Nuveen Real Estate has entered the European self-storage market with the acquisition of a majority interest in the Green Storage self-storage platform in Sweden from Green Group.
Green Storage was formed in 2017 by Green Group, which will retain a minority interest in the platform.
The acquisition comprises an initial portfolio of 14 assets, six of which are under development, in the Greater Stockholm market.
Nuveen will continue to work with the management team, led by Stefan Nilsson, to build on Green Storage’s strong tech and sustainability-focused strategy and accelerate the platforms expansion plan both in Sweden and in the Pan-European market.
The Green Storage facilities are new-build and designed with clear ESG goals in mind; as evidenced by LED lighting, charging stations and a focus on using renewable energy throughout the facilities. The buildings are situated in premium locations in the Greater Stockholm area, benefitting from clear visibility and easy access.
“Nuveen is focused on expanding into the real estate alternative sectors – with self-storage considered one of the winning sub-sectors in Europe given low levels of supply, proven resilience during times of volatility and scope to drive efficiencies by creating a digitalised platform of scale,” said Jasper Gilbey, Head of the TIAA General Accounts real estate portfolio in Europe.
“We believe that Green Storage represents an excellent entry into the competitive European storage market given the quality of the portfolio that has been created to-date, strong track-record of the management team and the unique tech-focused strategy. The ability to create a fully-automated storage solution is a game-changer and we are keen to expand the portfolio quickly to create a market-leading platform in Sweden – with scope to expand further across Europe thereafter.” added Jasper Gilbey.
“We are tremendously proud of the journey that has seen Green Storage swiftly establish itself at the technological and sustainable forefront of its industry in Sweden. The platform that we have created widely exceeds the standard KPI´s for the self-storage industry and from our perspective it feels natural to join forces with Nuveen to bring this successful business out to the rest of Europe. It is our firm belief that a new majority owner, bringing with them extensive experience in the field and additional capital backing, is the right step to take the Green Storage platform to more cities in Sweden as well as the European market,” said Niklas Borg, CEO of Green Group.
For Nuveen, the European self-storage market is one of the most attractive alternative sectors given the significant under-supply, proven resilience and scope to generate value via the creation of a scaled platform. There are more than 10 times the amount of self-storage facilities in the United States compared with Europe and the fragmented nature of the European markets offers significant consolidation potential. With Green Storage’s proven track record and strong management as a foothold, Nuveen believe they have an excellent operating partner to create a best-in-class platform in a tail-wind alternative sector.
Schjodt, KPMG, WSP and Cushman Wakefield represented Nuveen and Mannheimer Swartling and Access Partners represented Green Group.
