Paloma hungry for self storage as Pink Hippo merges with Wigwam

• What Paloma Capital acquires Pink Hippo Self Storage
• Why Business will be combined with Paloma’s Wigwam Storage Management to create enlarged self-storage platform
• What next Planning consent is in place to expand two of Pink Hippo’s storage facilities

Paloma Capital has acquired Pink Hippo Self Storage and plans to integrate the business with its existing platform Wigwam Storage Management, Green Street News can reveal.

Acquired on behalf of Paloma’s third value-add fund, the business has been sold by its two shareholders who founded the company in 2015.

Pink Hippo currently owns and operates three self-storage facilities in Reading, Leatherhead and Dorking. The assets offer up potential for expansion with planning consent already in place for further phases of the Dorking and Leatherhead facilities.

The end value of the sites, once these extensions have been built out, is about £40m.

The deal follows Paloma’s move into the self-storage market with its joint venture with Wigwam Storage Management.

Joe Froud, co-founder of Paloma, said: “Since setting up our self-storage platform with Wigwam 15 months ago we have acquired eight sites and have already got seven operational. This latest acquisition adds three new sites in hard to access south-east towns.

“Leatherhead and Dorking have no competition and both sites have significant expansion potential which we look forward to developing out over the next 24 months.”

Located on the Bridgewater Close Industrial Estate, Pink Hippo Reading is fully developed and occupied. Phase one of the Dorking site on Curtis Road Industrial Estate opened in the summer with a net lettable area of 17,000 sq ft and planning consent is in place for several further phases. The Leatherhead site, located on Barnett Wood Industrial Estate, is fully occupied and planning consent has been granted for another 30,000 sq ft three-storey building.

Eddie Shepherd, co-founder of Pink Hippo said: “We became involved in the self-storage industry when we had warehouse capacity that was surplus to the needs of our construction and plant hire businesses. It will be exciting for us to see Paloma and Wigwam further develop what we have started and integrate it into their new platform”

Greenberg Traurig, Grant Thornton and Levy advised Paloma while the vendors were advised by The Legal Partners and Emin Read.