Self-storage REIT Life Storage Inc. has beefed up its third-party management platform with the addition of a 42-facility portfolio owned by Brookwood Properties LLC.
The portfolio encompasses 4 million square feet of storage in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. At least some of those facilities had been managed by Malvern, PA-based self-storage REIT CubeSmart.
Now, Williamsville, NY-based Life Storage manages 203 facilities in its third-party Life Storage Solutions program, more than double the number at the same time in 2016. Craig Smith, owner of Baton Rouge, LA-based Brookwood Properties, said the management deal came together in just six weeks.
Life Storage has another 19 facilities under contract to manage in 2018 and 2019.
“On the third-party management front, we’ve experienced strong momentum and we’re realizing some significant wins,” Life Storage CEO David Rogers told Wall Street analysts during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Nov. 1. He said Life Storage has “a solid book of potential new clients in the pipeline.”
Also during the earnings call, Rogers said Life Storage markets being affected most by new-supply deliveries are Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, TX; Charlotte and Raleigh, NC; Miami, FL; and Phoenix, AZ.
“For the most part, demand remains pretty solid across most markets and while attracting new customers is a competitive game — really competitive in some markets — existing customers continue to absorb rate increases,” Rogers said.
Other third-quarter highlights include:
- More than 1,000 customers have signed up for Rent Now, a fully digital rental platform that’s now in place at nearly 300 facilities. By mid-2019, the program is expected to be available at all of the REIT’s more than 750 facilities.
- Three facilities were purchased at a cost of $27 million. Another five facilities are under contract for about $50 million.
- One facility in Austin, TX, was sold for $9.6 million. Life Storage continues to manage the property.
- Same-store revenue increased by 3.6 percent compared with the same period last year.
- Same-store NOI increased by 4.2 percent compared with the same period last year.
- Same-store expenses increased by 2.4 percent compared with the same period last year.
