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ANNUAL REPORT
2023
JANUARY 1, 2023 TO DECEMBER 31, 2023
Giovani Makengo
and Benjamin Gibelin
Morangis store, Paris, France
Shurgard is the largest owner and operator of self‑storage
facilities in Europe by both number of stores and rentable
space. We operate 1.4 million sqm of space across 276
stores in seven countries where c. 190,000 customers
lease our storage units every year.
Table of contents
03 Chairman’s letter
04 ChiefExecutiveOfficer’sletter
07 Keyfinancials
08 Building on digitalization to
accelerate growth
09 Our store locations
10 Digitalizing our operations
11 The data lake
12 Customer‑centric innovation
13 Remote control
14 Leading the industry in ESG
18 Operational highlights
22 Management report
25 Group overview
30 Property portfolio
33 Operational and
financialreview
48 Sustainability report
153 Remuneration report
162 Principal risks and uncertainties
175 Consolidatedfinancial
statements
181 Notes to the consolidated
financialstatements
239 Auditor’s report
245 Stand‑alone accounts
255 Appendix
256 APM
The consolidated financial statements presented on page 175 and following in pdf format is only a supplementary document.
The official ESEF (European Single Electronic Format) version prevails.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
03
Chairman’s letter
I am honored to be writing my first Chairman’s statement since being appointed to the role following the 2023
Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Despite the challenging and volatile environment, which has experienced rising interest rates, high inflation, and
geopolitical conflicts, this has been the most transformational year since the company’s initial public offering in
October, 2018.
Shurgard became a UK REIT in March, 2023, and for the first time since listing, successfully raised additional
capital of €300 million, some of which has already been used to fund our acquisition strategy, particularly in
Germany, and also enables us to pursue further opportunities.
There remains a significant shortage of self storage throughout Europe, and although we are already the largest
owner and operator across the continent, we have every intention and aspiration of reinforcing this position. We
remain ambitious to grow our business with a focus on expanding in our existing key locations of London, Paris,
Randstad (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) and the Big Seven” in Germany.
We have set ambitious targets to increase our overall footprint by 90,000 sqm (c. 6% of our total portfolio) of
additional rental space per annum through development and acquisition.
We remain very focused on achieving and exceeding our ESG commitments. Our plan to achieve net zero carbon
is advancing well as evidenced by the significant like-for-like reductions in energy consumption throughout our
portfolio. In addition, the external recognition that has been forthcoming with the receipt of several awards
demonstrates our strong commitment to sustainability, social and corporate governance.
There has been a very significant emphasis on increased use of technology to the benefit of both our customers
and operational team. We will accelerate the digitalization of the platform and introduction of more remotely
managed stores.
The Board restructuring announced last year will continue to ensure the team is refreshed regularly. Olivier
Faujour will be stepping down at the AGM to be replaced by Paula Hay-Plumb. We thank Olivier for his significant
contribution since the listing. This rotation of board directors will continue in subsequent years. Succession
planning for both the Board and the senior executives is well established and constantly reviewed to ensure
continuity.
I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude on behalf of the Board and all our stakeholders to my
predecessor, Ronald L. Havner, Jr., who stood down as Chairman last year. His leadership and vision have been
integral to the repositioning and growth of Shurgard in the 17 years since Public Storage first became a
shareholder. I am personally thrilled and delighted that we were able to persuade Ron to remain involved as a
strategic advisor to the Company, with the title of Chairman Emeritus, ensuring we can still access his unique
skill set and knowledge of the self-storage sector.
On behalf of the Board, may I express my sincere thanks to Marc and the executive team for their outstanding
efforts and achievements throughout this very active year. 2024 will bring further challenges, but your company
is very well positioned financially and operationally to move forward and strengthen our leading market position.
Ian Marcus
Chairman of the Board
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
04
Chief Executive Officer’s letter
By all measures, 2023 has been a very significant milestone year in the life of our company. Our growth strategy
has strong momentum, we are benefiting from the digital transformation of both the customer journey and our
operations, and we are supported by a robust financial structure and committed ESG strategy. Our shareholders
have benefited from this
performance since we became a public company in October 2018 with the best total
shareholder return (“TSR”) versus major self-storage industry peers in Europe and the UK.
The below data are presented at constant exchange rate (CER).
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
The Shurgard customer journey was transformed in 2023. The Shurgard app and store access system, rolled out
during 2022 provides a consistent, intuitive, easy experience that is also more cost-efficient and margin-
enhancing. Customers can use the app to manage their accounts, make payments and access their storage.
Many of our customers want to be self-sufficient in their interactions with our services, which reduces the
requirement for in-person support. The change in consumer behavior and our digital enhancements have given
rise to new opportunities to manage our stores more efficiently.
After careful consideration and insightful trials, Shurgard has begun to roll out a remotely managed store model
in six different countries. This has allowed us to reduce staffing needs, improve productivity, and invest in
different store models, like smaller stores in convenient locations, that may have been cost-prohibitive before.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Customer digitalization improvements are also being augmented by projects that affect the efficiency of our
operations. In the last quarter of 2023, we laid the foundations for the installation of a new digital platform by
making investments to support our digital shift over the next two years. This will improve enterprise productivity
and generate new data that will give much better visibility across the financial and operational landscape. The
system will support the growth of our estate as we scale up the number of properties, transactions, and of course
the data generated. It will provide reliability for the future and underpin our economies of scale.
Our new Data & AI team will have the financial and operational data generated by our systems, an increasing
volume of anonymized GDPR-compliant customer data, and information on store management and energy
efficiencies from the building management systems at their fingertips. The team can collect, collate, and analyze
the data to find better ways to provide the best service for our customers and deliver improvements in the
development process.
PORTFOLIO EXPANSION
Shurgard’s profile is unique. We are a resilient real estate business-to-consumer company with a runway of
significant growth. Our geographies are well balanced and support our strategic acceleration, which started in
2022 and will reach a sustained growth rate of 90,000 sqm per annum as of 2024, equating to an additional
c. 6% of our total portfolio. With more options for store size and location afforded by the new remotely managed
property model, and a healthy pipeline of new developments designed to reinforce and expand a leading position
in our core markets, Shurgard is demonstrating strong forward momentum.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
05
In 2023, we added 64,600 sqm to our store portfolio via the three levers of growth new developments,
redevelopments, and acquisitions. The focus for acquisitions this year was on our German market where Shurgard
used 2023 to strengthen its offer in the “Big Seven” cities. Expansion within these key cities is accelerating
Shurgard towards a leadership position in the country, leveraging our platform approach that provides economies
of scale.
REVENUE GROWTH AND MARGIN EXPANSION
Once again, Shurgard delivered very strong revenue growth in 2023. All store property operating revenue grew
by 9.0%, building on the 11.7% and 9.5% growth achieved in 2022 and 2021. But it was not only new properties
that underpinned this consistent growth, same store property operating revenue grew by 5.7% in 2023.
Ultimately, top line growth is only as powerful as the margins that turn it into profitability, and Shurgard once
again expanded margins in 2023, despite a sometimes volatile and inflationary environment. All store margins
rose to 66.3% in 2023 from 65.8% the previous year, as we were able to control costs through efficiencies and
cost savings generated by our digitalization program and remotely managed store rollout.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND ESG
The transformation of Shurgard’s structure and the introduction of new board members in 2023 has
strengthened our governance. In March we became a UK REIT, and in May, board member Ian Marcus was
welcomed as our new independent chairman along with two new directors, Lorna Brown and Tom Boyle. The
reduction of the Board to nine members, and the introduction of a new female board member in 2024, is bringing
us closer to gender parity and supporting our social and governance responsibilities.
In 2023, we again topped the sector on the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), achieving five
stars for the third year in a row, and were also recognized for our ESG achievements by MSCI, EPRA and
Sustainalytics.
We won two new awards last yearthe Golden Bridge Award for ESG Excellence from the Belgian-Luxembourg
Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain, and Best Financial Communication award from the Belgian Centre of
Expertise for Finance Professionals. We have also been recognized for our sustainability excellence by being
selected to join the BEL ESG Index.
Our ESG reporting is very thorough. The sustainability report integrated into this Annual Report contains a wealth
of data and insight into the actions that merit this recognition. I encourage you to read it and see how we are
making a difference.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
06
FINANCIALLY SOUND FUTURE
Shurgard’s accelerated development is driven by increased investment, but we remain prudent and well-
capitalized. We secured a new committed €450 million short- to mid-term term loan facility and successfully
completed the first equity raise since our IPO in 2018. The €300 million raised has already been put to work
funding our acquisition strategy, notably in Germany in 2023, and provides further headroom for opportunities
within the sector that strengthen our position in our core markets.
Looking ahead, we are confident of achieving our target of adding an additional 90,000 sqm to our portfolio in
2024, and sustaining this growth level annually. We are always mindful of the environment in which we operate,
but with current momentum we expect all store revenue to grow by c. 7.5% in 2024.
Our achievements in 2023 are a demonstration of the motivation and dedication of our employees, the loyalty of
our customers, the support of our shareholders and the involvement of our Board of Directors. I thank all of them
on your behalf.
Marc Oursin
Chief Executive Officer
Shurgard has delivered a very strong financial performance in 2023, driven by the dual
engines of same store sales growth and portfolio expansion through the ramp‑up of new
developments and acquisitions. We have seen revenue growth in all our markets, where
high occupancy and in‑place rents are underpinned by in‑demand locations, and we have
a pipeline of similarly desirable new developments for 2024 through 2026.
Key financials
Income from property (NOI)
€ million (at CER)
+9.9%
Underlying EBITDA
€ million (at CER)
+8.4%
Adjusted EPRA Earnings
€ million
+10.3%
NOI margin (Same store)
% (at CER)
+0.9p
NOI margin (All store)
% (at CER)
+0.6p
Epra net tangible assets (NTA)
€ million
+18.4%
Dividend per share
Portfolio expansion investments
€ million (at CER)
+0.4%
Notes: See page 24 for notes to Key Financials.
2023202220212020
215.8
190.9
171.5
237.2
2023202220212020
196.4
171.5
156.0
213.0
2023202220212020
143.6
131.0
118.0
158.4
2023202220212020
66.7
65.5
63.9
67.6
2023202220212020
2023202220212020
2023202220212020
65.8
64.7
63.7
66.3
2023202220212020
3,638.9
3,112.6
2,575.5
4,307.8
2023202220212020
142.9
135.7
105.8
143.5
2023202220212020
1.17
1.17
1.06
1.17
Property operating revenue
€ million (at CER)
+9.0%
2023202220212020
328.2
295.1
269.4
357.7
07
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
Two years ago, Shurgard made a commitment to accelerate growth, doubling the rate of
investment and development by 2024. As we approach our goal, we are on track to deliver
an additional 90,000 sqm per annum of rental space by 2024.
Throughout this acceleration phase, we have continued to
focus on growing the business profitably, and 2023 has
been another very strong year. Property operating revenue
rose 9.0% in 2023, NOI margins from our same store portfolio
increased 0.9pp, and Adj. EPRA earnings were up 12.3% at
constant exchange rate.
In addition, as the cost of capital has risen, we have
increased our expected property yield at maturity (hurdle
rate) to 8‑9%, from the 7‑8% forecast at the start of our
acceleration program, as we benefit from the efficiencies
of digitization.
DIGITAL FOUNDATIONS FOR SUCCESS
As a B2C industry, the basis of our success is a strategy
that evolves alongside our customers, leveraging new
technology across our portfolio of properties in seven
markets. The diversity of location and efficiency of our
platform approach means improvements, many of them
digital, can be replicated across the portfolio, quickly
and effectively.
Technology, not only improves the efficiency of the business
but also ensures we provide our customers with the experience
they need. Want to book and pay for rentals online? We
have been offering that seamless experience for three years
already. Want to manage your rental on your phone? Our new
app can do that for you. Still want that face to face? You can
come into a store or speak to someone on the phone.
Our digital platform has enabled Shurgard to optimize
the operating model in our densely clustered stores, and
during 2023 we successfully trialed remotely managed
stores that are managed from nearby serviced sites.
This provides us with more opportunities to incorporate
smaller stores in dense urban locations, offering our
customers more choice closer to their homes.
In addition, we are trialling a state‑of‑the‑art building
management system that monitors energy use and spots
anomalies to ensure they are rectified quickly, reducing
costs and improving environmental outcomes.
INDUSTRY LEADER
The self‑storage industry in Europe is being fueled by
positive drivers of growth. Urban density, a shortage
of housing stock, increased awareness of selfstorage
solutions, the need for flexibility in a post‑Covid digital age,
all propel the growth of the industry.
