Berlin, 4 March 2021 – Private placement group MARCOL and alternative investment firm Angelo Gordon have announced a new joint venture in the German self-storage market, Space Plus, headed by Russell Jordan, with plans announced to invest EUR 250 million in off-market opportunities across Germany.
TA Europe is very pleased to be involved supporting Space Plus with both pre-acquisition technical due diligence (TDD) expertise and subsequent project monitoring of the five assets already acquired in northern Germany and our client’s pipeline of further targeted assets to enable expansion for Space Plus to become one of the fastest-growing and leading self-storage operators in Germany.
As a boutique consultancy, TA Europe has been able to not only provide the required leading and senior expertise in technical due diligence advice, from experience across related retail, light industrial and logistic property sectors, but sources the expertise from a specific, market-related track record in self-storage in what is a relatively new but rapidly growing property sub-sector in Germany.
TA Europe is ideally set up to support the Space Plus with previous relevant experience of teams in Essen, Berlin and Munich, which include first language English-speaking Chartered Building Surveyors (RICS) based in Germany, supporting Space Plus and other international investor clients, including pre-acquisition and property condition audits on individual deal sites and also numerous portfolios of existing self-storage sites, for operator owners or investors, such as in Spain (Bluespace), across Germany / Austria / Switzerland (MyPlace) and The Netherlands (City Box).
During this time, our TA Europe TDD teams, which include senior staff experts who undertook their first, specific self-storage portfolio survey commissions as long ago as 2003, have seen the steady rise and presence of the industry across the UK and continental Europe, though growth has notably been slower in Germany to date and this is now evidently changing.
Russell Jordan, CEO at Space Plus, says: “This is an optimal time to launch an innovative self-storage platform, given the increasing demand for such products across Europe. The current market is at a very nascent stage in parts of Germany, offering a massive opportunity for growth, as the general public and small businesses, in particular, become increasingly aware of what self-storage is and what benefits and flexibility it can offer. Smart technology and a new concept of co-working accommodation services and amenities at each location, such as those offered by Space Plus, will prove a differentiator amongst the competition. We are pleased we will once again be working with our trusted TA Europe team, who know the German market perfectly well and have a deep understanding of the self-storage market as such.”
Lawrence Wainwright, Partner at TA Europe, says: “We have witnessed, along with our technical advisory work in the residential and other property sectors in Germany, how urbanization and the decrease in available living space in German cities are key driving forces supporting the German self-storage market’s growth. According to a continent-wide survey by European self-storage trade association FEDESSA, Germany has seen some of the most significant growth in supply over the last three years, increasing by around 50% of space in that time. TA Europe is ideally placed to support Space Plus in their aims and ambitions, and we look forward to being part of their trusted team of experts and advisors in the roll-out plans and journey ahead.”
