U.S. Specialist Gets Planning Permission For Britain's Most Expensive Self-Storage
London’s poshest self-storage facility has been given the go-ahead underneath the five-star Biltmore Mayfair hotel on Grosvenor Square.
Planning permission has been granted to U.S. self-storage specialist 1784 Holdings for the development of a 42K SF premium facility, with £15M in financing from specialist real estate lender and investor Mera Investment Management. The site will be managed by Self Storage Concierge, part of the James Taylor Group.
The former NCP car park will offer 593 high-security units ranging from 10 SF to 300 SF, including enclosed storage suitable for luxury cars. It is expected to command rents of £90 per SF, making it the UK’s most expensive self-storage facility.
The facility will include 24-hour CCTV monitoring in collaboration with The Biltmore Mayfair, with automatic number plate recognition technology used to record and verify all vehicle movements. It will also have a hotel-style concierge reception and service options, including collection and delivery of items directly to and from units.
“This deal underscores the strong fundamentals of the self-storage market, which is attracting American and other international investors keen to gain a share of the market and capitalise on operational resilience and stable inflation-linked income,” Mera Investment Management CEO Edward Matthews said in a statement.
The UK’s self-storage market has become an increasingly attractive sector for U.S. companies. Blackstone recently confirmed that it is considering lodging a bid to acquire the UK's largest self-storage business, Surrey-based Big Yellow Group, in a deal that could cost at least £2.2B.
And Singaporean investor CapitaLand is reportedly in talks to buy Access Self Storage for about £1.05B, following bids for the business being put on ice earlier in the year.