But even as the industry is swept along on that forward
momentum, Shurgard has proved itself a leader in
its markets.
We are able to maintain industry leading occupancy levels
because our core customer base is residential (c. 80%
vs 20% business customers), and they react more slowly
to economic swings. In addition to our core residential
customers, we also support and provide for our business
customers, who use Shurgard for inventory storage or as
distributed retail hubs.
The other distinguishing factor is the urban cluster model
that Shurgard replicates across all seven of our operating
countries. Buying, building, and expanding in high density
central locations introduces efficiencies which become
even more profitable as we expand our digitalization
program. Remotely managed stores mean Shurgard can
be increasingly flexible with its store size, opening up new
opportunities in established markets. These key strategic
pillars have enabled Shurgard to consolidate its leadership
and grow its market share.
Building on digitalization to accelerate growth
MANAGE YOUR
RENTAL ON
YOUR PHONE
08
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
Shurgard has built its portfolio of 93% freehold properties on a
focused location strategy of capital and tier one cities. There are
several key advantages to this strategy which feed into our resilient
business model, including barriers to entry (for potential competitors)
and population density. Capital city locations are harder to acquire
and build on than less dense areas, and Shurgard has a long history
of succeeding in building, expanding or acquiring in these areas.
We also use the population density to our advantage, with more
prospects or customers within close proximity to our stores, and
living/work space at a premium necessitating external storage.
A direct outcome of our ability to continue delivering quality products
in quality locations is high occupancy and rental growth, which is
especially relevant as we navigate the challenging macro environment.
THE
LARGEST
owner and operator
of selfstorage facilities in
Europe by both number of
stores and rentable space.
185
CAPITAL CITIES
As of December 31, 2023 18
stores are located in other
cities not highlighted on the
map. “Major cities” defined
as non‑capital cities with a
certain level of population.
73
MAJORCITIES(TIER1)
STOCKHOLM
malmo
COPENHAGEN
BERLIN
dusseldorf
cologne
PARIS
lille
bordeaux
lyon
nice
munich
marseille
hamburg
major
dutch cities
gothenburg
frankfurt
stut tgart
276 stores
in seven countries
1.4 million sqm
of space
c.
190,000
customers
AMSTERDAM RANDSTAD
BRUSSELS
LONDON
major belgian cities
Our store locations
09
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
Penetration per channel of net contracts
%
Digitalization is a very broad term, so what does it actually mean for Shurgard? It means
going beyond the basic digital touchpoints like websites and emails. It means transforming
our business using digital technologies that support all our stakeholders, from customers
and shareholders to employees and community members.
At the very heart of our digital journey is centralization.
The economies of scale inherent in our size and
geographic concentration allow Shurgard to offer a
great service without adding extra costs. And to do
this we have developed centralized platforms that
streamline our operations and continuously improve the
customer journey.
Shurgard’s core IT strategy serves as a base on which
we can develop other applications, processes and
technologies. While it is centralized to provide all our
operating countries and properties with access to the
same tools, the applications and processes built on it can
be personalized to the country, the store or the customer.
For example, in 2023 Shurgard launched its mobile app,
which allows customers to manage their bookings or rental
on the one device they always have on hand. Any customer
in any location can download the app and use it to pay
bills, verify their address, opt into recurrent payments or
physically access their storage unit using the app.
This centralized platform was a key reason Shurgard was
able to respond quickly when the pandemic changed the
way many customers chose to access our services. Within
just the first six months of 2021 the company was able to
implement its entirely digital e‑rental solution.
Now it takes only six minutes to find, book and pay for a
self‑storage unit via the e‑rental platform, and this channel
already accounts for 39% of all bookings.
Even those customers who are not directly booking through
e‑rental are mostly connecting via digital touchpoints.
Around 90% of prospective customers find Shurgard via
the website, and the more services we offer online or on
mobile, the more customers use them.
We can offer the customer‑facing benefits of our
digitalization program because the technology runs
right through the business, from head office to stores to
storage units. Technology helps us manage our assets,
driving customer acquisition and loyalty, and supporting
our dynamic pricing model which is a key driver of
rental growth.
When we optimize our digital processes, we lower costs,
improve operational efficiency and increase margins. The
scalability of the platform allows Shurgard to add square
meters to our portfolio with marginal cost increases,
so shareholders benefit from digitalization as much as
customers do.
Digitalizing our operations
Walk
Call
Web booking
e-Rental
0
20
40
60
80
100
2023202220212020201920182017201620152014
10
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
DATA
LAKE
Shurgard’s digitalization program has exponentially grown
the volume of data we generate. From bookings and web
interactions, to store visit frequency and usage statistics,
to lighting and heating management, Shurgard is awash
with data, and we need to use it well to ensure all our
stakeholders benefit while ensuring that we always comply
with GDPR regulations.
For example, we will install a new backoffice Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) system which will improve
enterprise productivity and generate new data that
will give much better visibility across the financial and
operational landscape.
We are building the digital architecture that will sustain our
growth. This year in addition to back‑office investment,
we have installed smart building management systems in
two test markets in Belgium and the Netherlands, which
are designed to optimize property maintenance. As the
outcomes are measured, we will look to expand the system
to gain both financially and environmentally.
The experts in our new Data & AI team are ensuring we
have a single version of the truth. This means verifying,
processing and organizing the raw data that comes
in from all parts of the business, and analyzing it to
generate new insights, unlock efficiencies and improve the
customer experience.
PROPERTY TECHNOLOGY
All this new data has transformed Shurgard into a ‘proptech’
company, the industry shorthand for companies that use
technology to manage their properties more efficiently.
How can we ensure we are available for customers
when they need us? Visit frequency data can answer
that question. Is energy consumption in line with
customer volume, and if not, why not? Data from our
Building Management System which measures electricity
consumption on site, and customer data can be compared
and analyzed to find anomalies and then solutions. Are our
customer prospects aligned with local demand and local
pricing? Our data science‑based pricing algorithm can
adjust for many variables that enable us to deliver industry‑
leading occupancy rates and revenue maximization.
The deep insights we can generate from the data to
understand customer behavior, store usage, marketing
and demand, means we are finding new ways to improve
the service customers receive when they choose Shurgard
as their selfstorage provider. And our shareholders are
benefiting too. New developments in property technology,
combined with improved efficiencies across finance,
operations and human resources, are supporting profitable
growth. The proof is in the margin, which increased 0.9pp
on a same store basis in 2023.
Data is omnipresent. Everything we do is captured somewhere, on our phone, in our
online shopping basket, via internet banking, using GPS while driving and the data
generated from all these interactions is used, in anonymized form, to offer us better
products or services.
The “data lake
FINANCE PROCESSES
CUSTOMER BOOKINGS
PROFITABILITY INCREASE
WEBSITE
STORE VISITS
LIGHTING AND BUILDING
MANAGEMENT
AI INSIGHTS
INNOVATION
EFFICIENCY
11
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
We have seen customer behavior evolve over recent
years, responding to the lightning pace of change in the
technology landscape that has irrevocably changed the
way we all live, work, shop and even play. But it has not
changed the motivations for using our self storage though,
and in some cases has increased demand. People still move
houses, get divorced, graduate from university, downsize,
upsize and create small businesses. In addition to these life
events, the trend towards hybrid working has increased
the need for self storage, to make space for a home office
in the closet, the living room, the bedroom or the shed.
DIGITAL DEMAND
Digitalization is at the heart of customer change and
business evolution. Consumers demand every service at
their fingertips, on their phone, tablet or laptop. They are
always on’ and they expect us to be too. That is why 90% of
Shurgard interactions start from a digital touchpoint. Since
2021, all Shurgard customers can research, book and pay for
their storage unit via our “e‑rental” service, which accounts
for 39% of all bookings made. And now our customers can
access and manage their storage from the new app on
their phone.
Shurgard’s strength lies in its significant geographic
diversity, and the leverage of a centralized system that
drives margin improvement. But we never lose sight of the
fact that our seven operating countries are unique in their
own ways. In 2023, Shurgard introduced a range of new
ways to pay for e‑rental bookings that more accurately
reflect the customs and preferences of each country.
For example, in Germany it is common to pay online using
Paypal, whereas in the Netherlands they use iDEAL. Other
countries prefer Apple Pay or other regional variations.
Shugard is ensuring that each customer experience is
attuned to the local demand. We have also begun to
implement a new customer identity management, which
requires different types of verification depending on
location. We have been pleased with the level of uptake
for this extra layer of security, even in the UK where the
process is far more complex than in say Sweden where all
adults have a bank ID they can use for other verification
requests.
PERSONAL TOUCH
Where 90% of our customer prospects start their journey
digitally, they do not all end there. Many customers still
want to interact directly with our employees, ask questions,
discuss options, so many of them still call us, and we are
making sure they get the best experience there too. In
2023, Shurgard overhauled our telephony system to make
it flexible enough for the changing needs of our customers.
It is now integrated with other methods of contact, like
text messaging, so customers also have optional digital
touchpoints that stem from that one phone call.
Every prospect is a potential customer, so they should all
be able to use their preferred method of communication,
whether online, on the phone or in person. Our job is to
make it simple and accessible to find the right information
whenever and wherever they are.
Self storage is being driven by a spate of mega‑trends, including Artificial Intelligence (AI),
robotics, urbanization and home working, that are changing the face of the industry.
Whether they are the cause or the effect, our customers are at the heart of these changes.
They fuel our business. Every modification, innovation or evolution we make to our service
is made with our customers at the forefront of our mind.
Customer-centric innovation
12
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
The relevance for Shurgard is the introduction this year
of remotely managed stores which are geographically
close to service stores but operate as satellites, managed
remotely. We have run a series of trials through the course
of 2023 and the outcome has been overwhelmingly
positive. Remotely managed stores are visited regularly
by staff based at the service store, where operational
tasks are completed and customers who require in person
assistance are engaged with.
We are still open for business as usual, offering a range
of ways to contact us, from online and phone to face‑to‑
face interactions to best cater to our diverse customer
base. One fifth are baby boomers, a third are Gen‑
Xers, 38% are millenials and 10% are under 26 (Gen‑Z).
We want to ensure they can access our services through
their preferred channel. Our on site and remotely managed
stores form nearby clusters, so any issues that arise can be
quickly dealt with.
When queries do not require in‑person accommodations,
customers are happy to receive support online or by phone.
The remotely managed store option is only possible because
of Shurgard’s geographic concentration in capital and key
cities. High density locations in cities like London, Paris,
Stockholm, Copenhagen and the Randstad conurbation
in the Netherlands are the testbed for remotely managed
stores, and the success of the trials means Shurgard can
expand its type and size of property opportunities.
Fixed human resource costs for smaller sites might have
made them uneconomical in the past, but now remotely
managed stores are not only feasible but desirable. They
allow customers to benefit from more storage locations
closer to their home or business, and contribute to
improving margins.
The success of the initial trial means Shurgard will
prepare for a wider expansion of the on site/remotely
managed model.
We have all become used to scanning our basket of shopping at the supermarket, doing
away with long queues for the checkout. For the supermarket chain, it means one or two
employees can manage a steady flow through a greater number of tills, increasing
efficiency for both customers and companies.
Remote control
REMOTELY MANAGED
REMOTELY MANAGED
13
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
Shurgard’s ESG commitments are an integral part of the
business, informing operational decisions and permeating
throughout the culture of the organization. We have a
robust strategic plan to achieve net zero in two distinct
phases and our progression along this path is recognized
by industry‑leading scores from external sustainability
organizations and the frameworks we adhere to. 2023 was
another high watermark for Shurgard’s sustainability goals.
DOUBLE MATERIALITY ASSESSMENT
In 2023, Shurgard undertook what is known as the Double
Materiality Assessment, a process which considers the
material impact of Shurgard on the environment and
society, as well as the material impact of the environment
and society on Shurgard and its financial and reputational
performance. The materiality process included both our
internal assessment and the feedback received from our
various stakeholders (customer feedback, supplier surveys,
investor days, employee feedback, etc.). We have also
continued to conduct a physical climate risk assessment of
our entire portfolio of 276 stores. All these elements have
allowed us to consider how sustainability topics correlate
with our business strategy, and help us to develop
sustainability materiality processes that link with the
wider risk management process. This process is ongoing
and we will continue to monitor ESG impacts coming
into, and flowing out from the business, and find ways to
mitigate them.
