UK Self-Storage Operator Big Yellow to Build 9 Sites, Expand 2 Others

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Update 12/21/18 – Big Yellow has received approval for a mixed-use project in Battersea that will include a 72,000-square-foot self-storage facility, 168 housing units and 18,500 square feet of artist-studio, office and retail space. The company’s current 34,0000-square-foot location in the district will be demolished after tenants are relocated to the new site. Construction on the new facility is scheduled to begin during the summer, with completion expected in 2020, according to a source.

“This was a large and complex proposal in planning terms, and success gives us considerable confidence in tackling other projects closer to the center of London as and when opportunities arise,” said CEO James Gibson.

Big Yellow is considering its options for the remainder of the adjacent property that isn’t part of the mixed-use plan. It could opt to sell it to another developer for additional housing, office and retail space, a source reported.

9/18/18 – U.K. self-storage operator Big Yellow Group PLC has raised £67 million through a stock placement with which it intends to develop nine new facilities and expand two others. The company will invest a total of £102 million on the projects, which are expected to add about 680,000 square feet of storage space to its portfolio, a 15 percent increase. Additional money will be used to fuel long-term expansion goals, according to the source.

The company is expanding London facilities in Battersea and Wapping, and will build new London-area locations in Camberwell, King’s Cross, Queensbury and Uxbridge. It also intends to develop new facilities in Bracknell, Hove, Manchester, Newcastle and Slough, England.

Big Yellow expects the new square footage to immediately add about £17.4 million in operating income. Total development cost is around £198 million, the source reported.

The company placed 7.2 million ordinary shares through JP Morgan at 930 pence per share, which were available to existing and new institutional investors. Members of the board intended to invest a total of £265,000 during the placing, according to the source.

Big Yellow Group operates 96 self-storage locations in the United Kingdom under the Big Yellow Self Storage and Armadillo Self Storage brand names, with most concentrated in Greater London. Its total portfolio comprises 5.6 million square feet.

Sources:
City A.M., Big Yellow Bags Planning Permission for Extended Battersea Site
The Times, Green Light for Big Yellow Expansion

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