Barwood Capital has acquired a self-storage site in Lincoln as part of a new investment strategy with Flexiss focused on the growing self-storage sector.
Flexiss, which currently has circa £200m in assets under management, will act as operator and development partner for Barwood’s new strategy, with the facilities acquired in partnership with Barwood trading under Flexiss’ SureStore brand.
This first acquisition, which was made through Barwood Regional Property Growth Fund V, sits within the Lincoln Westminster Industrial Estate and currently includes a purpose-built storage and removals operation totalling 14,500 sq ft, plus 13,885 sq ft of external storage containers.
Barwood has acquired the freehold interest in the site and intends to repurpose the existing unit into a state-of-the-art self-storage facility with a full SureStore rebrand in early 2025. Once complete, the new facility will incorporate 60,840 sq ft of space arranged over four floors, including 6,840 sq ft of external containers.
Edward Henson, director and head of transactions at Barwood Capital, said: “The self-storage sector is currently under-served, with demand from both individuals and businesses, and our aim is to create a regionally focused portfolio of assets to support the sector’s growth. This first acquisition is a unique opportunity to create a high-quality facility, in an area where there’s an acute under-supply of self-storage accommodation. The facility will offer a cost-effective solution for domestic and business customers in the area and create direct employment opportunities.
“As with all our projects, environmental responsibility has been among the priorities; our stores will be run with the highest energy efficiencies, keeping our offering cost effective for our customers and our environmental impact to a minimum.”
Mike Wilson, CEO of Flexiss, added: “We are proud to be working in partnership with Barwood Capital on this project, which will be the first in a number of projects together. We are delighted to be able to offer our customers in Lincoln innovative, sustainable and convenient self-storage solutions.”
Andy Wood, co-founder of Flexiss, said: “As industry leaders, Flexiss continues to work with investors like Barwood Capital to revolutionise the self-storage experience for home and business customers. Our desire for innovation creates more sustainable operations with cutting-edge technologies. Barwood and Flexiss are excited to be rolling out a new portfolio of stores together , and remain keen to hear of further acquisition opportunities for repositioning redundant buildings.”
CBRE, Napthens and Osborne Clarke advised on the purchase and structure of the deal.