Leading the industry in ESG
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
2023 was another year of successes in our environmental
sustainability journey, including exceeding our target for
reducing like‑for‑like energy consumption – we achieved
40% by year end, compared to the 10% initially targeted
against a 2017 baseline. We have done this through
a program of energy reduction measures including
retrofitting LED lighting (a project that concluded in 2023
with 100% of LED lighting across the entire portfolio),
implementing a smart building management system at
88 stores in Belgium and the Netherlands initially (with
plans to expand the trial if successful), equipping a total
of 26 stores with heat pumps (out of 108) to replace gas
heating, and ensuring more of our properties conform to
excellent building ratings by 2029.
We also currently have solar panels installed at 23
properties, and as part of our energy generation strategy
we are embarking on a full technical assessment of our
properties in the Netherlands, a country where electricity
production has a high carbon intensity. The process
includes studying roof structure and capacities, electrical
connections, permit requirements and reinjection
possibilities. This will allow us to make sure that resources
and funding can be planned and committed effectively.
These energy saving measures concern our scope 1 and
2 emissions which specially refer to emissions generated
by us or emitted from energy purchased for our use.
To move closer to net zero, we are also beginning to
measure and plan for mitigating our scope 3 emissions,
which are indirectly generated by our value chain and
which are often outside of our direct control. Scope 3
emissions are the hardest to measure and mitigate but
we have made a start this year, focusing on business
travel, employee commuting and customer visits, initially
through measurement but with a view to lowering the
emissions from this business activity.
The journey to net zero carbon is predicated on a
strategy that looks first to reducing energy consumption,
secondly to optimizing energy consumption with low‑
carbon alternatives, thirdly using renewable energy
suppliers and finally, only if needed, offsetting any
residual emissions.
The first three key processes are already well under way
and we will continue to apply stringent measures and
targets to achieve our net zero commitments.
1. Reduce energy
consumption
We are reducing the energy
consumption in our stores,
through investments in better
building designs, sensors,
building management systems
and energy‑efficient devices
(e.g., LED lighting).
3. Renewable Energy
supply and generation
We are increasing the share
of our utilities supplied from
certified renewable sources
and are generating on‑site
renewable energy, for instance
with solar panels.
2. Optimize energy
consumption
We are optimizing our energy
consumption mix, stepping out
of carbon‑intense sources like
gas and shifting towards low
carbon alternatives (e.g., heat
pumps or equivalent).
4. Offset residual
emissions
As a final step, should any
remaining emissions be
unavoidable, we will offset
it with the financing of
carbon‑positive actions.
14
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
EXTERNAL RECOGNITION
Benchmark achievements
Shurgard is leading the self‑storage sector in sustainability,
and external agencies and benchmarks recognize us. In
2023 we once again achieved a 5‑star result in the Global
Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), with a score
of 91 out of 100, maintaining the sector leadership we have
held for the past two years. Shurgard also received again
an AA rating on the MSCI ESG Ratings assessment, just
one away from the highest rating. On the Sustainalytics
scale we scored 10.8 on their ESG Risk Rating, which
means Shurgard is at low risk of experiencing material
financial impacts from ESG factors. We also maintained
our gold award at the EPRA Sustainability Best Practices
Recommendations, which we first achieved in 2021.
UN Global Compact
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are part of a
framework developed by the United Nations (UN). It brings
together society, governments, and business to drive
positive change. Shurgard is determined to play an active
role, on its own scale, contributing materially to these SDGs
via our Sustainability Strategy. To affirm this, Shurgard has
been a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact
since 2021.
New awards in 2023
As we continue to steer our sustainability strategy towards
net zero carbon, Shurgard has been recognized with three
new awards and achievements in 2023. We are proud to
have been selected to be part of the newly created BEL ESG
Index, which is designed to identify the top 20 companies
in Belgium that demonstrate high ESG practices alongside
solid investibility metrics like free float and liquidity.
In addition, as part of our commitment to strong governance,
Shurgard received the Best Financial Communication
award from the Belgian Centre of Expertise for Finance
Professionals.
And in November, The Belgian‑Luxembourg Chamber
of Commerce in Great Britain honored Shurgard with
the esteemed Golden Bridge Award for Environmental,
Social, and Governance (ESG) Excellence in 2023. This
recognition amplifies Shurgard’s unwavering commitment
to sustainability and responsible corporate citizenship.
CYBERSECURITY
In an era characterized by increased reliance on digital
technologies and data, cybersecurity has become a
critical concern for organizations like Shurgard. As cyber
threats continue to evolve in sophistication and frequency,
we are protecting our information and systems through
collective responsibility that spans across all levels of
the organization. We have conducted a comprehensive
risk assessment to identify potential vulnerabilities
and threats. Strong cybersecurity policies have been
established, and on top of specific awareness campaigns,
all our employees have followed a cybersecurity training
and phishing simulation exercises. In 2023, our executives
have also live‑tested our incident response plan, through
a simulation of a cybersecurity breach, enabling Shurgard
to best respond to cyber‑attacks or threats to information
security, minimizing losses, leaks, or disturbances, and
reacting swiftly and effectively to such an event. We also
conducted security audits, vulnerability assessments, and
penetration testing. By implementing these fundamental
cybersecurity practices, we significantly reduce our risk
exposure, protect our data, and maintain the trust of our
stakeholders.
Percentile 91% of the
real estate industry
15
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
Leading the industry in ESG continued
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
Every year Shurgard sustains its charitable and social
engagement. Each region and every store is involved in
some form of local community outreach, many of which
have been ongoing for several years, forging strong
personal connections.
Three stores in Paris have for some years provided free
storage space for Le Rire Médecin which supports clowns
going into hospitals to entertain children. Our staff in
France also participated in an annual Christmas fundraising
flea market for the charity.
In the Netherlands, Shurgard stores serve as a collection
point for baby essentials for the charity Stichting
Babyspullen, and in the UK, our long‑standing association
with the Mayor’s Fund for London supports young
Londoners from low‑income backgrounds by organizing
job readiness workshops.
We support Team Rynkeby, a Nordic charity cycling team
raising money for organizations that support children with
critical diseases across Europe, and Off Road Kids, a German
non‑profit organization that runs a street social work
system to prevent homeless young people from becoming
street children. Shurgard supports Pelicano, a foundation
battling child poverty in Belgium, by offering free storage
at seven locations, aiding in providing essential needs
for children.
The community and our staff benefit from these charitable
actions and we will continue to expand our repertoire,
providing scope for our employees to support causes that
are meaningful to them.
25 March, 2023, Shurgard’s Nordic team met at three different gyms in Malmo,
Gothenburg and Stockholm. Over 50 Shurgard employees from SWE & DK
volunteered to do spinning together with Team Rynkeby for the Children’s
Cancer Foundation.
EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
Shurgard has always prided itself in offering a welcoming
and inclusive place to work, but we have gone much
further in 2023, implementing a range of well‑being
initiatives that focus on both mental and physical well‑
being. An employee survey identified a range of activities
that can enrich the employee experience. Some of these
implemented include bi‑monthly stress relief workshops
for support center staff, improving indoor air quality and
lighting control in office spaces, encouraging support
center staff and store employees to use the office bicycles
during lunch breaks, and promoting social interaction
through team events.
In 2023, Shurgard launched our pillars training which helps
new hires integrate into our working culture by introducing
them to our four value pillars – Happiness, Training, Team
spirit and Perspective.
Our commitment to staff is recognized in our 2023 silver
Investors in People accreditation, and we will continue to
empower our employees and enrich the company culture
to build on this achievement.
HAPPINESS PERSPECTIVETEAM SPIRITTRAINING
16
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
Transition
to low‑carbon
economy
Save
water
Responsible
waste management
Resilience of
properties to
climate risks
SUSTAINABILITY AIMS
We have translated our material topics into concrete sustainable goals. Under these four pillars of sustainability, we
focus on what is good for the business and for a sustainable future. This leads to responsible investment solutions and
decisions, with enhanced value for all our stakeholders.
As an owner and operator of
real estate, we want to develop
in a sustainable manner, by controlling
and limiting our environmental impact.
Shurgard is passionate about creating
excellent and safe workplaces which
maximize wellbeing and productivity
of our employees, and foster an
open, supportive, diverse, and
inclusive culture.
Shurgard wants to contribute to a
sustainable society, building a positive
and lasting relationship with our
neighbors, communities, customers,
and suppliers alike.
Shurgard is committed to respecting
high governance standards. It is
organized in such a way as to promote
a strong culture of awareness of
compliance, business ethics and
risk management.
Safe and
inclusive
workplace
Invest in the
development of
our people
Share and
live the Shurgard
culture
Best‑in‑class
customer
service
Customer
privacy and
safety
Positive impact
on local
communities
Encouraging
ESG best‑practices
in our supply chain
High
governance
standards
Business
ethics and code
of conduct
Data and
cyber‑security
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
EMPLOYER OF CHOICE
POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOCIETY
ETHICS & GOVERNANCE
OUR SUSTAINABLE AIMS
17
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES
Shurgard’s digital shift encompasses all parts of the
business. From our back‑office finance employees who
will be able to carry out operational duties quickly and
easily on the new ERP system, to our customers who
can now pay using the iDEAL e‑commerce system in the
Netherlands. These important improvements are part of a
wider shift to incorporating the best property technology
into our everyday operations.
In 2023 we added several new payment methods to our
platform to cater to the different preferences in each
of our markets. Our app services have also expanded
substantially this year, and customers can now manage
their account, pay bills, change billing frequency, verify
their address or identity, and most importantly use the app
to access their storage unit without having to remember
an access code.
As our digital footprint grows, we have invested in data
scientists and AI experts to make effective use of all
the data being generated. Customer insights inform our
decision on which operating model works best for which
store, building management data informs our strategy on
energy allocation, and demand and supply data informs
our intelligent pricing algorithm. Through digitalization
we are ensuring that Shurgard continues to build on solid
long‑term foundations.
REMOTELY MANAGED STORES
The introduction of remotely managed stores has been
a major operational highlight for Shurgard. We wanted
to ensure the operating model would work well for both
customers and the business, so we undertook a series of
trial stores initially, expanding the project as the concept
proved effective. Remotely managed stores are clustered
near on‑site managed stores, which allows site managers
to carry out operational tasks at the remotely managed
stores when required or deal with any customer issues
that require a physical presence. Outside of these periodic
visits, the remotely managed stores are controlled digitally.
The success of the remotely managed stores model
has reduced Shurgard’s store employee costs and
increased the opportunity for on‑site managers and staff to
take on wider responsibility and expand their personal
development goals.
Shurgard can now also take advantage of property
opportunities that might previously have been cost
prohibitive, for example a small store that was uneconomical
because of the cost of an on‑site store manager has
become viable under the remotely managed stores model.
This means we can consider more locations and improve
the proximity to our customers. We anticipate increasing
the number of remotely managed stores over the next
two years.
Operational highlights
SUSTAINABILITY – THE BEL ESG INDEX
Shurgard incorporates sustainability into all aspects
of its operational performance. We have a strategy
of continuous improvement embedded in our ESG
processes, and we once again were recognized for this
by all of the sustainability frameworks that we adhere
to. In addition, we were very pleased to be included
in a new BEL ESG Index created by Euronext, for
companies in Belgium that can demonstrate the lowest
Environmental, Social and Governance risks. The index
identifies companies that are actively contributing to a
more sustainable future.
Shurgard’s inclusion in the new index not only exemplifies
our commitment to sustainability, it also accentuates
the company to investors who are specifically looking to
increase their ESG exposure.
18
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
The five new developments opened in 2023 centered
around two key markets, London, UK and the
Randstad conurbation in the Netherlands, with three
new properties in the Netherlands and two in the UK.
The first opened in May 2023 in Amsterdam Diemen,
adding 4,000 sqm and offering 570 new self‑storage
units. The Diemen property will serve as a secondary
building to an existing self‑storage property in the same
region. Direct project costs were €3.2 million.
The two other Randstad properties opened in July and
October 2023, the first in Amersfoort, adding 3,100 sqm
to our portfolio at a cost of €5.4 million, and the second
at Amsterdam Portsmuiden adding 7,500 sqm at a cost
of €5.4 million.
Importantly, both new properties complement Shurgard
sites nearby and so will be remotely managed from
these nearby stores as part of our new operating model.
Two additional stores are due to open in the Netherlands
in 2024, and two in 2025, adding a further 18,300 sqm to
the Randstad cluster.
In London, where Shurgard owns 43 stores with 216,000
sqm across the capital, we opened a 6,800 sqm store in
Chadwell Heath, East London in October 2023 at a cost
of €17.9 million. One further property opened in West
London (Chiswick) in December adding an additional
6,500 sqm to Shurgards growing presence in London
at a cost of €24.5 million overall. One more London
development is due to open in 2024 and a further four
are due to open in 2025 which will bring the total London
area properties to 48 and 251,900 sqm.
