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Shurgard Self Storage: Europe's Self-Storage Pioneer
The Orange Box Revolution
On a drizzly October morning in 2018, Marc Oursin stood at the Euronext Brussels trading floor, his finger poised over the ceremonial bell. The 56-year-old CEO, a former Carrefour executive who had spent his career navigating the cutthroat world of retail across four continents, was about to take Europe's largest self-storage company public for the second time. Shurgard Self Storage SA began trading on Euronext Brussels with an initial market capitalisation of €2.04 billion. The pioneer of self-storage in Europe raised €575 million, making it the second largest newly-listed company to join Euronext Brussels over the last decade.
But this wasn't a typical tech unicorn or disruptive startup story. Shurgard's journey began decades earlier, in the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest, where a history teacher named Chuck Barbo decided that helping Americans store their excess possessions was a better bet than grading papers. What Barbo built—and what Oursin now commanded—represented something remarkable: the largest owner and operator of self-storage centers in Europe, which commenced operations in 1995 and pioneered the self-storage concept across the continent.
The central question that makes Shurgard's story so compelling is this: How did an American self-storage company pioneer an entirely new industry in Europe, survive being swallowed by a competitor, go public twice, and emerge as the continent's dominant player? The answer involves Norwegian immigrants, skeptical bankers, a $5.5 billion hostile takeover, and the realization that Europeans—who had never heard of renting a climate-controlled room to store their grandmother's china—might actually want to do exactly that.
Shurgard is now owned by US-based Public Storage and New York State Common Retirement Fund, listed on the Euronext Brussels exchange, and operates about 340 stores, approximately 80 of which are in the UK. Public Storage acquired Shurgard Storage Centers in 2006 in a $5.5 billion transaction; the company was later spun-out and Public Storage retains a 35% interest.
This is a story about first-mover advantage in a nascent market, the power of operational platforms, and how to build a real estate empire across fragmented European markets—one orange-branded storage unit at a time.
The Self-Storage Industry Origins: An American Invention for American Excess
Before there was Shurgard, before there was self-storage in Europe, there was a uniquely American problem. Chuck Barbo, Shurgard's founder and longtime leader, devoted his career to fulfilling the demand for self-storage. His family, led by his great-grandfather Lars Barbo, emigrated from Norway in 1871 and settled in the Pacific Northwest.
The demand for self-storage sprang from the characteristics of post-World War II American society: an increasingly mobile population requiring short-term storage as individuals relocated residences; the increasing cost of housing, which led to smaller houses and less available storage space; the increasing popularity of apartments and condominiums; and more discretionary income, which enabled individuals to purchase boats, recreational vehicles, and other large items which required sizable storage space. Adding to the surge in demand was the proliferation of small businesses during the latter half of the 20th century, which meant cramped offices required offsite storage space for sundry needs.
Chuck's grandfather, Christoffer Barbo, was ten years old when the family arrived in the United States and later teamed with one of his brothers to start a logging and construction company in Bellingham, Washington, near the U.S.-Canada border. Like his grandfather and great-uncle, Chuck Barbo also pursued a career as an entrepreneur, but not at first. He enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle intending to earn a business degree, a goal Barbo shelved after only one quarter of studies, his passion lost after suffering through introductory accounting classes. Barbo then switched his field of concentration, opting to major in history and education.
The irony is almost too perfect: a history major who dropped accounting because he couldn't stand the tedium of debits and credits would go on to build one of America's largest real estate portfolios, eventually managing hundreds of millions of dollars in assets.
During a summer break from teaching in 1966, Barbo entered the real estate business by selling property on Whidbey Island, one of the San Juan Islands located north of Seattle. "I earned more money in two months of selling real estate than I'd have made in four years of teaching," Barbo recalled in Shurgard's 2001 annual report. "Even though I'm a miserable accountant," he continued, "I figured that one out in a hurry."
His teaching days numbered, Barbo moved south, making an hour's drive to Olympia, Washington, the birthplace of Shurgard. Once in Olympia, Barbo opened his own business, a real estate investment company that served as the connection for meeting a local developer named Don Daniels. In 1971 the pair formed the Barbo-Daniels Group, which acquired and developed various commercial properties. Among the properties developed by the firm was a tilt-up concrete mini-warehouse called B-D Mini-Storage, located just south of Olympia, in Tumwater.
Although Barbo envisioned business opportunities in the self-storage industry, others, particularly bankers, were skeptical. "Back in the early 1970s," Barbo wrote in the Shurgard's 2001 annual report, "no one had any idea whether self-storage was a legitimate business or not. Imagine trying to convince some tight-fisted bankers that a junior high school teacher turned real estate developer was on to the next great thing." Barbo succeeded in obtaining the capital to develop B-D Mini-Storage, sparking his interest in developing further storage centers.
