European convenience real estate investor Mitiska REIM has announced a strategic joint venture partnership with Belgium-based self-storage company, STORO. As part of the agreement, Mitiska REIM, on behalf of the MEREP 3 fund, has purchased a stake in STORO’s self-storage sites.
STORO offers a unique digital booking and onboarding process, a keyless system for units managed on a mobile app, and a fully digital automated service.
“Self-storage fits seamlessly into Mitiska REIM’s convenience real estate strategy which targets visible and accessible sites on urban infill locations,” said Bart Rabaey, Mitiska REIM’s Chief Investment Strategy Officer.
The European self-storage market is still at an early stage of development compared to the UK and the US, seeing total investment volumes increase 3.5 times in 2021 compared to the previous year, according to The Federation of European Self Storage Associations (FEDESSA).
The STORO site in Brecht opened in March 2020 and has 189 self-storage units with a net rentable area of 1,040 sqm. STORO Mechelen opened in April 2020 and has 370 units with a net rentable area of 2,000 sqm and is part of a mixed-use repurposing of a vacant industrial building which also features office units with a gross leasable area (GLA) of 240 sqm. The Roeselare site was acquired in December 2022 and is scheduled to open this summer, offering 462 self-storage units covering a net rentable area of 2,900 sqm, combined with 680 sqm of SME units and a Dockx rental vehicle office.
Lennert De bruyn, Co-founder and Managing Director of STORO, added: “Mitiska REIM's network and experience in real estate finance and strategy, combined with STORO’s customer-focused offering, creates a powerful combination to grow and expand the STORO concept.”
The initial focus of the two firms will be on the Belgian market, with target cities including Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven, Brussels, Charleroi, Liege and Namur.