Seven new developments in Germany in 2024 and
2025 will expand our store footprint there by almost
44,000 sqm.
REDEVELOPMENTS
Shurgard completed five major redevelopments in 2023
in four of our key markets, along with several direct
access units, which allow our customers to park directly
outside their unit, across all markets. The direct access
units and redevelopments in Munich, Germany, Rotterdam
and Almere in the Randstad area of the Netherlands,
Stockholm, Sweden, and in London, UK, contributed an
extra 19,600 sqm to our storage portfolio at a total cost
of €17.9 million.
ACQUISITIONS
In October 2023, Shurgard made the acquisition of five
operating properties and two development assets from
Top Box self‑storage in Germany. In total the acquisition,
redevelopment and new development costs amount to
€97.6 million and we expect to achieve a stabilized yield of
around 8%. In February 2024, Shurgard acquired the high‑
quality freehold portfolio of three operating properties in
Berlin and three in Hamburg from Pickens in Germany for
a purchase price of €120 million.
Top Boxs existing portfolio in Germany (Essen, Duisburg,
Cologne, Wiesbaden and Mannheim) alongside the Pickens
properties in Berlin and Hamburg, fit perfectly within our
German expansion strategy. Our new footprint in Germany
propels Shurgard to the number two position in the country.
With these two acquisitions and the development pipeline
2024‑2026, we will add 118,700 sqm in Germany, which
will nearly double our footprint compared to the beginning
of 2023.
The transactions are a further step in our growth strategy
across the “Big Seven” cities in Germany, and deploys
the funds raised during the Capital Raise of €300 million
on November 10, 2023. We continue to work on other
identified targets, aiming for completion in the foreseeable
future. In line with our financing strategy, we execute this
ambitious, comprehensive and disciplined investment
approach, within our loan‑to‑value (LTV) and Net Debt to
underlying EBITDA guidance.
19
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
20
THE SHURGARD SHARE
Year-to-date stock performance
1
vs. indices
1 Total performance, assuming reinvestment of dividends.
Stock performance
1
vs. indices since IPO (Oct 2018)
1 Total performance, assuming reinvestment of dividends. The performance for Shurgard is based on the price at IPO (€23.00 per share).
Shurgard; 7.8%
EURO STOXX 600; 16.6%
FTSE EPRA Nareit; 17.3%
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
Shurgard; 123.6%
EURO STOXX 600; 57.4%
FTSE EPRA Nareit; -1.0%
-40%
-10%
20%
50%
80%
110%
140%
170%
15/10/2018
15/12/2018
15/02/2019
15/04/2019
15/06/2019
15/08/2019
15/10/2019
15/12/2019
15/02/2020
15/04/2020
15/06/2020
15/08/2020
15/10/2020
15/12/2020
15/02/2021
15/04/2021
15/06/2021
15/08/2021
15/10/2021
15/12/2021
15/02/2022
15/04/2022
15/06/2022
15/08/2022
15/10/2022
15/12/2022
15/02/2023
15/04/2023
15/06/2023
15/08/2023
15/10/2023
15/12/2023
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
21
BASIC SHARE DATA
ISIN / common code GG00BQZCBZ44
CFI code ESVUFR
Ticker SHUR
Stock exchange Euronext Brussels
Shares issued / outstanding as of December 31, 2023 97,311,896
Subscribed capital €69,448,518
Share price as of December 31, 2023
1
€44.86
52-week high / low
2
€48.79 / €34.01
Market capitalization as of December 31, 2023 €4,365 million
Average daily trading volume
3
143,121 shares
1 Closing price on last trading day of the month.
2 In each case from start of trading on January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, based on Euronext Brussels closing price.
3 Includes trade on Lit, Dark, Auction, OTC and SI markets, based on publicly available information.
DIVIDEND
Shurgard intends to declare a dividend of €1.17 per share for the fiscal year. For the first half of 2023, our Board
of Directors approved a half-year dividend of €0.58 per share or €51.7 million paid on October 5, 2023.
The Board of Directors recommended, subject to shareholders’ approval, a final dividend for the year 2023 of
€0.59 per share or €57.4 million based on the number of shares outstanding as of December 31, 2023.
This second and final dividend will be payable on or around May 29, 2024, to shareholders on the record at close
of business on May 28, 2024.
Shurgard will continue to review its dividend policy to ensure it remains competitive.
SHARE TRADING
The Company appointed KBC Securities as liquidity provider starting in June 2019, with the contract being
officially recognized by Euronext. The Company aims to make the necessary efforts to maintain the liquidity of
its order book and increase the trading volumes of its share, to benefit current and potential investors.
SHAREHOLDERS
The following table sets forth the shareholders of the Company as of December 31, 2023:
Shareholder Number %
Public Storage 34,132,133 35.1
New York State Common Retirement Fund 32,544,722 33.4
Public 30,635,041 31.5
of which Resolution Capital Ltd 3,694,540 3.8
Total 97,311,896 100.0
SHURGARD 2018
22
MANAGEMENT REPORT
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
23
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key financials ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Preliminary remarks ......................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Group overview .................................................................................................................................................................................. 25
Market overview ................................................................................................................................................................................ 28
Growth strategy ................................................................................................................................................................................. 29
Property portfolio .............................................................................................................................................................................. 30
Operational and financial review .................................................................................................................................................. 33
Group results ............................................................................................................................................................................ 33
EPRA KPIs ................................................................................................................................................................................... 42
EPRA NAV METRICS ................................................................................................................................................................. 44
Liquidity ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 44
Cash Flow overview ................................................................................................................................................................. 44
Financial position .................................................................................................................................................................... 45
Dividend ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 46
Employees .................................................................................................................................................................................. 47
Risks ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 47
Events after the reporting period ........................................................................................................................................ 47
Sustainability report ......................................................................................................................................................................... 48
Shurgard’s ESG highlights..................................................................................................................................................... 49
Shurgard Self Storage ............................................................................................................................................................ 53
Risk Assessment and Double Materiality ......................................................................................................................... 54
Sustainabile Self Storage ....................................................................................................................................................... 61
Employer of choice ................................................................................................................................................................. 78
Positive impact on society .................................................................................................................................................... 87
Ethics & Governance .............................................................................................................................................................. 94
GRI, EPRA, EU Taxonomy and CSRD .................................................................................................................................. 112
Remuneration report ....................................................................................................................................................................... 153
Principal risks and uncertainties ................................................................................................................................................. 162
Related Party Transactions ........................................................................................................................................................... 172
Directors’ Report .............................................................................................................................................................................. 173
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
24
KEY FINANCIALS
(in € millions, except where indicated
otherwise, excluding property under
management contract)
Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- (CER)
1
FY 2023 FY 2022 +/- +/- (CER)
1
Property KPIs at period end
Number of properties 275 266 275 266 3.4%
Closing rentable sqm
2
1,391 1,343 1,391 1,343 3.5%
Closing rented sqm
3
1,207 1,167 1,207 1,167 3.4%
Closing occupancy rate
4
86.8% 86.9% 86.8% 86.9% -0.2pp
Property KPIs for the period
Average rented sqm
5
1,212 1,162 4.3% 1,196 1,146 4.3%
Average occupancy rate
6
88.2% 88.2% 0.0pp 88.3% 88.5% -0.2pp
Average in-place rent (in € per sqm)
7
267.9 260.3 3.5% 261.4 252.4 3.6% 5.1%
Average revPAM (in € per sqm)
8
270.0 263.0 3.3% 264.1 257.0 2.7% 4.2%
Financial KPIs for the period
Property operating revenue
9
92.7 86.6 7.7% 357.7 333.0 7.4% 9.0%
Income from property (NOI)
10
64.1 59.0 9.4% 237.2 219.2 8.2% 9.9%
NOI margin
11
69.1% 68.1% 1.1pp 66.3% 65.8% 0.5pp 0.6pp
Underlying EBITDA
12
56.2 55.3 2.2% 213.0 199.8 6.6% 8.4%
Adjusted EPRA earnings
13
43.9 39.7 11.3% 158.4 143.6 10.3% 12.3%
Adjusted EPRA earnings per share
(basic) (in €)
14
0.47 0.45 6.2% 1.76 1.61 9.0% 10.9%
Average number of shares
(in millions - basic)
93.4 89.1 4.8% 90.2 89.1 1.3%
Total dividend per share (in €)
1.17 1.17 0.0%
FY 2023
FY 2022
+/-
Financial KPIs for the period
EPRA net tangible assets (NTA)
15
4,307.8 3,638.9 18.4%
Loan-to-value (LTV)
16
13.0% 18.0% -5.1pp
FY 2023
FY 2022
+/-
Financial KPIs for the period
Interest coverage ratio (ICR)
17
10.6x 9.7x 0.9x
Net debt/Underlying EBITDA
18
3.1x 4.1x -1.0x
1 In the constant exchange rate (CER) comparison, 2022 financials are recalculated using 2023 exchange rates.
2 Closing rentable sqm is presented in thousands of sqm and calculated as the sum of available sqm for customer storage use at our stores, as of the reporting date.
3 Closing rented sqm is presented in thousands of sqm and calculated as the sum of sqm rented by customers, as of the reporting date.
4 Closing occupancy rate is presented in % and calculated as the closing rented sqm divided by closing rentable sqm as of the reporting date.
5 Average rented sqm is presented in thousands of sqm and calculated as the sum of sqm rented by customers, for the reporting period.
6 Average occupancy rate is presented in % and is calculated as the average of the rented sqm divided by the average of the rentable sqm, each for the reporting periods.
7 Average in-place rent is presented in euros per sqm per year and calculated as rental revenue, divided by the average rented sqm for the reporting period.
8 Average revPAM, which stands for revenue per available sqm, is presented in euros per sqm per year for the reporting period and calculated as property operating revenue, divided by the
average rentable sqm for the reporting period.
9 Property operating revenue represents our revenue from operating our properties, and comprises our rental revenue, fee income from customer goods insurance and ancillary revenue.
10 Income from property (NOI) is calculated as property operating revenue less real estate operating expense for the reporting period.
11 NOI margin is calculated as income from property (NOI) divided by property operating revenue for the reporting period.
12 Underlying EBITDA is calculated as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, excluding (i) valuation gain from investment property and investment property under
construction and gain on disposal, (ii) acquisition and dead deals costs (iii) cease-use lease expense and (iv) ERP implementation fees and costs of capital raise.
13 Adjusted EPRA earnings is calculated as EPRA earnings adjusted for (i) deferred tax expenses on items other than the revaluation of investment property and (ii) special items (‘one-offs’)
that are significant and arise from events or transactions distinct from regular operating activities.
14 Adjusted EPRA earnings per share in euros (basic) is calculated as adjusted EPRA earnings divided by the weighted average number of outstanding shares.
15 EPRA Net Tangible Assets (NTA) scenario is focused on reflecting a company’s tangible assets and assumes that companies buy and sell assets, thereby crystallizing certain levels of
unavoidable deferred tax liability.
16 Loan-to-value is the net debt expressed as a percentage of the fair value of the group’s investment property and investment property under construction.
17 Interest coverage ratio is calculated as underlying EBITDA divided by total interest expenses for the reporting period.
18 Net debt to underlying EBITDA ratio is calculated as the net financial debt (including leases) divided by trailing 12 months underlying EBITDA.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
25
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd (referred to as the “Company”, “Shurgard”, “we”, “us”, “our” or the “Group”, which
includes the Company together with its consolidated subsidiaries) is a limited company incorporated under the
laws of the
Bailiwick of Guernsey.
Certain statements contained herein may be statements of future expectations and/or other forward-looking
statements that are based on our current views and assumptions. These involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those expressed or
implied in such statements. Shurgard does not intend and does not undertake any obligation to revise these
forward-looking statements.
GROUP OVERVIEW
BUSINESS MODEL
We are the largest operator of self-storage facilities, which we refer to as properties, stores, assets, or locations,
in Europe in terms of number of properties and net rentable sqm.
1
We started our operations in 1995 and are
one of the pioneers of the self-storage concept in Europe. As of December 31, 2023, we operate 276 self-storage
stores (including one under management contract) in France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK), Sweden,
Germany, Belgium, and Denmark.
Across this network, we have developed an integrated self-storage group with local expertise in the seven
countries. We have centralized in-house capabilities to design, develop, acquire, and operate properties. This
allows us to provide a consistent experience to residential and commercial customers.
We generate revenue through the lease of storage units and related activities such as the sale of storage products
and packaging, but also through the fees paid by customers for the insurance cover of the stored goods. Our
property operating revenue and income from property (NOI) have increased steadily in recent years. Over this
time, we increased rental rates across our network and grew our portfolio through new developments,
redevelopments, and acquisitions. The table below shows our property operating revenue and NOI for the
financial year 2023 compared to 2022.
