Big Yellow, the self-storage company, yesterday announced a £150m investment partnership with funds managed by Pramerica Real Estate Investors to develop up to 25 stores throughout Britain, even as its core customers are under pressure. Financial Times, The Times
Big Yellow and Pramerica, the property investment and advisory arm of Prudential Financial, will invest up to £25m and £50m respectively to develop stores in the Midlands, the north of England and Scotland.
Royal Bank of Scotland is providing a five-year £75m loan to the venture for investment and development.
The move comes as the outlook for Big Yellow looks less optimistic. About half its customers are linked to the housing market, such as people renting storage space between house moves.
But Nicholas Vetch, chairman, said that although the company would be affected by any downturn in the housing market, now was “absolutely” the moment to expand.