gilbard, CEO of Moorfield Group, commented: “As a specialist alternative real estate investor with a track record of generating strong returns from the timely recognition and discerning exposure to sectors benefitting from changing demographic and societal change, the UK self storage sector is a natural fit for our investment portfolio. Replicating the strategy of our recent nursing and dementia care-home partnership, we have selected a best-in-class partner whose operational and origination expertise will enable us to both access the sector and then scale a portfolio in a meaningful way. Self storage as an asset class has been one of the more resilient during this period of uncertainty and is set to benefit from a number of favourable structural trends, and with a strong pipeline of assets already identified, we are excited to be launching this latest venture on behalf of our investors.”

­Steven Horton, Executive Director of Stor-Age, commented: “We are delighted to have formed a partnership with Moorfield in order to execute our strategic growth plans in the UK over the medium-term. The UK self storage industry presents a significant and attractive growth opportunity and we remain encouraged by the consistent performance of the Storage King business this year, despite the backdrop of uncertainty and a muted economic environment as a result of COVID-19. All properties will be branded and managed by Storage King as part of our third-party management platform, Management 1st.”