(in € millions) Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Property operating revenue 92.7 86.6 7.1% 357.7 333.0 7.4%
NOI 64.1 59.0 8.7% 237.2 219.2 8.2%
NOI margin 69.1% 68.1% 1.0pp 66.3% 65.8% 0.5pp
1 FEDESSA “European Self Storage Annual Survey” 2023.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
26
OUR OPERATING PLATFORM
Our integrated, digitalized, and centralized operating platform allows us to manage many operational functions
for our portfolio of properties from a central location/head office. This centralization of skills and management
enables us to run a lean organization and provides significant operational leverage. The resulting economies of
scale have a direct positive impact on our NOI margin, which was 66.3% in 2023 compared to 65.8% in 2022.
Our platform approach relies on consistency in our performance measures and key support functions across the
portfolio. This means managing the yield achieved from our properties through a balance of occupancy and
pricing levels. It also means we have consistency in operational and management initiatives, such as aligning
sales processes, branding, shop design and supplier relations. On a granular level though, we can gather
information on local conditions and monitor online traffic, conversion rates and other key metrics through our
automated centralized information management systems.
We continue to target growth through further development and bolt-on acquisitions. As an increasing proportion
of our sales and marketing activities migrate to online customer interactions, we believe this platform approach
will play a significant role in maintaining efficient operations across our network. This belief is supported by the
scalability of our information management systems and centralized platform, and the consistency of operations
in each of our properties.
GROUP STRUCTURE
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd is the parent Company and principal holding Company of the Group. The Company’s
significant holding and operational subsidiaries are in Luxemburg, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom,
Sweden, Germany, Belgium and Denmark.
Name
1
Jurisdiction
Percentage ownership
(directly or indirectly)
Shurgard Luxembourg S.à r.l. Luxembourg 100.0%
Shurgard Holding Luxembourg S.à r.l. Luxembourg 100.0%
Eirene RE S.A. Luxembourg 100.0%
Shurgard France SAS France 100.0%
Shurgard Nederland B.V. The Netherlands 100.0%
Shurgard UK Ltd The United Kingdom 100.0%
Shurgard Sweden AB Sweden 100.0%
Shurgard Storage Centers Sweden KB Sweden 100.0%
Shurgard Germany GmbH Germany 100.0%
First Shurgard Deutschland GmbH Germany 94.8%
Second Shurgard Deutschland GmbH Germany 94.8%
Shurgard Belgium NV/SA Belgium 100.0%
Shurgard Europe VOF/SNC Belgium 100.0%
Shurgard Denmark ApS Denmark 100.0%
1 The entities listed are our main operating and holding entities. For a complete list of the Company’s subsidiaries, please refer to Note 38 of the 2023 consolidated
financial statements.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
27
All the Company’s subsidiaries are, directly and indirectly, wholly owned, except for First Shurgard Deutschland
GmbH and Second Shurgard Deutschland GmbH. We own 94.8% of these two companies and the remaining 5.2%
therein is held by our two principal shareholders through Shurgard German Holdings LLC. Since 2021, Eirene RE
S.A. acts as a reinsurance undertaking for the Company and its subsidiaries.
MANAGEMENT
The Group is managed by the Board of Directors together with the Senior Management in accordance with
applicable laws and as laid out in the Company’s Articles of Incorporation. As of December 31, 2023, the Board
of Directors comprised the following 9 members:
Name Position Age Mandate expires
Ian Marcus Chairman 65 Annual shareholders’ meeting 2024
Lorna Brown Independent Director 48 Annual shareholders’ meeting 2024
Muriel De Lathouwer
Independent Director
51
Annual shareholders’ meeting 2024
Olivier Faujour
Independent Director
58
Annual shareholders’ meeting 2024
Frank Fiskers Independent Director 62 Annual shareholders’ meeting 2024
Padraig McCarthy
Independent Director
63
Annual shareholders’ meeting 2024
Z. Jamie Behar
1
Director 66 Annual shareholders’ meeting 2024
Tom Boyle
2
Director 40 Annual shareholders’ meeting 2024
Marc Oursin Chief Executive Officer 61 Annual shareholders’ meeting 2024
1 Director elected on the designation of New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF).
2 Director elected on the designation of Public Storage.
The biographies of the Directors are available on in our Sustainability Report.
As of December 31, 2023, the Senior Management of the Group was made up of the following five members, who
hold their positions through employment contracts with entities of the Group, except for the Chief Executive
Officer who has a management agreement and who is appointed and may be removed by the Board of Directors.
Name Responsibilities Age Initial appointment
Marc Oursin Chief Executive Officer 61 January 9, 2012
Jean Kreusch Chief Financial Officer 59 November 1, 2003
Duncan Bell Chief Operating Officer 60 April 14, 2009
Ammar Kharouf General Counsel 53 March 17, 2014
Isabel Neumann Chief Investment Officer 48 August 30, 2021
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
28
MARKET OVERVIEW
SELF-STORAGE BASICS
Self storage is a business-to-consumer (B2C) enterprise in the real estate sector that provides storage units,
typically on a monthly basis, to individuals (approximately 72%) and business users (approximately 28%).
1
Individuals primarily use self storage as a “remote attic or basement” to store household goods, while businesses
usually store excess inventory or archived records. Storage units often differ in size and can range from one sqm
to more than 50 sqm. One of the key drivers of self-storage adoption is population density, where space is at a
premium, and households or businesses need cost-effective storage solutions.
For individuals, the industry accommodates storage needs generated by a broad set of “life changes”, e.g. death,
divorce, marriage, relocation, moving and university, as well as longer-term discretionary uses. On the
commercial side, self storage is used by small businesses, e-businesses and other home-based operations as
well as large companies looking for overflow storage or the ability to place materials in various locations for sales
people or retail distribution.
EUROPEAN SELF-STORAGE MARKET
The European self-storage market has been characterized by a period of sustained growth in recent years. It
currently comprises approximately 6,929 facilities across Europe, providing nearly 13.9 million sqm of space.
1
In
the seven countries where we operate, there are approximately 12.0 million sqm of rentable area across
approximately 5,000 self-storage properties (including containers).
1
The largest self-storage market in Europe is the United Kingdom, accounting for 33% of total facilities. Over
68% of the facilities are located in the four most mature countries within Europe (UK, France, Germany and
Spain) with 19 countries making up the remainder.
1
The average amount of self-storage floor area per capita
across Europe is significantly lower than the much more mature US market, indicating significant further growth
potential.
In terms of competition, the European self-storage market is still highly fragmented. We have a market
share of more than 25% in the cities where we operate
1
.
The industry growth has been driven by increases in customer demand, supported by demographic and
macroeconomic trends, increasing customer awareness of self storage, and continued development in the supply
of self-storage properties. During the pandemic the industry proved its resilient nature as it did during the global
financial crisis in 2008. Self storage recorded excellent rent collection from customers and an increase in
occupancy and rental levels. In addition, the trend towards greater online functionality and more sophisticated
platforms has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many customers becoming more comfortable
with online transactions, especially in the older age groups.
Several factors have supported demand for self storage from residential customers in recent years. These include
favorable demographic and macroeconomic trends, such as population growth, urbanization, higher levels of
mobility, micro-living, increasing personal wealth and ownership of more storable goods, as well as increased
consumer awareness. Furthermore, with the increase in hybrid working, many people have created a home office
so have turned to self storage to create space for this by storing household items that they do not need every
day. These trends have been particularly strong in urban areas, where high density levels, elevated housing costs
and the scarcity of housing and storage space are expected to support longer-term pricing rates and occupancy
levels.
1 Internal estimate.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
29
Demand from business customers has generally been supported by the growth of new online retailers and small
businesses, which require flexible and cost-effective storage options. We expect these trends to continue to
support the demand for self storage in the coming years.
The supply of self-storage properties has grown significantly in recent years, alongside increases in customer
demand. This growth is also influenced by the high level of fragmentation in the European self-storage industry.
As a result, the market has been characterized by periods of consolidation in recent years, which we expect to
continue in the future.
GROWTH STRATEGY
Our goal is to increase shareholder value by further strengthening our position as the leading self-storage
operator in Europe, operating strategically located properties and providing an increasingly digitalized customer
service designed to satisfy the requirements and priorities of both residential and business customers.
We aim to expand our position in the seven countries where we operate, with a particular focus on attractive
urban areas such as London, Paris, Berlin and other major German cities (known as the “Big Seven”), as well as
Randstad in the Netherlands. Our growth strategy benefits from our established track record of redeveloping and
developing properties, plus acquiring competitors. With our centralized and technology-focused operating
platform, we will benefit from immediate operating leverage and additional economies of scale.
REDEVELOPMENT
Thanks to our 93% freehold portfolio, we are able to continuously analyze our operations for opportunities to
undertake remix projects. As part of this, we monitor a variety of demand metrics across our existing property
network. These are based on factors like occupancy rates for various unit sizes, customer visits to our website,
online pricing searches, and in-store interactions with our customers. Where these metrics indicate the property
could benefit from a remix, we reorganize the units at a property to reflect customer demand in that particular
market to improve occupancy levels or increase rental rates. We also expand our existing properties when there
is an increase in local demand and the returns justify the expansion of rentable area.
FOOTPRINT EXPANSION
With our reinforced development team of dedicated development, acquisition and construction specialists, we
are seeking to add 90,000 sqm per year from 2024 through new developments and acquisitions.
We plan new developments, which could be purpose built or an existing building converted into self storage, by
focusing on a set of clear selection criteria, both operational and financial, including attractive and cycle-resilient
locations in our existing markets.
In addition, we intend to continue to take advantage of the strong fragmentation of the self-storage market in
Europe to acquire properties from competitors across the seven countries where we operate, as well as strategic
acquisitions where we deem appropriate. We believe that our experience and knowledge of the markets in which
we currently operate should enable us to identify opportunities with attractive potential returns, benefiting from
immediate operating leverage and additional economies of scale. We continue to focus on urban areas that we
anticipate will enjoy strong demand during all economic cycles and provide attractive growth potential.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
30
YIELD MANAGEMENT
Our goal is to maximize revenue through increased occupancy levels and rental rates. When the occupancy rate
of a property reaches maturity, we generally seek to increase rental rates to drive revenue growth through best-
in-class yield management, supported by machine learning predictive pricing. We regularly evaluate our
properties’ rental rates based on unit demand and unit availability. We adjust our marketing and promotional
activities and change rental rates as necessary to enhance revenue.
BRAND AND MARKETING
We believe that the Shurgard brand is a critical marketing tool, and we use a variety of channels to increase
customer awareness of our name. These include highly visible property locations, site signage and architectural
features. In addition, our marketing and sales processes are supported by several activities on social media and
other websites to improve our brand awareness and direct potential customers to our website and properties.
As part of our marketing activities, we regularly conduct focus group research and online surveys to identify the
primary considerations in customers’ self-storage choices and satisfaction. This allows us to better attract and
service customers.
PROPERTY PORTFOLIO
OUR PROPERTIES
The number of properties we operate (including one store under management contract) has grown to a network
of 276 properties comprising 1,398,483 net rentable sqm, as of December 31, 2023. We primarily operate in urban
areas across Europe, with 93% of our properties located in capital and major cities. At the end of December
2023, 93% of our net square rentable area was in properties that we own (“freehold properties”) or operate
under long-term lease agreements of at least 80 years remaining life (“long leasehold properties”). The
occupancy rate across all properties averaged 88.2% in 2023. The average in-place rent per sqm was €261.1
during the period.
The following table shows our portfolio by country, as of December 31, 2023:
Total number
of properties
Net rentable
sqm (in
thousands)
Freehold
and long
leasehold
1
Average
occupancy
rate
2
Average in-
place rent (in
€ per sqm)
3
France 66 332 94.5% 86.0%
261.0
The Netherlands 67 337 82.9% 90.0%
229.9
United Kingdom 43 216 94.5% 86.5%
356.0
Sweden 39 196 96.7% 89.2%
235.4
Germany 30 147 96.1% 85.9%
264.4
Belgium 21 117 100.0% 92.4%
217.3
Denmark 10 53 100.0% 91.7%
288.5
Total 276 1,398 92.9% 88.2%
261.1
1 Average calculated as a weighted average by net rentable sqm.
2 Average occupancy rate is calculated as the average of the rented sqm divided by the average of the rentable sqm, each for the reporting period.
