Absolute Storage Management Expanding in Arkansas

Darryl Frost
Ph: (512) 329-5670 Ext. 103
Darryl@anthonyBarnum.com

Virtus Real Estate Capital Acquires Two Northwest Arkansas-based Self-Storage Facilities

AUSTIN, TEXAS-Apr. 28, 2014 – Virtus Real Estate Capital, a real estate private equity firm based in Austin, TX, recently acquired two Northwest Arkansas-based self-storage facilities.  The A&A Stor It portfolio consists of a 57,700 square-foot facility in Bentonville, AR, and a 72,025 square-foot facility in Rogers, AR.   The properties were acquired in a strategic joint venture with Absolute Storage Management (ASM), a real estate owner and operator based in Memphis, TN.

The two facilities were originally built in 1993 and 1995, and total over 800 units of Class B product in the heart of NW Arkansas. The Bentonville site is located just south of Walmart’s corporate headquarters, and benefits from strong traffic counts, an infill location, and high barriers to entry due to the City of Bentonville’s strict construction materials requirements. The Rogers

Units available at Bentonville Self Storage facility is also located along a heavily traveled E/W thoroughfare, and benefits from being one of only a few sites in town with climate-controlled units after a 2001 expansion added two new buildings totaling 22,000 square-feet in air conditioned space. ASM will be leading an extensive on-site capital improvements program which will inject over $120,000 in facility upgrades across the two sites. We will be addressing asphalt repairs, painting and repairing doors, office rehabilitations, additional security elements, and a number of other improvements at both locations. The joint venture purchase with Absolute Storage will be both organizations first assets in the NW Arkansas MSA.  ASM’s significant management presence in Memphis, TN and Little Rock, AR will allow them to easily absorb this, and future assets in NW Arkansas, into their current management platform.

“We’re excited to be establishing a solid footprint with these two self-storage acquisitions in a region we feel will continue to see economic growth across a number of different industries, and consistent population increases” said Scott Humphreys, Acquisitions Director, Virtus Real Estate Capital. “We’ve seen impressive gains in our portfolio of existing ASM managed stores, and are confident in their ability to drive rental rates and maintain stabilized occupancies through best in class operations and a hands on approach.”

About Virtus Real Estate Capital

Virtus Real Estate Capital is a private equity real estate investment company based out of Austin, Texas.  Founded in 2003, Virtus has acquired over $2 billion of commercial real estate in more than 150 properties across the United States.  Virtus’s investment strategy is to acquire commercial real estate in specific niche property types in targeted markets that serve the highest growth segments of the population in the United States: Self Storage, Student Housing, Medical Office and Senior Living.  Their focus continues to be asset classes that are highly fragmented, require deep market knowledge and generate resilient cash flow streams, even in difficult economic environments. Virtus is actively seeking out additional opportunities to acquire self-storage properties in their target markets.   For more information, visit www.virtusre.com.

Absolute Storage Management

Absolute Storage Management (“ASM”) is a self-storage management company founded in 2002, and is one of the leading providers of third-party management services in the south-eastern U.S. They are headquartered in Memphis, TN and operate over 75 properties in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Absolute’s founding partners each have over 18 years of self-storage management and acquisition experience dating back to their beginnings in the industry; holding various positions in the 1990’s at a national self-storage REIT. For more information, visit www.absolutemgmt.com.