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LAACO Is Said to Explore Storage West Sale as Self-Storage Booms

LAACO Is Said to Explore Storage West Sale as Self-Storage Booms

LAACO Ltd., owner of the Los Angeles Athletic Club and the California Yacht Club, is exploring a sale of Storage West, its division that acquires, develops and manages self-storage facilities, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 

Los Angeles-based LAACO, which has shares that trade over the counter, is working with an adviser to solicit interest in Storage West from potential suitors, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussion private information. A targeted valuation couldn’t immediately be learned. 

A spokesman for LAACO declined to comment. Storage West directed inquiries to its parent company.

Storage West, founded in 1978, operates almost 60 facilities in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. It posted “impressive year-over-year growth” and recorded occupancy of 92%, according to LAACO’s 2020 annual report, written by Karen Hathaway, the company’s president and managing partner.

Consolidation in the self-storage industry is ongoing, in part due to ongoing demand from consumers, a dynamic that’s allowed operators to boost rents. Other large operators including Manhattan Mini Storage and All Storage are also fielding takeover interest, Bloomberg News has reported.

The Los Angeles Athletic Club, founded in 1880, is a downtown institution in the city, with members who included celebrities Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino and Mary Pickford in the early 20th century. The club helped bring the 1932 summer Olympics to Los Angeles, and members have won almost 100 Olympic medals.

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