3 Average in-place rent is presented in euros per sqm and calculated as rental revenue divided by the average rented sqm for the reporting period.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
31
PORTFOLIO EXPANSION
Property Region Country
Project
status
1
Completion
date
Net sqm
Direct
project cost /
purchase
price
2
Opened in 2023 64,607 143,451
Major redevelopments
Unterfoehring Munich Germany C Dec-23 3,499 5,354
Rotterdam Randstad Netherlands C Dec-23 4,537 2,246
Almere Buiten Randstad Netherlands C Dec-23 1,160 1,869
Uppsala
3
Stockholm Sweden C Mar-23 1,676 0
Euston London UK C Jun-23 692 131
Direct access units
4
- - C Dec-23 8,054 8,272
New developments
Amsterdam Diemen Randstad Netherlands C May-23 4,004 3,213
Amersfoort Randstad Netherlands C Jul-23 3,060 5,360
Amsterdam Portsmuiden Randstad Netherlands C Oct-23 7,505 5,389
Chadwell Heath London UK C Oct-23 6,812 17,939
Chiswick London UK C Dec-23 6,462 24,477
M&A / Asset Acquisitions
Top Box (5 properties)
5
NRW/Frankfurt Germany C Oct-23 17,146 69,200
Scheduled to open in 2024 67,765 195,519
Major redevelopments
Top Box major redevelopments NRW/Frankfurt Germany UC Q4 2024 5,096 2,528
Hayes London UK UC Q4 2024 4,194 8,925
Southwark London UK UC Q4 2024 2,644 7,641
Direct access units
4
- - UC Q4 2024 2,834 2,870
New developments
Charlottenburg Berlin Germany UC Q3 2024 4,923 15,480
Nieuwegein Randstad Netherlands UC Q4 2024 4,533 8,687
Almere Veluwsekant Randstad Netherlands UC Q4 2024 4,073 8,071
Tottenham London UK UC Q2 2024 8,168 21,318
M&A / Asset Acquisitions
Pickens (6 properties)
6
Berlin/Hamburg Germany CPA Feb-24 31,300 120,000
Scheduled to open in 2025 78,253 229,958
Major redevelopments
Porte de Clignancourt Paris France UC 2025 568 5,003
Top Box Koln Poll NRW Germany UC 2025 1,487 4,851
New developments
Dusseldorf Neuss NRW Germany UC 2025 5,814 16,759
Wangen Stuttgart Germany UC 2025 7,049 17,056
Leinfelden Stuttgart Germany UC 2025 6,620 20,083
1 property Berlin Germany PS 2025 10,253 27,824
1 property (Top Box) Frankfurt Germany PS 2025 4,958 11,148
1 property (Top Box) NRW Germany PS 2025 4,068 9,882
1 property London UK PS 2025 7,365 21,570
1 property London UK PS 2025 6,374 20,927
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
32
1 property London UK PS 2025 6,558 21,634
1 property London UK PS 2025 7,424 30,641
1 property Randstad Netherlands PS 2025 5,352 11,537
1 property Randstad Netherlands CPA 2025 4,363 11,043
Scheduled to open in 2026 20,764 61,137
Major redevelopments
Porte de Clignancourt Paris France PA 2026 822 7,240
New developments
1 property Frankfurt Germany PS 2026 7,329 20,928
1 property Frankfurt Germany PS 2026 5,865 13,254
1 property Stuttgart Germany PS 2026 6,748 19,715
Total portfolio expansion 231,389 630,065
1 CPA = signed conditional purchase agreement and building permit process ongoing, PS = building permit submitted, UC = under construction and C =
completed.
2 Including development fees.
3 Redevelopment project part of the 2022 acquisition of Instorage. In 2023 the Company paid a €0.2 million supplement on the purchase price.
4 Direct access units across all markets.
5 The purchase price of 69.2 million includes land for major redevelopments to open in 2024 and land for two new developments to open in 2025.
6 Three stores in Berlin and three stores in Hamburg. Shurgard signed this transaction at the end of December 2023, conditional to customary receipt of
preemption waivers for each of the properties. The first waivers have been received, with the remaining waivers due by April at the latest.
In 2023, our total expansion pipeline continued to grow, with 17.2% (or 231,389 sqm) of our rentable sqm
realized, being developed, acquired, under construction and secured, compared to 11.7% (or 149,308 sqm) in
2022.
PROPERTY LAYOUT
Although the size of our properties varies, most consist of multi-storey buildings. The rental units typically range
from one to 20 sqm in size. The average unit size is approximately six sqm, although unit sizes are typically
smaller in major metropolitan areas at approximately five to six sqm. As of December 31, 2023, we had
approximately 790 units on average at each property, and our properties had an average rentable area of nearly
5,100 sqm.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
33
OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL REVIEW
GROUP RESULTS
(in € thousands, except where
indicated otherwise)
Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- CER FY 2023 FY 2022 +/- +/- CER
Real estate operating revenue 92,805 88,662 5.3% 357,923 335,290 6.8% 8.3%
Real estate operating expense (28,644) (27,639) 4.1% (120,470) (113,821) 5.8% 7.2%
Net income from real estate
operations
64,161 61,023 5.8% 237,453 221,469 7.2% 8.9%
General, administrative and other
expenses
(8,190) (6,731) 21.7% (25,961) (22,515) 15.3% 15.5%
of which depreciation and
amortization expense
(893)
(763)
17.0%
(3,377)
(2,866)
17.8%
18.1%
Acquisition benefit of business
combinations
5 775 -99.4% 5 775 -99.4% -99.4%
Royalty fee expense (916) (855) 7.9% (3,531) (3,289) 7.4% 8.9%
Other expenses (926) - N/A (926) - N/A N/A
Operating profit before property
related adjustments
54,134 54,212 0.5% 207,040 196,440 5.4% 7.2%
Valuation gain from investment
property and investment property
under construction and gain on
disposal
170,339 185,605 -7.9% 294,350 586,181 -49.8% -49.1%
Operating profit 224,473 239,817 -6.0% 501,390 782,621 -35.9% -35.0%
Finance cost, net (5,427) (4,589) 19.1% (20,270) (20,785) -2.5% -0.6%
Profit before tax 219,046 235,228 -6.5% 481,120 761,836 -36.8% -35.9%
Income tax income/(expense) (40,612) (58,170) -29.9% 53,283 (186,235) -128.6% -128.9%
Attributable profit for the period 178,434 177,058 1.3% 534,403 575,601 -7.2% -5.7%
Profit attributable to non-
controlling interests
(461) (486) -5.1% (1,090) (1,317) -17.2% -17.2%
Profit attributable to ordinary
equity holders of the parent
177,973 176,572 1.3% 533,313 574,284 -7.1% -5.6%
Earnings per share attributable to
ordinary equity holders of the
parent:
Basic, profit for the period (in €) 1.91 1.98 -3.0% 5.91 6.45 -8.4% -6.8%
Diluted, profit for the period (in €) 1.90 1.97 -2.1% 5.89 6.40 -8.0% -6.5%
Adjusted EPRA earnings per share
(basic - in €)
0.47 0.45 6.2% 1.76 1.61 9.0% 10.9%
Average number of shares
(basic - in millions)
93.4 89.1 4.8% 90.2 89.1 1.3% 1.3%
The following discussion of Group revenue and expenses down to underlying EBITDA is on a constant exchange
rate (CER) basis, where 2022 actual exchange rate (AER) numbers are recalculated using 2023 exchange rates.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
34
REAL ESTATE OPERATING REVENUE
Our real estate operating revenue is comprised of property operating revenue, which includes rental revenue, fee
income from customer goods insurance and ancillary revenue, and other revenue.
(in € thousands) Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Rental revenue 81,204 75,203 8.0% 312,550 285,123 9.6%
Fee income from customer goods
insurance
1
8,648 8,130 6.4% 33,683 31,653 6.4%
Ancillary revenue
2
2,897 2,782 4.1% 11,468 11,453 0.1%
Property operating revenue (CER) 92,749 86,115 7.7% 357,701 328,229 9.0%
Other revenue
3
56 2,052 -97.3% 222 2,241 -90.1%
Real estate operating revenue (CER) 92,805 88,167 5.3% 357,923 330,470 8.3%
Foreign exchange impact - 495 -100.0% - 4,820 -100.0%
Real estate operating revenue (AER) 92,805 88,662 4.7% 357,923 335,290 6.8%
1 Fee income from providing customer goods coverage in scope of IFRS 15.
2 Ancillary revenue consists of merchandise sales and other revenue from real estate operations.
3 Other revenue consists of management fee revenue and other, non-recurring income resulting from operations.
Rental Revenue
Rental revenue is derived from our core business of renting storage units. The key levers of rental revenue growth
are more storage space (from acquisitions, new developments, and redevelopments), as well as higher occupancy
levels and higher rental rates.
In 2023, rental revenue increased by 9.6% to €312.6 million, from €285.1 million in 2022. This was driven by an
increase in rental rates combined with stable occupancy at our same stores, and the solid performance of our
non-same stores during their “ramp-up” phase, where occupancy and rental rates also rose strongly. Across our
expanded network, our closing rented sqm increased by 3.4% to 1,207 thousand sqm as of December 31, 2023
from 1,167 thousand sqm on December 31, 2022.
Fee income from customer goods insurance
Customers renting storage from Shurgard are required to have insurance coverage for their stored goods. They
can use their own insurance provider or Shurgard can offer its customers insurance protection via an independent
insurance company for customers’ stored goods. Any advice and claims regarding customer insurance are directly
handled by our insurance broker/insurer. Since 2021, the Company manages its insurable risks through a
combination of self-insurance and commercial insurance coverage for property damage, business interruption
and customer goods-related claims via our insurance captive.
As of December 31, 2023, fee income from customer goods insurance increased by 6.4% to €33.7 million (2022:
€31.7 million). This was driven by our non-same stores, an increase in the proportion of new customers in our
same store segment and an increase in the insurance premium.
Ancillary Revenue
Ancillary revenue is derived from the sale of products (cardboard boxes, locks and tape) in our properties. It also
includes other revenue from real estate operations. Ancillary revenue remained stable at 11.5 million in 2022
and 2023.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
35
REAL ESTATE OPERATING EXPENSE
(in € thousands) Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Payroll expense 10,810 10,611 1.9% 42,138 41,646 1.2%
Real estate and other taxes 2,745 2,121 29.4% 19,313 16,660 15.9%
Repairs and maintenance 3,325 3,025 9.9% 13,280 10,794 23.0%
Marketing expense 2,562 2,409 6.4% 9,887 9,052 9.2%
Utility expense 1,017 882 15.3% 3,939 3,521 11.9%
Doubtful debt expense 1,362 1,455 -6.4% 5,465 5,027 8.7%
Cost of insurance and merchandise sales
1
882 1,323 -33.3% 4,556 5,229 -12.9%
Other operating expenses
2
5,941 5,685 4.5% 21,892 20,481 6.9%
Real estate operating expense (CER) 28,644 27,511 4.1% 120,470 112,410 7.2%
Foreign exchange - 128 -100.0% - 1,411 -100.0%
Real estate operating expense (AER) 28,644 27,639 3.6% 120,470 113,821 5.8%
1 For the year ended December 31, 2023, the aggregate of cost of insurance and merchandise sales and other operating expense included €2.8 million captive
re-insurance revenue (same amount for the year ended December 31, 2022) and €2.0 million captive re-insurance service expense in scope of IFRS 17
(€2.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022).
2 Other operating expenses mainly include travel expenses, legal and consultancy fees, insurance expenses, non-deductible VAT, information system expenses
and property lease expenses.
During 2023, our real estate operating expenses went up by 7.2% at CER which is a slower pace than our revenue
growth. This can mainly be attributed to efficient cost management, despite some increases for certain types of
costs. The repairs and maintenance expense increased by 2.5 million following higher maintenance related
costs for enhancing the security and safety of properties, coupled with elevated insurance expenses. In addition,
and in line with our expectations, real estate and other taxes have gone up by €2.6 million, mainly driven by
France and the UK. Other operating expenses increased by1.4 million following higher software and other
license costs related to various digitalization projects, as well as the addition of new stores. Finally, marketing
expenses went up by €0.8 million, reflecting the higher costs of online advertising.
NET INCOME FROM REAL ESTATE OPERATIONS
Net income from real estate operations reflects the real estate operating revenue minus the real estate operating
expenses incurred in running our operations. Net income from real estate operations rose by 8.9%, to
€237.5 million in 2023, from €221.5 million in 2022. The growth indicates the strong strategic position of
Shurgard’s operating platform. We can leverage economies of scale as we acquire or develop properties, using
our standardized IT and marketing platform to contain costs and ensure our revenues grow faster than our
normalized expenses.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
36
Segment information
The following table shows the development of our property network (same stores and non-same stores) and our
property operating revenue split by the two segments on a year-on-year basis.
