Safestore, the largest self-storage operator in the UK, has raised £209 mln (EUR 307 mln) from floating almost half of the company on the AIM list of the London Stock Exchange. The price of £2.40 per share values the entire Safestore business at £449 mln.

Safestore, the largest self-storage operator in the UK, has raised £209 mln (EUR 307 mln) from floating almost half of the company on the AIM list of the London Stock Exchange. The price of £2.40 per share values the entire Safestore business at £449 mln.

More than £150m of the sum raised is for private equity Bridgepoint which helped Safestore grow in size through acquisitions to make it larger than its rivals Big Yellow and Access.

Safestore's admission to the official AIM list is planned for March 14, 2007. Citigroup and Merrill Lynch were the advisers on the move. Safestore has a property portfolio worth £475.2 mln, including 80 stores across the UK and 19 in France, and a pipeline of 12 new stores.

Chaired by John von Spreckelsen, Safestore originally listed on AIM n 1998 but it was taken private in September 2003. Following the flotation, the company may seek to become a tax-efficient REIT. However, Big Yellow's plans to convert to REIT status have been hampered by a tax dispute with HM Revenue & Customs in relation to whether its property assets qualify under the REIT legislation. Safestore may face the same difficulty.