Mastering storage valuation with unmatched market insight

One of the largest and most successful self-storage companies in the United Kingdom sought experienced valuation advisory that accurately accounted for its brand prominence and the impacts of sustainability strategy.

Valuing self-storage assets is inherently challenging in a sector known for limited and opaque public data. Undaunted, leaders from a prominent self-storage brand knew a better way was possible — with JLL’s industry-leading valuations expertise.

Appreciating that our teams are involved in 75% of the large storage sector acquisitions and dispositions, the firm turned to JLL for previously inaccessible benchmarking and operational trends data, as well as asset pricing insight. And because the company is also committed to sustainability, the mission went further to assess the impact of solar power initiatives on its valuations.

Time was of the essence, so JLL would have just four weeks to onboard the entire portfolio of 100+ assets, complete with inspections, and provide brand leaders with actionable insight.

With extensive experience in this operational asset class, JLL’s valuation experts knew first-hand the right methodology to use: With a Discounted Cash Flow approach, lease-up periods and yield management could be explicitly forecasted in cash flows. This meant analysing profit and loss data for each of the self-storage company’s assets. To calculate competitive advantage, we also conducted a competitor study within our supply database.

In self-storage, any operational cost savings are directly accretive to value. JLL led a review of utility costs for all 100+ assets to identify savings and quantify the impact of solar panel installation on property values. Further, by comparing our operational benchmark database to actual performance, we applied informed growth forecasts to cash flows.

In addition to examining data, our EMEA Self Storage Value & Risk Advisory team needed to conduct onsite visits at each asset — a logistical challenge, considering the storage company’s footprint stretches from London to Exeter to Edinburgh.

Four weeks and 100+ site visits later, JLL proudly handed over a thorough risk and valuation assessment demonstrating the impact of ESG initiatives and reflecting the quality of the assets relative to the rest of the sector.

Today, the self-storage chain’s leaders possess invaluable insight on current assets, including how each benefit from solar cost savings and how it compares with other self-storage locations. The company has also expressed interest in JLL’s strategic sustainability solutions.

Looking ahead, the company can go even further — drawing on our data-driven valuations to deepen business performance and double down on its commitment to serving as the UK’s favourite self-storage business.