Heitman LLC (“Heitman”), a global real estate investment management firm, today announced the acquisition of a self-storage site in Galway, Ireland, further establishing their U-Store It business as the leading provider of self-storage facilities across the country. This transaction, undertaken in furtherance of Heitman’s global core plus focused strategy, reinforces Heitman’s conviction in the European self-storage market and the growth potential in Ireland in particular. This bolt-on acquisition follows the firm’s acquisition of the U-Store It self-storage platform in Ireland in 2022, a transaction driven by strong demand/supply fundamentals.
The Galway property comprises approximately 72,000 square feet, in addition to approximately 36,000 square feet for potential future expansion. Located within a prominent business park, it is only 10 minutes away from Galway’s city center and central to business, manufacturing, and residential communities.
“Heitman has been investing in self-storage assets in Europe since 2008 and in North America since 1996. This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to strengthen Heitman’s reach in Ireland, a regional market that has been historically characterized by limited competition,” said Tony Smedley, Managing Director and Head of European Private Equity at Heitman. “We believe that European self-storage is well positioned for accelerated growth. Supply per capita is only 1/20 of that in the United States and the needs-based demand drivers are uncorrelated to GDP. From our perspective, the opportunity is particularly compelling, given that we are at the very early stages of institutionalization and in an environment where opportunities for value can be created at the physical, operational, and platform level.”
Through this acquisition, Heitman seeks to meet the storage demand of the Galway community, to benefit from greater economies of scale, and to optimize the earnings potential of the facility by leveraging its operational expertise.
