Travers Smith is advising AIM-listed Lok'nStore Group plc on its £378m recommended cash acquisition by Shurgard. The acquisition is expected to complete in July 2024, following shareholder approval and satisfaction of other conditions.
Listed on AIM since 2000 and a leading company in the UK self-storage market, Lok'nStore opened its first store in February 1995 and has grown consistently over the last 29 years with 43 stores operating across England and Wales.
Shurgard is the largest developer, owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Europe, both by numbers of stores and rentable space. As at 31 December 2023, it operated 1.4 million sq. m. of space across 276 stores in seven countries where over 190,000 customers lease its storage units every year.
The Travers Smith team was led by Corporate Partner Richard Spedding, supported by Senior Associate Joe Knox and Associate Laura Priestley. The Corporate team worked closely with Head of Incentives & Remuneration Mahesh Varia and Associate Natalie Paddock, and with Competition Partner Stephen Whitfield and Senior Associate Richard J Brown.
This transaction is just one of a number of recently announced or completed public takeovers led by the Travers Smith team, including the offers for DWF, EMIS, Numis, Medica, Devro, Ideagen, Forward Partners, Brewin Dolphin, Xpediator, Cenkos, Blancco Technology, Crestchic and Adept Technologies.
The Travers Smith Corporate team notably advised on just under 20% of all UK public bids made in 2023.