The personal attention and helpful demeanor of their first manager, Charlie Climber, was such a big hit with customers that Barbo and Daniels immediately emphasized it as a Shurgard point-of-difference among all employees, and to customers. Their recipe of sound, clean, secure storage facilities and helpful service propelled the company—which changed its name to Shurgard in the mid-'70s—to rapid growth throughout the decade. By 1979 the industry boasted 3,500 self-storage facilities nationwide. Riding the wave, Shurgard experimented with color schemes, unit sizes and building materials to achieve the right mix of profitability and consumer attractiveness.
What Barbo understood instinctively was that self-storage wasn't just about renting square footage—it was about providing peace of mind during life's transitions. Moving, divorcing, downsizing, renovating, inheriting, starting a business—all these inflection points created demand for a place to temporarily house the physical remnants of one chapter while beginning another.
For investors watching the self-storage industry, Barbo's early insight remains relevant today: the demand drivers are deeply embedded in demographic and social trends that transcend economic cycles. People don't stop moving, divorcing, or accumulating possessions during recessions—if anything, economic uncertainty creates more transitions requiring storage solutions.
Building the American Empire: From Skeptical Bankers to NASDAQ Debut
Barbo launched a bid to develop a national chain of storage centers. As he progressed toward achieving his lofty goal during the 1970s and 1980s, difficulties in securing capital emerged again, forcing Barbo to develop a solution that would determine the way Shurgard was later structured. When interest rates escalated, the bankers Barbo earlier characterized as "tight-fisted" entirely closed their hands, shutting off Shurgard's capital.
To overcome the problem and to continue Shurgard's expansion, Barbo formed the first of a series of public partnerships to fund the construction of new storage centers. Eventually, Barbo formed two dozen such limited partnerships, raising nearly $700 million for his expansion coffers, enough to provide capital for nearly 20 years of growth.
This financial innovation—using limited partnerships to fund real estate development when traditional bank financing dried up—revealed Barbo's entrepreneurial flexibility. Rather than accepting the constraints imposed by skeptical lenders, he created an alternative capital structure that aligned investor interests with expansion goals.
In the early 1990s Barbo began developing a plan to consolidate his numerous public partnerships, which were sponsored by a separate property management company, Shurgard, Inc., into a single corporate entity. As one of the steps taken to create a unified force, Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc. was incorporated in July 1993. Barbo's nearly two-year effort to consolidate $442 million of real estate partnerships culminated in early 1994, when 17 of the 24 limited partnerships were merged into one body. At the end of March 1994, 17 million shares, held by roughly 55,000 limited partners, debuted on the NASDAQ exchange.
At the time of the offering, Shurgard was organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) which operated 139 storage centers and two business parks in 17 states, the result of Barbo's 22-year effort to build a national chain. One year after the company's debut on the NASDAQ, the outside property management company, Shurgard, Inc., was merged into Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc., creating a self-administered and self-managed REIT. Following the massive effort to create a single corporate entity, Barbo was ready to expand.
After beginning his career as a teacher, Chuck co-founded Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc., in 1972. He built the company to a portfolio of more than 650 properties across the United States and Europe before retiring as chairman in 2006 following Shurgard's merger with Public Storage.
By 1996 Shurgard was touting itself as the second largest operator of storage facilities in the United States. The company operated storage facilities in 275 locations in the United States and Europe, which generated $110 million in revenue for the year.
But Barbo wasn't content with being number two in America. While most of his competitors focused solely on the domestic market, he was already eyeing an opportunity that seemed audacious, even foolhardy, to many observers: exporting self-storage to a continent that had never heard of it.
The Unprecedented European Bet: First-Mover into Unknown Territory
In 1994, Barbo made a bold and unprecedented move for a self-storage company when he established an office in Brussels to explore the feasibility of opening storage centers in Europe. The investigation revealed potential, leading to the formation of a Belgian subsidiary, SSC Benelux & Co., in 1995, making Shurgard the first U.S. storage company to establish operations in Europe.
Shurgard commenced operations in 1995 and is one of the pioneers of the self-storage concept in Europe. In total, its network of 229 stores comprises approximately 1.2 million net rentable square meters and serves more than 150,000 customers in the Netherlands, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany and Denmark.
Consider what this decision meant at the time. Self-storage was an American phenomenon, born from American consumer culture and American suburban sprawl. Europeans lived in smaller homes, accumulated fewer possessions, and had no cultural reference point for renting a room to store things they didn't need but couldn't bear to throw away. There was no proof of concept, no market research showing latent demand, no competitors to validate the opportunity.
Barbo was betting that urbanization, smaller living spaces, and increasing prosperity would create the same storage needs in Europe that had driven the industry's growth in America—just a few decades later. It was a thesis about convergence, about the globalization of consumer behavior.
