Avenue Living Asset Management is employing an aggressive acquisition strategy with its Mini Mall Storage Properties.
Currently, Mini Mall is under contract with 7 businesses and almost 2,100 storage units, amounting to approximately 275,000 square feet of space. From the business’ launch in February 2020, Mini Mall rapidly raised capital and began acquisitions within two months.
In only a 5-month period, the company has nearly $12 million in assets under management and 670 storage units. The aggressive acquisition strategy is expected to harbour an asset value of $100 million, with 10,000 units for the company by the end of this year.
“I’m reaching out to storage business owners across Canada who might be interested in exiting at this point in time,” said Lloyd McDonald, Vice President Business Development-EMD, Avenue Living Asset Management and Vice President Acquisitions, Mini Mall.
“Self-storage is a business model that we understand well, and much of our Mini Mall team has been strategically hired for their experience. We are leveraging property management lessons we have learned through the relationships created with our 20,000 residents. We are utilizing the existing infrastructure of Avenue Living to implement best practices for client acquisition and customer satisfaction within Mini Mall. We are streamlining the systems and processes of self-storage facilities that we acquire through the implementation of our vertically integrated shared services business model,”
Avenue Living is a rapidly growing multi-family residential real estate company in Canada. Consolidating different real estate assets since 2006, today it is the owner and operator of $1.6 billion in assets across the Prairies. That includes 10,000 residential rental units, 400,000 square feet of commercial real estate space and 37,000 acres of agricultural land. The company also has 300 field employees and a staff of 100 people at its head office in Calgary.
“What I’m finding through our self-storage acquisitions is that I am essentially dealing with two types of customers,” explained McDonald. “Everyone is an entrepreneur at heart, but they’re either in that retirement phase of their life right now and looking to exit, or they’re looking to an exit with a way to rotate their capital.”
Mini Mall is targeting B– and C-class real estate assets, with a focus on facilities of 100 units or more. Part of the strategy is to acquire the properties in areas in which Avenue Living already has significant holdings in the multi-family residential market. Another part of the strategy is to cluster acquisitions in locations where Avenue Living does not currently have a presence.
“It’s more efficient for us to purchase in markets where we have existing assets,” said McDonald. “If we’re not already in the market, then clusters will allow some economies of scale.”
“We’re casting a wide net and we are looking for assets nationally. The first step is to explore the excellent opportunities that have currently arisen in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.”
