StorHub pumps US$300 million into Australian expansion plan, snaps up 5 assets
Samuel Oh
SINGAPORE-BASED self-storage operator StorHub is moving in on the Australian market, with the launch of StorHub Australia, backed by a US$300 million equity commitment.
StorHub said its platform in Australia is seeded with five assets in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, with a combined gross floor area (GFA) of 56,210 square metres.
With the acquisitions, StorHub said it is accelerating its pan-Asia growth strategy and adding 655,000 sq m into its portfolio across seven markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
Backed by private equity giant Warburg Pincus, the self-storage operator has a presence in 17 cities across Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, mainland China and Hong Kong, with Australia being the latest addition.
StorHub said its first operating site is in Rouse Hill, Sydney; it plans to expand further in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane through “strategic acquisitions and developments, capitalising on a robust pipeline of opportunities”.
Simon DeGaris, chief executive officer of StorHub Australia, said: “The self-storage industry in Australia is at an inflection point, driven by multiple favourable tailwinds, including record population growth fuelled by immigration and attractive demographics, increasing residential density and evolving working-from-home conditions. These factors are creating a greater demand for modern, flexible and well-located self-storage.”
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He added: “StorHub is already a dominant player in Asia’s self-storage industry, and it’s a natural step for StorHub to expand into and grow in Australia.”
StorHub’s moves in Australia follow its recent acquisition of Storage Plus, a premium self-storage operator in Japan, last September. Earlier, in August 2023, StorHub acquired a majority stake in Malaysian self-storage operator Flexi Storage.
Warburg Pincus bought StorHub from CapitaLand for S$185 million in 2019, and said it has since relaunched the business as a pan-regional, Asia-focused platform.
StorHub said in a statement during its acquisition of Storage Plus that the private equity firm has “played a critical role in driving the growth and expansion of StorHub across the region”.
“The platform aims to amass a high-quality portfolio of up to US$5 billion of assets via organic and mergers-and-acquisitions growth in the coming years, with the plan of an eventual initial public offering,” it added.
StorHub currently holds 2.2 million square feet of GFA in 18 facilities across Singapore. Its facilities sit on land owned by JTC, which has said it is reviewing the increasing demand from self-storage players to operate in industrial spaces, and to ascertain the impact on industrial estates.
Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s guidelines, buildings approved for industrial use are meant primarily for activities such as manufacturing and warehousing.
StorHub previously said that it has “put on hold further property acquisition”.
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