Although Shurgard trailed far behind Public Storage in the U.S. market, controlling roughly 1,000 fewer properties, Barbo looked to one area for growth that Public Storage did not—Europe. Shurgard owned 19 European properties (with ten more under development), and Barbo was determined to push forward. In October 1999, Barbo raised $249 million to finance Shurgard's second leg of expansion in Europe. Investors included the familiar Fremont Realty Capital, as well as Deutsche Bank, AIG Global Real Estate Investment, and Credit Suisse First Boston, which received a 43 percent stake in Shurgard's European division.
This financing structure—bringing in sophisticated institutional investors to fund European expansion—demonstrated that Barbo's European bet wasn't just entrepreneurial optimism. It was a calculated strategy backed by major financial institutions who saw the same opportunity: an underpenetrated market with favorable demographic trends.
The first-mover advantage in European self-storage proved to be substantial and durable. While competitors eventually followed, Shurgard had already secured prime urban locations, built brand recognition, and developed the operational expertise to navigate Europe's diverse regulatory environments. This head start would prove crucial in the decades that followed.
The Public Storage Acquisition: The Hostile Giant Arrives
In 2006, the company acquired Shurgard Storage Centers in a $5.5 billion transaction, acquiring 624 locations, including 141 in Europe. Public Storage had attempted to acquire the company in 2000 and again in 2005, but its offers were rejected.
The story of Public Storage's pursuit of Shurgard reads like a corporate thriller. As Shurgard pressed its case abroad in 2000, the battle with Public Storage took on a new twist. In February, Public Storage began investing heavily in Shurgard, spending roughly $50 million to become the company's largest shareholder by early April. Barbo seemed to have anticipated Public Storage's intent—"We knew somebody was buying our stock and assumed it was them," he said in a March 3, 2000 interview with the Seattle Times.
Public Storage had acquired a stake in Storage Trust Realty in 1998, then offered to buy the company. Storage Trust rejected the offer but later agreed to the deal, forced to concede after relenting to shareholder pressure. In mid-April 2000, Public Storage representatives flew to Seattle and initiated talks with Shurgard officials about combining the two companies.
Ultimately, the resulting shareholder pressure and compelling logic of the combination led the Shurgard board to announce that it was exploring strategic alternatives. In the end, Shurgard's exploration process culminated in a merger with Public Storage, which valued Shurgard at about $5.5 billion. The transaction provided Shurgard shareholders a 39% premium to Shurgard's undisturbed stock price plus the opportunity to benefit from the upside potential of the combined company.
Public Storage announced the completion of the previously announced acquisition of Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc. in a transaction with a total value of approximately $5.5 billion. The transaction further expanded the size of the nation's largest self-storage company with an ownership interest in over 2,100 facilities in 38 states and seven European nations. All of Shurgard's shares of common stock were converted into the right to receive 0.82 shares of Public Storage common stock, Public Storage assumed approximately $1.9 billion of Shurgard debt and $136 million of Shurgard preferred stock was redeemed.
The Shurgard directors recognized the benefits of the merger and in March 2006 signed a definitive merger agreement which was approved by both companies' shareholders in August. At closing, Public Storage paid about $5.3 billion for the "second best" domestic portfolio and by far the best portfolio and operating organization in Europe.
Shurgard became a publicly traded REIT on the New York Stock Exchange in May of 1995. In 2006, Chuck retired as Shurgard's Chairman following a merger of Shurgard with Public Storage, Inc. Chuck then co-founded, and was a partner in, the venture capital firm, Catalyst Storage Partners.
Chuck Barbo co-founded Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc. in 1972. Under his leadership, Shurgard owned and operated a portfolio of more than 650 properties across the United States and Europe. Charles "Chuck" Kirby Barbo passed away on August 6, 2025.
The 2006 acquisition marked the end of Shurgard's independence but the beginning of a new chapter for its European operations. For Public Storage, the deal brought together the two largest self-storage players in America and gave the combined company a dominant position in Europe that no competitor could match.
The European Spinout: From Division to Independent Company
What happened next reveals the strategic thinking that shaped modern Shurgard. Public Storage acquired its interest in Shurgard in August 2006 through the acquisition of Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc. In March 2008—just as the global financial crisis was gaining momentum—Public Storage sold 51% of its interest in Shurgard Europe to an institutional investor. Public Storage continued to act as the managing member of the joint venture.
In April 2008, the New York Common Retirement Fund acquired a 51 percent interest in Shurgard Europe from Public Storage for approximately €383.2 million ($606 million). It also received an adjustment for operating results of Shurgard Europe from December 31, 2007, through March 31, 2008. Public Storage retained the remaining 49 percent interest.
