A Somerset-headquartered storage business has been acquired by a UK self-storage group for an undisclosed sum.
Frome-based Storagebase has been bought by Storage King, which is owned by South Africa's largest self-storage company, Stor-Age Property REIT Limited.
Storagebase has four facilities in the South of England, while Storage King owns more than 80 self-storage assets in the South Africa and the UK. The acquisition includes more than 300,000 sq ft of space, including a new 102,000 sq. ft facility under construction in Amesbury, in Wiltshire.
Advisory firm FRP Corporate Finance in Bristol, led by partner Mark Naughton, Alex Sargeant and Freddie James, were tasked with securing a sale of the group and exit for the existing owners, who founded the business in 2002.
Over the past 20 years, Storagebase has grown from a single site operation into a £4m turnover business, operating more than 3,500 storage units at sites in Banbury, Wednesbury and Frome. Having increased turnover by more than 30% since 2019, Storagebase is expected to deliver further growth as it brings its new Amesbury site online this summer., FRP said.
Robin Greenwood, chief executive at Storage King, said: “We are pleased to have purchased this excellent portfolio and I would personally like to thank both FRP and the managing director of Storagebase for working with us through this process.
"This acquisition forms part of our growth strategy to increase the footprint of our portfolio across the UK, and we are excited to welcome the existing staff into our group.”
A spokesperson for Storagebase said: "Storage King shares the all-important cultural fit that will benefit our customers and team in the future as they take the business forward together.”
Law firm TLT in Bristol provided legal advice to Storagebase; the team was led by partner James Webb and supported by senior associate Henry Male.
Mark Naughton, partner at FRP Corporate Finance, added: “With people needing more space at home due to the shift to agile working, and the steady flow of major life events making self-storage a recession-proof market, we expect to see more consolidation in the space in the coming months and years.”
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