Soros loses £4m on Safestore

HEDGE fund guru George Soros will book a loss of more than £4m on his investment in self-storage group Safestore, snapped up by venture capitalist Bridgepoint for £40m.

Soros, whose Real Estate Investors fund owns 25% of loss-making Safestore, paid 62p a share for his stake. Bridgepoint's offer, recommended by independent directors, including chairman Giles Clarke, is at 44p a share.

Safestore was the only quoted company in the Soros property portfolio. His desire to sell triggered the Bridgepoint bid.

Bridgepoint, which set up acquisition vehicle Belazure for the offer, is likely to hold on to Safestore for three to five years before exiting.

The Safestore management team, including directors Stephen Williams and Richard Hodsden, will stay on.

Bridgepoint will inject fresh capital into Safestore - which has 22 stores offering 700,000 square feet of lettable space. It will also embark on 'selective' acquisitions among the UK's 400 self-storage units.

Safestore was floated on the Alternative Investment market by its owner Safeland in March 1998, when storage was seen as a hot growth area. Investors included Luke Johnson of Intrinsic Value and Saracens rugby club owner Nigel Wray.