This transaction accomplished several objectives. It crystallized value for Public Storage during uncertain times, brought in a long-term institutional partner with patient capital, and created a structure that would eventually enable Shurgard Europe to pursue its own growth strategy independently.
On March 2, 2011, Shurgard Europe, the Public Storage European joint venture, paid €172 million to acquire the 80% interests it did not already own in two joint ventures that owned a total of 72 self-storage facilities (3.8 million square feet of storage space) in all seven countries in which Shurgard Europe operated. Public Storage provided the funding for the acquisition.
This consolidation simplified Shurgard's ownership structure and positioned the company for accelerated growth. Rather than managing a complex web of joint ventures across multiple countries, Shurgard now operated as a unified European platform with clear strategic direction.
The 2018 IPO: Europe's Storage Giant Goes Public Again
On October 15, 2018, Shurgard Self Storage SA began trading on Euronext Brussels (Compartment A) with an initial market capitalisation of €2.04 billion. The pioneer of self-storage in Europe raised €575 million, making it the second largest newly-listed company to join Euronext Brussels over the last decade.
Shurgard priced its initial public offering on Euronext Brussels at €23 per share, at the bottom of its price range of €23 to €28. The operation valued the company at €2.04 billion. Shurgard planned to use the proceeds to repay borrowings as well as support its growth strategy in target markets including London, Berlin and Paris.
"We are very pleased with the results of the global offering and are energized by the fact that so many institutional investors share our confidence in Shurgard and its growth potential across Europe," said CEO Marc Oursin. "The raised funds will help us continue Shurgard's profitable growth strategy across the European continent by optimizing our existing portfolio, developing new stores in our key European markets and by continuing our role as a consolidator."
"With the ringing of the Euronext Brussels bell, we are starting a new chapter in our company's history," Oursin said. "Still, our core value will always remain the same: to provide the best storage experience for our customers and to further strengthen our platform of self-storage centers with growth across the seven countries where we operate."
The leadership team executing this new chapter brought a distinctive skill set. Marc Oursin started his professional career with Promodes from 1987 to 1995 in France and Switzerland, then transferred to Carrefour from 1995 until 2009 in France, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and Belgium. He also served abroad on the boards of the different French chambers of commerce.
Oursin served as CEO at Shurgard Self Storage from January 2012. Prior to that, he was President at SPORT 2000 France from 2010 to 2011. Before that, Oursin held multiple CEO positions at Carrefour, including CEO Carrefour Belgium from 2006 to 2009, CEO Carrefour Taiwan from 2003 to 2006, CEO Carrefour Korea from 2001 to 2003, and CEO Carrefour Thailand from 1999 to 2001.
Oursin holds a Master of Business Administration from ESSEC Business School, earned in 1985-1986, in international food business.
Oursin's background in retail operations across multiple continents proved valuable for Shurgard's European expansion. Running big-box retail stores across diverse Asian and European markets requires the same skills needed to scale self-storage: site selection, operational efficiency, customer experience optimization, and navigating local regulatory environments.
At the time of the IPO, the company's financial profile was solid: 2018 real estate operating revenue was €245 million, EBITDA was €136 million, Adjusted EPRA earnings were €99 million, and Loan-to-Value was 14%. The prior years showed steady growth: 2017 real estate operating revenue was €239 million, EBITDA €135 million, and 2016 real estate operating revenue was €232 million.
The conservative balance sheet—with just 14% loan-to-value—positioned Shurgard to pursue aggressive expansion without compromising financial stability. This would prove prescient as the company entered its most transformative period.
The German Offensive and Modern Expansion Era (2023-2024)
In November 2023, Shurgard initiated a EUR300 million share capital increase by way of an accelerated bookbuild—its first ECM transaction since its 2018 IPO. The intraday primary raise aimed to generate funds for Shurgard's strategic growth initiatives, focusing on acquisitions and the development of new storage facilities.
European self-storage property specialist Shurgard launched the share capital increase in cash for an amount of €300 million. The proceeds were to be used to fund the growth of the company's portfolio via both organic and M&A opportunities, with targeted delivery of at least 90,000 square meters per year as from 2024. The proceeds were expected to be deployed over the next months, primarily to fund acquisitions and development in the company's core geographies of Germany, London, Paris and Randstad.
Marc Oursin commented: "We are delighted to come back to the equity markets to continue to fund our growth via acquisitions and developments. The pipeline of future new footage is developing strongly and has reached 14.5% of our total lettable area. The net proceeds will allow us to continue our expansion mainly in Germany, London, Paris and Randstad."
The capital raise immediately funded an aggressive German expansion. Shurgard announced the acquisition of Top Box self-storage in Germany. The acquisition of a high-quality freehold portfolio combined five operating properties and two development assets. In total the transaction would add approximately 32,800 net square meters over the coming years, being a combination of: five operating properties representing 17,100 net square meters currently operating at 70% occupancy; foreseen expansion of these properties by approximately 6,600 net square meters during 2024; and development of two additional projects during 2025 for approximately 9,100 net square meters.
