First Islamic forms joint venture with Shurgard Europe

First Islamic Investment Bank (First Islamic) has formed a joint venture with Shurgard Self-Storage SCA (Shurgard Europe) to develop up to 38 self-storage facilities in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. The transaction is valued at approximately 232 million euros. Shurgard Europe is the largest developer, owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Europe. First Islamic and its co-investors will hold an 80 per cent interest in the joint venture, with Shurgard Europe holding the remaining 20 per cent. Of the 38 sites targeted for acquisition over the next 12 months, to date, 23 have been identified and approved for development. The joint venture has agreed terms with Societe Generale for the provision of a development financing facility for 65 per cent of the total development cost. The investment will generate an internal rate of return (IRR) of approximately 20.7 per cent over the anticipated four-year investment holding period.