Business
Safestore acquires remaining share of Benelux JV
Safestore acquires remaining share of Benelux JV.
About this update from Safestore Holdings Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n \n RNS Number : 6761G\n Safestore Holdings plc\n 31 March 2022\n \n \n \n 31 March 2022\n \n Safestore Holdings plc (\"Safestore\" or \"the Group\")\n \n Safestore acquires remaining 80% share of Benelux Joint Venture\n \n Safestore is pleased to announce that it has acquired the remaining 80% of the equity owned by Carlyle Europe Realty (CER) in the Joint Venture formed in 2019 (\"the Joint Venture\"). The total consideration paid to Carlyle was €67m. The total initial cash outflow is €139m and includes the share purchase (€67m), refinancing of the existing borrowings (€67m), transfer tax and other deal costs (€5m) and was funded from the Group's existing loan facilities. The Joint Venture was acquired based on an enterprise value of €146m.\n \n The Joint Venture was setup in 2019 to acquire and develop assets in The Netherlands and Belgium in order to leverage Safestore's operating platform outside our core markets. Since then, the Joint Venture has grown to a portfolio of 55,000 square meters (592,000 Sq Ft) of MLA which is currently 74% occupied.\n \n The portfolio is made up of fifteen high quality properties (twelve freehold properties, two ground leases and one leasehold property). Nine properties are located in the Netherlands, six of which are concentrated in the Haarlem / Amsterdam area with additional properties in The Hague, Het Gooi and the recently opened Nijmegen store. In Belgium, two stores are located in the Brussels area, two in the city of Liege and further properties in Nivelles and Charleroi. Safestore has managed the properties since acquisition by the Joint Venture\n \n The Group's investment is expected to be marginally accretive to Group earnings per share in FY2021/22 and will support the Group's future dividend capacity. The expected initial yield based on total enterprise value is 3.9%¹ which we expect to grow to Safestore's normal returns hurdles as the portfolio matures. Post transaction, the Group's LTV will increase to 31%. Financing capacity under our RCF and Shelf facilities, combined with our cash reserves, is expected to be c. £219m following this transaction.\n \n Safestore CEO Frederic Vecchioli commented:\n \n \"Combining Safestore's highly scalable operating platform and development experience with Carlyle's investment experti...