Shurgard announced the acquisition of Pickens Self-Storage in Germany for a total cash consideration of €120.0 million, as part of an asset deal. The six properties from the Pickens portfolio added approximately 31,300 net square meters. Three operating properties in Berlin representing 17,600 net square meters, currently operating at approximately 85% occupancy, secured Shurgard a strong number 2 position in the city with a total of 10 properties. Three operating properties in Hamburg representing 13,700 net square meters, currently operating at approximately 80% occupancy, gave Shurgard a strong number 2 position with six properties.
Marc Oursin commented: "We are thrilled to expand our footprint in Germany with this strategic acquisition. Adding the Prime portfolio after the seven properties of the Topbox acquisition and the six properties of Pickens is a major achievement of our teams. Our new footprint in Germany comforts our number two position in the country. It is further proof of the unyielding, but disciplined execution of our growth strategy, deploying efficiently the €300 million raised in November 2023."
Shurgard, after these transactions, offers self-storage solutions in 30 operating properties in Germany, including 21 properties in Germany's "Big Seven" cities (70%): 16 facilities in the North-Rhine-Westphalia area (comprising Cologne, Dusseldorf, Bonn), six facilities in Berlin, three in the Munich area, three in Hamburg and two in the Great Frankfurt area.
The acquisitions of Top Box and Pickens, combined with the 12 projects in Shurgard's organic development pipeline, added a total of 122,400 square meters of net self-storage space (equivalent to approximately 95% of the existing Shurgard footprint in the German market mid-2023) allowing the company to double the size of its portfolio in Germany.
The Transformative Lok'nStore Acquisition
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd. acquired Lok'nStore Group in an all-cash deal for £378 million. The acquisition of Lok'nStore at a price of £11.10 per share represented total equity value of £378 million and total all-in cost of €613 million.
Founded in 1995 by CEO Andrew Jacobs, Lok'nStore had a portfolio comprising 1.8 million square feet and another 538,195 square feet under development. About 40% had been constructed since 2022.
"We are very proud to integrate this high-quality business and team into Shurgard. The acquisition of Lok'nStore is doubling our presence in the U.K., a key target market, and is accelerating our growth strategy. It has a highly attractive, recently repositioned, modern, purpose-built portfolio, on top of which it brings a strong pipeline," Oursin said.
Shurgard expected significant opportunity to further accelerate growth by driving Lok'nStore's occupancy to 90% (from 67%) over two years by utilizing its proprietary dynamic pricing model and online marketing proven track record. Digitalization supporting dynamic pricing model was expected to be a key driver of rental growth. Shurgard anticipated at least €4-5 million of costs and tax synergies in the first full year and further opportunities for efficiencies as Lok'nStore benefits from Shurgard's scale, e-rental solution and market-leading operational platform.
Shurgard completed the acquisition of Lok'nStore Group on August 1, 2024.
"This milestone event for Shurgard adds an additional 171,000 square meters 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. The acquisition brings with it a strong pipeline and development team, which can be leveraged to accelerate new opportunities in London, the South East and Manchester."
2024 Results: The Most Transformative Year in Company History
Shurgard Self Storage reported a strong financial performance for the fourth quarter of 2024, with a 13% increase in total revenue compared to the previous year. Revenue grew by 13% in 2024 compared to 2023. Same-store revenue increased by 4.8%. Occupancy rates reached nearly 90%. The company expanded its storage capacity by over 400,000 square meters. Shurgard achieved a BBB+ rating from S&P, a first for a European self-storage company.
The strategic alignment resulted in significant positive outcomes. Shurgard has been on a very strong growth trajectory for some years, but 2024 really stands out as exceptional; bringing together an operational, financial and development strategy that has and will continue to deliver value to its shareholders.
The pipeline for 2024-2026 represents 30% of the company's 2023 total net rentable square meters (or approximately 417,000 square meters or approximately €1,212 million) with an expected return at maturity of 8-9% delivering an additional NOI of approximately €100 million per year.
Digitalization is in motion: Full e-rental (from search to paid move-in) reached 50% of total new contracts; 50% of customers are using bluetooth access applications. 55% of Shurgard's stores are now managed within clusters (service store and "remotely managed" store). Four countries already have 80% to 90% of their properties in clusters.
The company expects to deliver an additional NOI of approximately €100 million per year at maturity, based on an 8-9% return requirement. Shurgard became the first European self-storage company with a strong investment grade rating (BBB+, stable outlook) from S&P.
