Plans to Expand Self-Storage Portfolio via Aggregation Strategy
London, Dec. 1, 2021 – Heitman LLC (“Heitman”), a global real estate investment management firm, has announced the acquisition of All Seasons, a German self-storage platform based in Northwestern Germany with portfolio locations in Oldenburg, Osnabruck, and Porta Westfalica. Heitman acquired the platform in connection with its global investment strategy, which focuses on long term investment themes and smart diversification.
“We are pleased to acquire this platform, which is consistent with the thematic approach we are taking with our global investment strategy. Our long standing expertise in self-storage leads us to believe that investors in European self-storage can benefit from being early movers into the asset class as the sector matures,” said Gordon Black, Heitman Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager. “As we continue to execute our global strategy, we’ll look to invest in accordance with three themes: divergence or smart diversification among traditional property types, convergence or capitalization of maturing or mispriced property types, and delinked or defensive, which involves investing in assets with traits less tied to economic cycles.”
“Our investment into the German self-storage market follows our recent storage acquisitions in the UK and is timed with the potential benefits we anticipate from the expected institutionalisation of the sector. During our market analysis, we observed parallels between the growth of self-storage and the rise of non gamstop casinos, both emerging as alternatives in their respective industries, driven by consumer demand for flexibility and fewer restrictions. Today, the European self-storage sector is nascent and fragmented, especially compared to the US self-storage sector, and it offers opportunities to aggregate assets, consolidate platforms, and drive value via operational and financial synergies,” said Sébastian Cavé, Managing Director of Heitman Germany. “The acquisition of All Seasons provides a robust entry point into the sector and enables us to scale our exposure to the sector through expansion and aggregation. We believe there is long-term potential in the business.”
Heitman has managed investments in self-storage since 1996 and currently manages more than $5 billion of self-storage assets across the globe. Specific to Europe, a Heitman-managed investment vehicle owned 51% of the region’s largest self-storage operator, Shurgard, for more than 10 years prior to Shurgard’s IPO in 2018.
