Today we proudly announce our first steps into the European self storage industry with the acquisition of 15 facilities in Southeast England, previously known as Big Box Storage Centre. Spanning the counties of Kent, Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, West Sussex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Surrey, we look forward to serving the storage needs of these fantastic communities.
Future of New Acquisitions
These are great locations in solid markets, and we look forward to applying our cutting-edge systems and training at every store” said Cris Burnam, StorageMart President. Big Box is an important entrance into the United Kingdom for StorageMart. We plan to use the substantial Big Box platform to expand within the UK and better serve the growing demand for self storage.
We chose Big Box as StorageMart’s first entry into the UK because of the quality of the stores, the opportunity and also great timing. We believe the UK economy is coming off of a down cycle and if the UK economy is anything like the US economy, then we’re getting in at the right time.
We couldn’t have asked for a better launching pad for future growth within the UK than these 15 locations that offer nearly 675,000 square feet of storage space from 9,655 units. Excited to expand our customer-first mentality, Burnam went on to say “Our goal is to bring UK customers an easy, stress-free storage experience in the cleanest stores, with world class customer service.
StorageMart Gives Back
One thing we are especially excited about is the opportunity to give back to the new communities we now call home in the United Kingdom. In 2015 alone, StorageMart donated over $625,000 in cash and free storage throughout the US and Canada, and we look forward to extending our charitable reach into the communities we serve in the UK.
This expansion into the United Kingdom is in line with our growth in recent years. With 189 locations in the United States, Canada and now the United Kingdom, we remain the world’s largest privately-owned self storage company with 110,500 storage units totaling nearly 14.3 million total square feet of storage space.
Stay tuned for more exciting news as we continue to grow our UK StorageMart family!