Safestore snaps up rival for £209m

SAFESTORE is aiming to ride the boom in Britons squirrelling away their belongings in warehouses with a £209m cash deal to buy larger self-storage rival Mentmore.

Safestore, owned by venture capital house Bridgepoint after a £40m management buyout last summer, has received backing from nearly half of Mentmore institutional shareholders for its 115p-a-share offer.

The offer beats off competition from other private equity backers and from interests backed by HBOS.

The offer values Mentmore shares at a two-year high and a 35% premium to their level in December when news broke of a bid approach.

Safestore chief executive Stephen Williams said it plans to expand to become one of Europe's largest operators.