2025 Performance Continues Strong
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd. released financial results for the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, which ended March 31. The company showed overall growth and remains on track to achieve its outlook while reiterating its guidance for the remainder of the year. The Shurgard portfolio expanded to 318 stores through 39 acquisitions and facility redevelopments, primarily in Germany and the United Kingdom. All-store operating revenue growth at constant exchange rate increased 18.9% for the period.
Net operating income elevated by 19.7%. Same-store revenue grew 5% using CER, fueled by an average in-place rent increase of 4.1%. Adjusted earnings on the European Public Real Estate Association Index were €35.7 million for the quarter, up 3.7% using CER.
"During Q1 2025, Shurgard has shown a continued strong performance, in line with the full-year 2025 outlook we shared a couple of months ago. All markets demonstrated a robust performance, and, in particular, Sweden showing a significant catch-up. This resulted in a major growth in revenues and EBITDA for both all stores and same stores," said Shurgard CEO Marc Oursin. "Our growth plan is showing momentum with the completion of the integration of Lok'nStore and the German acquisitions of 2024."
Of the seven European markets in which Shurgard operates, Germany achieved 7.2% same-store revenue growth and an increase in rental rates of 5.8% over the same period in 2024. Revenue in the Netherlands grew by 7.7% over the same quarter last year, and rental rates climbed by 8%. Belgium's revenue expanded by 5.4%, supported by a 6.5% increase in rental rates. In the UK, same-store revenue rose by 5.6% over the prior year, resulting in revenue growth of 6.8%. Occupancy grew from 85.8% to 87.1%. Sweden saw its occupancy leap from 88.6% to 90.8%.
Shurgard expects continued growth in 2025, with projections for revenue and NOI to increase by approximately 11%. The company plans to expand its network by an additional 90,000 square meters and anticipates capital investments in the coming year.
The European Self-Storage Market: Penetration, Growth, and Opportunity
Understanding Shurgard's position requires examining the broader European self-storage landscape—a market that remains dramatically underpenetrated compared to the United States.
The Self-storage market size in Europe was valued at USD 17.04 billion in 2024. The European market is estimated to be worth USD 27.29 billion by 2033 from USD 17.96 billion in 2025, growing at a CAGR of 5.37% from 2025 to 2033.
Europe's self storage market has 9,575 stores in operation, totalling 16.5 million square meters in gross area. The leading four markets (UK, France, Germany, and Spain) account for 68% of Europe's total number of stores.
The UK currently leads the region with 34.6% market share, followed by France (15.8%), Germany (12.6%), and Spain (11.6%).
Safestore Holdings is the leading self storage business that operates 130 stores in the UK, 27 in Paris and 3 in Spain. The UK has 0.7 square feet of self storage per capita compared to nearly 10 square foot in the US and only 0.2 throughout Europe. There are over 2,500 stores in the UK including approximately 500 which are cheaper, container stores.
The penetration gap between Europe and the United States represents both the opportunity and the challenge for Shurgard. Self-storage continues to thrive in Europe, offering less than an average 1 square meter of space per capita across a population of 740 million. The industry would benefit from increased public awareness and understanding of self storage. Taking the average of responses from all public surveys, 37% of the public have not heard of self storage, and a further 35% have heard of self storage but said they know nothing about the sector, nor the services offered.
Market Drivers
The Europe self-storage market faces significant challenges due to the high cost of real estate, particularly in urban areas. According to Eurostat, property prices in the EU increased by 6.1% in 2022, with cities like London, Paris, and Amsterdam experiencing even higher rates. These rising costs make it difficult for self-storage operators to acquire and maintain facilities in prime locations, limiting their ability to expand. For instance, in the UK, the average cost of commercial property in London reached ÂŁ75 per square foot in 2023, as reported by the UK Office for National Statistics, creating a barrier for new entrants and smaller operators.
Rental rates increased by 5.4%, reaching an average of €312.56 per square meter. The 2025 publication reveals the industry's continued resilience, despite economic and political uncertainty, with 70% of facility operators anticipating improvements in occupancy and rental rates within the next year. Rental rates increased by 5.4%, reaching an average of €312.56 per square meter. This was partially offset by a small drop in occupancy rates.
Artificial-intelligence tools are being used by 90% of self-storage operators for functions like pricing and customer analytics.
Strategic Analysis: Porter's Five Forces and Competitive Position
Threat of New Entrants: MODERATE TO LOW
Several factors create barriers to entry in European self-storage:
The Europe self-storage market faces significant challenges due to the high cost of real estate, particularly in urban areas. According to Eurostat, property prices in the EU increased by 6.1% in 2022, with cities like London, Paris, and Amsterdam experiencing even higher rates. These rising costs make it difficult for self-storage operators to acquire and maintain facilities in prime locations, limiting their ability to expand.
