Yes, there is a story behind the naming of Patriot Holdings, a Las Vegas, NV-based real estate private equity group that is rapidly expanding its remotely-managed portfolio of self-storage facilities.
“I’m from Hudson, New Hampshire, and I’m a diehard New England Patriots football fan,” said Jeremiah Boucher, founder and CEO of Patriot Holdings. The company runs its operations and customer service center through an office in Keene, NH.
“I believe Bill Belichick is the greatest football coach. We wanted to convey a name that embodies what the New England Patriots teach in terms of doing their job, holding yourself to the highest standards and having a winning attitude.”
Such competitiveness led Patriot Holdings to raise money for its third fund concurrently with its Fund II, which focused on buying and improving self-storage and industrial facilities. The new fund is geared toward buying land and developing facilities.
So far Patriot Holdings has accumulated more than 70 properties, primarily in the Northeast, and operates them under the All-Purpose Storage brand.
Upping the ante
The company’s initial fund raised $15 million and closed to new investors on May 31. Meanwhile, funds II and III are raising money concurrently, both aiming to raise $25 million.
“We raised the first $15 million rather quickly, less than a year. We’ve also done about 50 side deals that have raised $30 million,” said Chris Warfield, general partner and CFO.
Boucher said the additional side deals were for properties that didn’t fit the return profile for the fund.
Building relationships
The company is mostly focused on expanding in the Northeast, where Boucher said the company has nurtured relationships with storage owners over the last decade.
“We have a dedicated team of acquisition staff that continually make contact with them through phone calls, emails and physical mail,” Boucher said.
This relationship building with owners has proved to be a key advantage for Patriot, allowing them to provide a high-quality offer whenever those owners are ready to sell.
Remote management model
Another key driver for the company’s growth is adoption of a remote management model.
“This has allowed us to buy facilities that aren’t in large cities,” Boucher said. “We’re committed to buying more assets in suburban New York and New England because we see a lot of opportunity there.”
The remote management model allows Patriot to operate smaller facilities spread out across multiple tertiary markets more efficiently. Boucher believes the model they are following is the future of the industry and that the REITS will soon follow suit
“They’re going to venture out more in these suburban areas. We believe we’re in the front end of this trend,” Boucher said.
