Toronto-based StorageVault Canada Inc. (SVI-T) says it has agreements to acquire seven storage locations from seven vendor groups in Ontario and Alberta for $171.6 million.

The firm did not provide specific details about the acquisitions, but said six are in Ontario and one in Alberta. Of the Ontario locations, four are what StorageVault called “core GTA” (Greater Toronto Area) in the announcement Friday morning.

One of the acquisitions is considered a related-party transaction, a $14-million property which is being purchased from Access Self Storage Inc.

StorageVault says the transactions remain subject to due diligence, financing approvals and other conditions. It expects them to close during Q2 and Q3 2022, providing all the conditions are met.

Financing for the acquisitions is being provided mainly via the company’s available funds, first mortgages and mortgage assumptions. StorageVault does plan to issue up to $5 million in common shares to Access Self Storage as part of that acquisition.

If all the acquisitions are completed, StorageVault will own a portfolio of 204 stores across Canada and own/manage a total of 236 locations.

StorageVault’s portfolio, Q1 financials

The current portfolio (for the 197 locations it owns) comprises over 4,500 portable storage units representing over 10.8 million rentable square feet on over 632 acres of land.

StorageVault also provides last-mile storage and logistics, and professional records management services such as document and media storage, imaging and shredding.

The company issued its Q1 2022 financial report on May 4, reporting a net loss of $8.6 million attributed mainly to three non-cash items: $21.6 million of depreciation and amortization; a $2.8 million loss on derivative financial instruments; and a deferred tax recovery of $1.4 million.

However, revenues were strong with an increase to $57.5 million, compared to $43.3 million year-over-year. NOI grew to $36.6 million, from $27.4 in Q1 2021, and the company held a cash balance of $30.9 million at the end of the quarter.

“We had another exceptional quarter with a same-store NOI growth of 18.1 per cent and AFFO per share growth of 52.1 per cent,” said Iqbal Khan, StorageVault’s CFO, in the statement.

“For the balance of the year, we will continue to be disciplined purchasers of assets and focus on maximizing revenues, NOI and free cash flow.”

The company also increased its quarterly dividend five per cent, to $0.002789 per common share beginning in Q2.