Stringent zoning laws and regulatory hurdles pose another major restraint for the self-storage market in Europe. Urban planning regulations in many EU countries restrict the development of self-storage facilities in residential or central business districts. For example, in France, local authorities often impose strict limits on the size and location of such facilities to preserve urban aesthetics. These regulatory constraints delay project approvals and increase operational costs, hindering market growth and accessibility for consumers.
"A lot of the groups that got into storage 20 years ago are finding it exceedingly difficult to compete here because there's so much capital that's now allocated within the U.S. and they're looking for other places to get better returns," Swerdlin said. "The problem is groups that are there and established, when something comes up, they're not going to let somebody else get a foothold. So it's almost like these guys that are venturing from the U.S. into these markets are going to have to do it in small bites."
Bargaining Power of Suppliers: LOW
Self-storage operators have limited exposure to supplier power. Construction costs are the primary input, and these are generally competitive with multiple contractors available. Once facilities are built, ongoing operational costs are minimal—primarily utilities, maintenance, and labor.
Bargaining Power of Customers: MODERATE
Individual customers have relatively high switching costs once they've moved belongings into storage—the hassle of relocating items creates stickiness. However, price transparency and online comparison tools give customers leverage during the initial rental decision.
Threat of Substitutes: LOW
There are few practical substitutes for self-storage. Garages and basements offer limited capacity, and outsourced warehousing is typically more expensive and less convenient for personal use. The digitization of documents and decline of physical media theoretically reduces storage needs, but this appears offset by general accumulation of possessions.
Competitive Rivalry: HIGH IN MATURE MARKETS, LOWER IN GROWTH MARKETS
Major players in the Europe Self-storage Market include companies such as Access Self Storage and Big Yellow Group PLC, alongside others like Safestore Holdings PLC and Shurgard Self Storage SA.
Shurgard, Safestore, Big Yellow, and Access Self Storage jointly controlled approximately 28% of occupied floor area in 2024. Shurgard tops the leaderboard with 339 stores covering 1.7 million square meters, pursuing a city-centric footprint where 93% of properties sit inside major metros. Safestore and Big Yellow follow, each integrating contactless access apps, dynamic pricing engines, and solar installations to boost NOI.
The expansion of self-storage across Western and Southern Europe was underscored in late 2024 when Safestore Holdings expanded into Italy through a 50-50 joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate. The deal involved the JV acquiring Easybox, Italy's second-largest self-storage operator by number of stores—with a grand total of 10—with plans to scale in a country where there are only two self-storage stores for every 1 million people.
Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers Framework
Scale Economies: Shurgard benefits from significant scale economies across its European platform. Centralized marketing, technology systems, and management create cost advantages that smaller operators cannot match. The company's digitalization initiatives—with 50% of new contracts now processed entirely online—reduce labor costs per square meter.
Network Effects: Limited direct network effects, though brand recognition creates some advantage in customer acquisition. Customer reviews and reputation create modest network effects in local markets.
Counter-Positioning: Shurgard's comprehensive digital platform and proprietary dynamic pricing tools represent capabilities that would be expensive and time-consuming for competitors to replicate. The decision to invest heavily in technology creates a counter-positioning advantage against traditional operators.
Switching Costs: Once customers move belongings into storage, the friction of relocating creates natural switching costs. Average customer stays extend to multiple years in many cases, creating predictable recurring revenue.
Branding: Shurgard has invested heavily in brand building across Europe, creating recognition that aids customer acquisition. However, brand power in self-storage is moderate—proximity and price remain primary decision factors.
Cornered Resource: Prime urban real estate represents a cornered resource. Good development sites are hard to find, especially in major cities like London and Paris. Shurgard's existing portfolio of locations in key metropolitan areas cannot be easily replicated.
Process Power: The company's operational platform—including dynamic pricing algorithms, digital marketing capabilities, and property management systems—represents accumulated process power developed over decades. Future platform expansion is secured: approximately 416,700 square meters pipeline, €1.2 billion of investment value with 8-9% yield on cost at maturity, equivalent to approximately €100 million per annum of NOI that is a "self-feeding model." This represents the largest square meter expansion per annum in the industry.
The Bull Case: Europe's Structural Growth Story
The bullish thesis on Shurgard rests on several compelling arguments:
Underpenetration Creates Runway: Europe's self-storage penetration at approximately 0.2 square feet per capita compares to nearly 10 square feet in the United States. Even partial convergence implies decades of growth potential. As European living spaces shrink and urbanization continues, storage demand should expand.
First-Mover Advantage is Durable: Shurgard entered Europe nearly 30 years ago and has accumulated the best urban locations, strongest brand recognition, and most sophisticated operational platform. These advantages compound over time.
Operational Excellence Driving Margins: The company achieved a 0.4 percentage point same store NOI margin improvement (standing at 67.8%) against the backdrop of significant cost pressure, reflecting the strength of digitalization initiatives; in the UK the margin improvement was 0.5 percentage points.
