Shurgard agrees to £378m takeover of Farnborough’s Lok’nStore

Shurgard looks set to take over rival self-storage group Lok’nStore in a deal worth £378 million.

Headquartered in Hampshire, Lok’nStore has 32 sites across the South East and five in Manchester – two areas where Shurgard is looking to increase its footprint. It has another eight properties under development.

The acquisition is expected to bring job cuts, both on and away from storage sites. Shurgard warned that ‘the majority of roles’ across Lok’nStore’s administrative and head office functions will likely be lost over the coming 12 months.

Lok’nStore shareholders are set to receive 1,110p per share as part of the deal – 15.9 per cent higher than the stock’s closing price of 958p on Wednesday, and higher than its all-time peak of 1,085p in early 2022.

Andrew Jacobs, chair of Lok’nStore, said: “Lok’nStore’s board believes the offer represents significant value for shareholders, recognising the quality of Lok’nStore’s real estate portfolio and operational strength.

“Over the years, Lok’nStore has built a unique portfolio of purpose-built self-storage assets.

“We believe that integrating Lokn’Store’s assets and operations into Shurgard is highly complementary considering Lokn’Store’s asset locations and positioning in its markets.

“I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight the contribution of Lokn’Store’s team over the years, whose commitment has enabled building the business to its high standards and unique asset quality it’s recognised for today and ensuring leading positioning in the markets in which it operates.”

Shareholders must now vote on whether to approve the deal, with 75 per cent consensus required.

Marc Oursin, chief executive of Shurgard, added: “Following several successful acquisitions over the past year, I’m excited to disclose this new acquisition in the UK, which doubles our presence in the country and accelerates our growth and expansion strategy.

“This milestone event for Shurgard adds an additional 171,000 sq m MLA, representing two full years of Shurgard’s targeted annual expansion, with new ramp-up and development opportunities to accelerate our growth in existing and new UK markets.”