(at CER) Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/-
FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Same stores 240 240 - 240 240 -
Non-same stores 35 26 9 35 26 9
All Store 275 266 9 275 266 9
Same store property operating revenue
in € thousands
84,322 80,910 4.2% 329,595 311,825 5.7%
Non-same store property operating
revenue in € thousands
8,427 5,205 61.9% 28,106 16,404 71.3%
All store property operating revenue
in € thousands
92,749 86,115 7.7% 357,701 328,229 9.0%
Same stores
“Same stores” are all developed properties that have been in operation for at least three full years, and all
acquired properties that we have owned for at least one full year from the start of the year. The following table
shows certain performance measures across our same store portfolio.
(at CER ) Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Property KPIs at period end
Number of properties 240 240 - 240 240 -
Closing rentable sqm
1
1,201 1,198 0.2% 1,201 1,198 0.2%
Closing rented sqm
2
1,074 1,076 -0.2% 1,074 1,076 -0.2%
Closing occupancy rate
3
89.4% 89.8% -0.4pp 89.4% 89.8% -0.4pp
Property KPIs for the period
Average rented sqm
4
1,084 1,084 0.0% 1,085 1,083 0.1%
Average occupancy rate
5
90.3% 90.4% -0.2pp 90.4% 90.4% 0.0pp
Average in-place rent (in € per sqm)
6
273.8 261.7 4.6% 266.5 250.8 6.3%
Average revPAM (in € per sqm)
7
280.9 270.0 4.0% 274.7 260.3 5.5%
Financial KPIs for the period
Property operating revenue
8
in € thousands
84,322 80,910 4.2% 329,595 311,825 5.7%
Income from property (NOI)
9
in € thousands
59,360 56,085 5.8% 222,829 208,129 7.1%
NOI margin
10
70.4% 69.3% 1.1pp 67.6% 66.7% 0.9pp
1 Closing rentable sqm is presented in thousands of sqm and calculated as the sum of available sqm for customer storage use at our stores, as of the reporting date.
2 Closing rented sqm is presented in thousands of sqm and calculated as the sum of sqm rented by customers, as of the reporting date.
3 Closing occupancy rate for our same stores is presented as a percentage and calculated as the closing rented sqm in our same stores divided by closing rentable sqm in
our same stores, each as of the reporting date.
4 Average rented sqm is presented in thousands of sqm and calculated as the sum of sqm rented by customers, for the reporting period.
5 Average occupancy rate for our same stores is presented as a percentage and is calculated as the average of the rented sqm in our same stores divided by the average of
the rentable sqm in our same stores, each for the reporting period.
6 Average in-place rent is presented in euros per sqm per year and calculated as rental revenue, divided by the average rented sqm for the reporting period.
7 Average revPAM, which stands for revenue per available sqm, is presented in euros per sqm per year for the reporting period and calculated as property operating revenue,
divided by the average rentable sqm for the reporting period.
8 Property operating revenue for our same stores represents our revenue from operating our same stores, and comprises our rental revenue, fee income from customer
goods insurance and ancillary revenue.
9 Income from property operations (NOI) for our same stores is calculated as property operating revenue less real estate operating expense for our same stores, each for
the reporting period.
10 NOI margin for our same stores is calculated as income from property (NOI) divided by property operating revenue for our same stores, each for the reporting period.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
37
The average occupancy rates for our same store network remained stable at 90.4%. The average in-place rent
per sqm for our same store facilities grew by 6.3% to €266.5 in 2023 from €250.8 in 2022.
Property operating revenue generated by our same store facilities increased by €17.8 million or 5.7% to
329.6 million in 2023, driven by improvements in average in-place rental rates (up by 6.3%).
Income from property (NOI) for our same stores rose from €208.1 million in 2022 to €222.8 million in 2023,
reflecting our ability to control operating expenses and leverage strong sales. NOI margin for our same stores
increased to 67.6% in 2023 from 66.7% in the prior year period.
Non-same stores
Non-same stores are any properties that are not classified as same store in a given year. Occupancy and in-place
rent can vary greatly between these properties depending on their maturity.
Non-same store property operating revenue increased from 16.4 million in 2022 to €28.1 million in 2023. This
increase was due to the continued “ramp-up” at our new properties and the net addition of nine non-same
stores.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
38
OPERATIONS BY COUNTRY
All store
Property operating revenue
(in € thousands at CER)
Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
France 21,891 20,828 5.1% 85,378 79,596 7.3%
The Netherlands 20,125 18,129 11.0% 77,402 68,718 12.6%
The United Kingdom 18,524 17,219 7.6% 71,169 64,659 10.1%
Sweden 11,497 11,461 0.3% 46,111 44,878 2.7%
Germany 9,740 8,059 20.9% 34,963 29,981 16.6%
Belgium 6,935 6,534 6.1% 26,890 25,033 7.4%
Denmark 4,037 3,885 3.9% 15,788 15,365 2.8%
Total 92,749 86,115 7.7% 357,701 328,229 9.0%
Same store
Property operating revenue
(in € thousands at CER)
Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
France 19,864 19,463 2.1% 78,241 75,327 3.9%
The Netherlands 18,404 17,188 7.1% 71,362 65,820 8.4%
The United Kingdom 16,663 15,693 6.2% 64,332 60,038 7.2%
Sweden 11,090 11,354 -2.3% 44,642 44,771 -0.3%
Germany 7,329 6,793 7.9% 28,340 25,471 11.3%
Belgium 6,935 6,534 6.1% 26,890 25,033 7.4%
Denmark 4,037 3,885 3.9% 15,788 15,365 2.8%
Total 84,322 80,910 4.2% 329,595 311,825 5.7%
Same store
Average occupancy rate
1
Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/-
FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
France 88.9% 89.4% -0.5pp 89.3% 89.4% -0.1pp
The Netherlands 92.0% 91.2% 0.7pp 91.7% 90.7% 0.9pp
The United Kingdom 86.8% 88.1% -1.3pp 87.5% 88.3% -0.8pp
Sweden 90.7% 91.1% -0.4pp 91.1% 91.7% -0.6pp
Germany 90.7% 91.4% -0.6pp 90.9% 91.1% -0.1pp
Belgium 92.6% 92.2% 0.4pp 92.4% 91.7% 0.6pp
Denmark 92.2% 91.6% 0.6pp 91.7% 93.3% -1.6pp
Total 90.3% 90.4% -0.2pp 90.4% 90.4% 0.0pp
Same store
Average in-place rent
2
(at CER)
Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/-
FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
France 277.2 270.4 2.5% 271.5 260.1 4.4%
The Netherlands 238.7 224.3 6.4% 231.7 214.6 8.0%
The United Kingdom 381.7 354.8 7.6% 366.1 335.8 9.0%
Sweden 239.1 243.7 -1.9% 239.3 237.5 0.7%
Germany 294.1 270.1 8.9% 282.7 254.7 11.0%
Belgium 226.7 209.7 8.1% 217.3 201.3 7.9%
Denmark 293.9 284.1 3.4% 288.5 275.0 4.9%
Total 273.8 261.7 4.6% 266.5 250.8 6.3%
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
39
Same store
NOI margin
3
(at CER)
Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
France 70.5% 68.5% 1.9pp 63.9% 63.1% 0.8pp
The Netherlands 73.2% 73.2% 0.0pp 71.3% 70.1% 1.1pp
The United Kingdom 63.7% 64.3% -0.6pp 62.8% 63.2% -0.4pp
Sweden 72.3% 71.7% 0.6pp 71.6% 72.2% -0.6pp
Germany 72.8% 70.3% 2.5pp 70.8% 67.4% 3.4pp
Belgium 72.5% 68.9% 3.6pp 67.8% 65.3% 2.5pp
Denmark 71.6% 68.2% 3.4pp 71.6% 69.1% 2.5pp
Total 70.4% 69.3% 1.1pp 67.6% 66.7% 0.9pp
1 Average occupancy rate is presented as a percentage and is calculated as the average of the rented sqm divided by the average of the rentable sqm, each for
the reporting period.
2 Average in-place rent is presented in euros per sqm per year and calculated as rental revenue divided by the average rented sqm, each for the reporting
period.
3 NOI margin is calculated as income from property (NOI) divided by property operating revenue, each for the reporting period.
Compared to the same prior year period, our all store property operating revenue grew by 9.0% in 2023,
delivering revenue of €357.7 million, and confirming Shurgard’s resilience in challenging market conditions. All
our markets contributed to that performance, with three countries (The Netherlands, the UK and Germany)
delivering double-digit growth. This performance was achieved through our expansion, with nine new stores
offering 3.5% additional rentable sqm versus 2022, but also through the strong performance of our same store
segment.
Same store revenue in 2023 grew by 5.7% compared to the prior year, mainly fueled by an average in-place rent
increase of 6.3%, and stable average same store occupancy in the period. The Netherlands, the United Kingdom,
Germany, Belgium and France have performed robustly. As foreseen, the Nordics (Sweden and Denmark) are
impacted by difficult macro conditions and a uniquely competitive environment in Sweden.
In France, our largest market, 2023 same store revenue grew by 3.9% compared to the same prior
year period. This is attributed to a 4.4% rise in average in-place rent, with stable occupancy at
89.3%;
The Netherlands continues to perform very well in its same store segment. Revenue increased by
8.4% versus the prior year. Rental rates grew by 8.0% compared to 2022, and average occupancy
reached 91.7% (+0.9pp);
The United Kingdom (London) has demonstrated its resilience with same store revenue growth of
7.2%, fully driven by an increase in rental rates (+9.0%), while average occupancy decreased
slightly to 87.5% (-0.8pp);
Sweden’s same store revenue for 2023 was 0.3% lower than the prior year with a decelerating
trend in Q4 (-2.3% versus prior year
Q4). In-place rent increased by 0.7%, while occupancy
decreased by 0.6pp, although it is still at a very high level (91.1%);
In Germany, we saw the most impressive performance in all our markets, driven by a double-digit
increase in rental rates of 11.0% compared to 2022. Despite a 0.1pp decrease in occupancy (to
90.9%), we achieved 11.3% revenue growth versus the prior year;
Belgium’s revenue grew 7.4% versus the prior year, supported by a 7.9% increase in rental rates,
coupled with all time high occupancy levels (+0.6pp versus the prior year) at 92.4%;
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
40
In Denmark (Copenhagen), rental rates rose by 4.9%. This growth was partly offset by a 1.6pp
occupancy decline (although occupancy still remained high at 91.7%) versus the prior year,
resulting in revenue growth of 2.8%;
Shurgard’s overall same store revenue performance was negatively impacted by a weaker SEK
(-7% or -€3.6 million) and GBP (-2% or -€1.2 million) against the EUR.
GENERAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND OTHER EXPENSES
(in € thousands, at CER) Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Payroll expense 3,340 2,970 12.5% 12,211 11,976 2.0%
Share-based compensation expense 1,054 922 14.3% 4,183 3,904 7.1%
Capitalization of internal time spent on
development
(1,141) (1,063) 7.3% (4,233) (3,807) 11.2%
Depreciation and amortization expense 893 763 17.0% 3,377 2,859 18.1%
Other general and administrative
expenses
1
4,044 3,135 29.0% 10,423 7,552 38.0%
Total 8,190 6,727 21.7% 25,961 22,484 15.5%
1 Other general and administrative expenses mainly include legal, consultancy and audit fees and non-deductible VAT.
General, administrative and other expenses increased by 15.5%, from €22.5 million in 2022 to €26.0 million in
2023. This mainly came from other general and administrative expenses which increased by €2.8 million. This
increase reflects higher advisory fees following recent acquisitions and developments, and an increase in lawyers’
fees in light of the conversion to a UK REIT and other projects. Our payroll expenses have gone up by €0.2 million
versus the prior year, mainly resulting from new hires to support our development plans, while the capitalization
of internal time spent went up by €0.4 million, reflecting our greater development pipeline. Depreciation and
amortization also went up by €0.5 million following our continued investment in IT improvement and
digitalization projects.
ROYALTY FEE EXPENSE
We pay our shareholder Public Storage a royalty fee equal to 1.0% of revenues (net of doubtful debt expenses)
in exchange for the rights to use the “Shurgard” trade name and other services. In 2023, we incurred royalty fees
of €3.5 million.
OPERATING PROFIT BEFORE PROPERTY RELATED ADJUSTMENTS
Operating profit before property related adjustments increased by 5.4%, from €196.4 million in 2022 to €207.0
million in 2023, reflecting the operational strength of the core business (before non-cash adjustments and
exceptional items).