Balance Sheet Strength: Shurgard became the first European self-storage company with a strong investment grade rating (BBB+ stable outlook) from S&P. This provides low-cost capital for continued expansion.
Consolidation Opportunity: The fragmented European market offers acquisition opportunities. Smaller operators lack the technology, marketing capabilities, and capital access to compete effectively. Shurgard's platform makes acquired properties more profitable.
The Bear Case: Challenges and Risks
Economic Sensitivity: While self-storage has historically been defensive, severe economic downturns could reduce demand as consumers cut discretionary expenses and businesses fail.
Competition Intensifying: American investors will continue to seek European self-storage opportunities that can yield better returns, though they will likely go after smaller deals, with Big Yellow and Safestore already having a leg up on the competition.
Interest Rate Exposure: Although Shurgard maintains a strong balance sheet, higher interest rates increase the cost of expansion and may compress property valuations across the real estate sector.
Regulatory Risk: European markets have diverse regulatory environments. Changes in zoning laws, tenant protections, or tax treatment could impact profitability.
Parent Company Dynamics: Public Storage's 35% ownership creates potential conflicts. Decisions about dividends, expansion, and capital allocation must balance the interests of the controlling shareholder with public minority shareholders.
Key Performance Indicators to Watch
For investors monitoring Shurgard's ongoing performance, three KPIs warrant particular attention:
1. Same-Store Revenue Growth This metric isolates organic performance from acquisition-driven growth. Shurgard's ability to grow revenue from existing properties—through occupancy improvements and rent increases—demonstrates pricing power and demand strength. Same-store revenue increased by 4.8% in 2024. Maintaining mid-single-digit same-store growth indicates healthy underlying demand.
2. Occupancy Rate Occupancy rates reached nearly 90% in 2024. Occupancy above 85% generally indicates healthy markets with pricing power; occupancy above 90% suggests the company may be under-pricing or under-building. The sweet spot for most operators is 88-92%, balancing utilization against the flexibility to raise rates.
3. NOI Margin on Same-Store Properties Net operating income margin reflects operational efficiency and pricing power. Same store NOI margin stands at 67.8%. Expansion of this margin—driven by digitalization and operational improvements—indicates the durability of Shurgard's competitive advantages.
Myth vs. Reality
| Consensus Narrative | Reality |
|---|---|
| Self-storage is a commodity business | Shurgard's digitalization and dynamic pricing create differentiation; operational platforms deliver margin advantages |
| European penetration will remain low due to cultural differences | Penetration has grown consistently; younger generations show similar storage behaviors to Americans |
| Growth requires constant acquisition spending | Organic growth through rent increases and occupancy gains contributes meaningfully; 4.8% same-store revenue growth demonstrates pricing power |
| Public Storage ownership creates conflicts | Public Storage participation in capital raises and operational support has enabled growth; alignment appears strong |
Conclusion: The Storage Empire's Next Chapter
Chuck Barbo's improbable bet—that Europeans would embrace an American storage concept they'd never heard of—has been vindicated beyond any reasonable expectation. From a single Brussels facility in 1995 to 340 stores across seven countries serving 230,000 customers, Shurgard has created Europe's dominant self-storage platform.
The company's 2024 transformation—doubling its UK presence, cementing the number two position in Germany, and achieving investment-grade credit status—positions Shurgard for its next phase of growth. The pipeline for 2024-2026 represents 30% of 2023's total net rentable square meters, with an expected return at maturity of 8-9% delivering an additional NOI of approximately €100 million per year.
For investors, Shurgard offers exposure to a structurally underpenetrated market with favorable demographic trends—urbanization, smaller living spaces, aging populations, and e-commerce growth all support storage demand. The company's operational advantages, balance sheet strength, and acquisition track record provide multiple levers for value creation.
The fundamental question is whether European self-storage penetration will converge toward American levels. The evidence from the past three decades suggests convergence is occurring, albeit gradually. If this trend continues—and the underlying demographic drivers suggest it should—Shurgard's first-mover platform may be worth considerably more than current valuations imply.
What started as a history teacher's side hustle in rainy Washington State has become Europe's largest storage empire. The journey from B-D Mini-Storage to Shurgard Self Storage Ltd. spans half a century, multiple continents, hostile takeovers, financial crises, and two public offerings. Through it all, the core insight has remained constant: people accumulate more than they can store, and they'll pay good money for a clean, secure place to put it.
In an era of digital disruption and asset-light business models, there's something reassuringly tangible about orange-branded concrete buildings filled with people's belongings. The self-storage business may not be glamorous, but it's proving to be remarkably durable—and Shurgard has built Europe's most formidable version of it.
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