Harrison Street and Pacific Investments have formed a new self-storage joint venture that aims to develop a £150m portfolio of assets in the UK over the next three to five years.
The joint venture has already lined up three self-storage assets providing 1,906 units and offering approximately 138,000 sq ft of lettable space and has identified a strong pipeline of additional projects in undersupplied locations across the UK.
The assets will comprise a mixture of ground-up developments and conversion projects and although the JV’s initial focus will be on the UK market, Harrison Street intends to expand into other European markets over time.
Pacific’s majority owned self-storage property management platform Engage Management Services will operate the assets under the Here Self Storage brand.
Paul Bashir, chief executive officer – Europe, at Harrison Street, said: “We are thrilled to enter a new property sector in Europe and believe it’s the opportune time to expand Harrison Street’s self-storage platform into the UK, a market that has a promising outlook supported by resilient fundamentals and increasing liquidity.
“With an established track record across our US self-storage platform, we see a unique opportunity to apply our expertise and partner with Pacific Investments to deliver high-quality self-storage assets in the UK. We remain committed to identifying and investing in compelling opportunities across alternative sectors as we continue to expand our presence in Europe.”
Mark Johnson, executive chairman of Pacific Investments, added: “We are delighted to partner with Harrison Street on the next stage of growth for the Here Self Storage Platform which begun with our investment in Engage, who we believe can become a category leader in the self-storage sector. We believe that the joint venture will enable us to continue providing high quality self-storage solutions to our customers across the UK.”