UNDERLYING EBITDA
(in € thousands) Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Operating profit before property related
adjustments
54,134 54,212 -0.1% 207,040 196,440 5.4%
Depreciation and amortization expense 893 763 17.0% 3,377 2,866 17.8%
Other
1
1,141 362 214.9% 2,552 459 455.7%
Underlying EBITDA (AER)
56,168
55,337
1.5%
212,969
199,765
6.6%
Foreign exchange - (358) -100.0% - (3,338) -100.0%
Underlying EBITDA (CER)
56,168
54,979
2.2%
212,969
196,427
8.4%
1 Other includes (i) acquisition and dead deals costs (€1.6 million), (ii) cease-use lease expense (€0.0 million) and (iii) ERP implementation fees and costs of
capital raise (€0.9 million).
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
41
At constant exchange rates, underlying EBITDA rose by 8.4% in 2023, from €196.4 million the previous year to
213.0 million this year, mainly supported by an increase in property operating revenue of 9.0%.
VALUATION GAINS FROM INVESTMENT PROPERTY, INVESTMENT PROPERTY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND
RIGHT-OF-USE INVESTMENT PROPERTY
The Company recognized a valuation gain from investment property, investment property under construction
and the Right of Use Investment Property (ROU IP) of €294.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, which
compares to a valuation gain of €586.2 million for last year. The valuation assumptions made by external valuers
Cushman & Wakefield include predicted occupancy levels, rental rates, expenses, and other factors that,
depending on each assumption, can cause substantial fluctuations in valuation gains each year. Exit cap rate
remained in line with the previous valuation (from 5.19% in December 2022 to 5.22% on December 31, 2023)
The valuation gain of €294.4 million, combined with capital expenditure, and exchange rate fluctuations, resulted
in an increase in total investment property value of €512.0 million to €5,035.8 million (+11.3%), compared to
December 31, 2022.
OPERATING PROFIT
Operating profit decreased by 35.9% from €782.6 million in 2022 to €501.4 million in 2023, mostly due to
291.8 million lower gains on valuation from investment property.
FINANCE COSTS, NET
(in € thousands) FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Interest expense 23,247 21,320 9.0%
Interest income (3,120) (622) N/A
Foreign exchange (gain)/loss 143 88 63.3%
Finance cost, net 20,270 20,784 -2.5%
Net finance costs decreased by 2.5% (or €0.5 million) to €20.3 million in 2023 from €20.8 million in 2022. This
is mainly due to interest income on short term deposits and higher capitalized interests (increased development
pipeline).
INCOME TAX EXPENSE
(in € thousands) FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Current tax expense 29,419 30,311 -2.9%
Deferred tax (income) / expense (82,702) 155,924 -153.0%
Income tax (income) / expense (53,283) 186,235 -128.6%
Adjusted EPRA earnings effective tax rate
1
15.7% 17.4% -1.8pp
1 Adjusted EPRA earnings effective tax rate is current tax expenses divided by adjusted EPRA earnings before tax.
Current tax expense decreased by €0.9 million from €30.3 million in 2022 to €29.4 million in 2023, supported by
our UK REIT status. As a result of the Group becoming a REIT in UK, we reversed €161.2 million deferred tax
liabilities for our UK entities during the first half of 2023. The adjusted EPRA earnings effective tax rate for 2023
ended at 15.7%, compared to 17.4% in 2022.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
42
ATTRIBUTABLE PROFIT AND ATTRIBUTABLE PROFIT PER SHARE
For 2023, €533.3 million (2022: €574.3 million) profit was attributable to the shareholders of Shurgard
Self Storage Ltd, and €1.1 million (2022: €1.3 million) was attributable to non-controlling interests. Based on the
average number of shares (2023: 90.2 million), this translates to basic earnings of 5.91 per share.
EPRA KPIS
(in € thousands, except where indicated) FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
EPRA Earnings 156,186 144,225 8.3%
Adjusted EPRA Earnings 158,401 143,556 10.3%
Capital Expenditure 181,154 188,887 -4.1%
EPRA Vacancy Rate 13.2% 13.1% 0.2pp
EPRA LFL Rental Growth
1
6.4% 9.5% -3.1pp
EPRA Cost ratio (including direct vacancy costs) 46.5% 46.6% -0.1pp
EPRA Cost ratio (excluding direct vacancy costs) 46.5% 46.6% -0.1pp
EPRA Net Initial Yield (NIY) 5.4% 5.6% -0.2pp
EPRA Net Initial Yield 'topped-up' NIY 5.4% 5.6% -0.2pp
1 Shurgard classifies as “LFL” (i) all developed stores that have been in operation for at least three full years; and (ii) all acquired stores that we have owned
for at least one full year, each measured as of January 1 of the relevant year.
2 2022 restated to include real estate tax and cost of management rather than only leasehold expense in property outgoings.
We have identified certain non-GAAP measures that we believe give a good reflection of the performance of our
underlying business. They are based on definitions from the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) in
their best practice guidelines dated August 2022. They include EPRA earnings and adjusted EPRA earnings which
are presented in detail below. The basis on which we calculate these EPRA KPIs are illustrated in the Appendix
of the Annual Report (Alternative Performance Measures).
EPRA EARNINGS
(in € thousands, except for EPRA EPS) FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the
parent
533,313 574,284 -7.1%
Adjustments:
Gain on revaluation of investment properties
1
(294,350) (586,181) -49.8%
Acquisition costs of business combinations and other (5) (775) -99.2%
Current and deferred tax in respect of EPRA adjustments (83,484) 155,878 -153.6%
Non-controlling interests in respect of the above 712 1,019 -30.1%
EPRA earnings 156,186 144,225 8.3%
EPRA earnings per share (basic - in €) 1.73 1.62 7.0%
EPRA earnings per share (diluted - in €) 1.73 1.61 7.3%
1 Including investment property under construction and right-of-use investment property assets.
EPRA earnings exclude acquisition costs which can fluctuate depending on the number and size of acquisitions,
the gains or losses on the revaluation of investment property, and other asset sales which are not part of the
operational running of the business.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
43
ADJUSTED EPRA EARNINGS
(in € thousands, except for Adjusted EPRA EPS) FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
EPRA earnings 156,186 144,225 8.3%
Company specific adjustments:
Non-recurring expenses/(income)
1
1,062 (1,269) -183.8%
Tax adjustments
2
1,153 600 92.1%
Adjusted EPRA earnings 158,401 143,556 10.3%
Adjusted EPRA earnings per share (basic - in €) 1.76 1.61 9.0%
Adjusted EPRA earnings per share (diluted - in €) 1.75 1.60 9.3%
1 Non-recurring expenses/(income) consist of fees related to capital increase, new ERP implementation, conversion to a UK REIT and exceptional reimbursement related to
lease termination in Germany in 2022.
2 Tax adjustments consist of (i) deferred tax expense on items other than revaluation of investment property, (ii) net impact of tax assessments and (iii) current income tax
effect of the Company specific adjustment items included in this Adjusted EPRA earnings table.
Adjusted EPRA earnings exclude significant one-off items that arise from events and transactions distinct from
the Company’s regular operating activities, and deferred tax expenses on items other than the revaluation of
investment property. In 2023, adjusted EPRA earnings were €158.4 million, 10.3% higher than the €143.6 million
in 2022.
RECONCILIATION OF UNDERLYING EBITDA TO ADJUSTED EPRA EARNINGS
(in € thousands, at CER) FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Underlying EBITDA 212,969 199,765 6.6%
Net attributable profit adjustments:
Cease-use lease (expense)/benefit (2) (185) -98.9%
Other expenses (926) - N/A
Depreciation and amortization expense (3,377) (2,866) 17.8%
Finance costs, net (20,270) (20,785) -2.5%
Current tax expense (29,419) (30,311) -2.9%
Non-controlling interests, net of EPRA adjustments (2,008) (1,347) 49.0%
Company specific EPRA adjustments:
Non-recurring expenses/(income)
1
1,062 (1,269) -183.8%
Tax adjustments
2
371 554 -33.0%
Adjusted EPRA earnings 158,401 143,556 10.3%
1. Non-recurring expenses/(income) consist of fees related to capital increase, new ERP implementation, conversion to a UK REIT and exceptional reimbursement related to
lease termination in Germany.
2. Tax adjustments consist of (i) deferred tax expense on items other than revaluation of investment property, (ii) net impact of tax assessments and (iii) current income tax
effect of the Company specific adjustment items included in this Adjusted EPRA earnings table.
Adjusted EPRA earnings increased by 10.3% mainly due to a 6.6% increase in underlying EBITDA and further
strengthened by the exclusion of the exceptional reimbursement related to lease termination in Germany
(€2.0 million).
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
44
EPRA NAV METRICS
The table below provides a summarized overview of the Company’s key Alternative Performance Measures (APM)
that are NAV related, consisting of NAV, EPRA NRV, EPRA NTA and EPRA NDV:
(in € thousands) FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Net Asset Value (NAV) 3,614,217 2,860,993 26.3%
EPRA Net Restatement Value (NRV) 4,708,381 3,989,647 18.0%
EPRA Net Tangible Assets (NTA) 4,307,807 3,638,892 18.4%
EPRA Net Disposal Value (NDV) 3,667,931 2,974,095 23.3%
The basis of calculation for each of the measures set out above are illustrated in the Appendix of the Annual
Report (Alternative Performance Measures).
LIQUIDITY
Our primary cash requirements are for operating expenses, debt servicing, improvements to existing properties,
developments, and acquisitions of new properties, and for the payment of dividends. We expect to continue to
fund these requirements with operating cash flow, our existing cash position and future borrowings under our
current bank credit facility or other borrowings or equity issuances.
Our loan-to-value ratio on December 31, 2023, was 13.0%, (18.0% as of December 31, 2022). The decrease in
the ratio was due to a decrease in our net debt combined with an increase in market value. We are targeting a
loan-to-value ratio of 25%, with a short-to-mid-term maximum of 35%.
We maintain (local currency) cash and cash equivalent balances at banking institutions in most countries we
operate. It is our policy that investments of surplus funds are made only with approved counterparties with a
minimum investment grade credit rating.
CASH FLOW OVERVIEW
(in € thousands) FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Cash flows from operating activities 187,361 186,534 0.4%
Cash flows from investing activities (180,371) (183,383) -1.6%
Cash flows from financing activities 162,377 (132,002) -223.0%
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 169,367 (128,851) -231.4%
Effect of exchange rate fluctuation 1,406 (2,974) -147.3%
Cash and cash equivalents as of January 1 87,345 219,170 -60.1%
Cash and cash equivalents as of December 31 258,118 87,345 195.5%
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Operating cash inflow improved by 0.4% from €186.5 million in 2022 to €187.4 million in 2023. This was mainly
due to an €11.0 million increase in cash flows from operations mostly offset by €6.6 million of unfavorable
movements in working capital, and €3.5 million increased income tax payments.
The movement in working capital consists of4.9 million of decreased movements in accrued expenses, VAT
payable and accounts payable and €1.2 million decreased movement in trade and other receivables and €0.5
million decreased movements in deferred revenue.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
45
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Our cash outflow from investing activities decreased by €3.0 million, from €183.4 million in the year ended
December 31, 2022, to €180.4 million in the year ended December 31, 2023. This was primarily due to €8.4 million
reduced spending on acquisitions, €2.5 million increased income from our cash deposits and €0.1 million reduced
spending on property, plant and equipment, partially offset by €6.7 million decreased proceeds from the disposal
of investment property and lease termination and €0.7 million increased spending on intangible assets.
Cash outflows in relation to capital expenditure on investment property under construction and completed
investment property increased from €111.3 million in 2022 to €111.9 million in 2023.
These cash flows fluctuate over years, as construction expenditures depend on the stage of the various
development projects at that time. In 2023, we opened five new properties, and acquired five properties from
self-storage competitors (for a total of 64,600 sqm). During last year, we opened seven properties and acquired
seven more (for a total of 65,400 sqm). We refer to our project pipeline on page 19.
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Cash inflow during the year ended December 31, 2023, was €162.4 million, representing a rise of €294.4 million
versus the €132.0 million net cash outflow during the last year.
The increase of net cash inflow was mainly the result of our €300.0 million equity issuance, €2.6 million reduced
dividend payments and €0.3 million decreased lease obligation payments. These positive fluctuations were
partially offset by €5.3 million increased equity issuance and financing related costs, €1.6 million increased
interest payments and the absence in 2023 of €1.6 million proceeds of the sale of treasury shares that we had
in 2022.
EFFECT FROM EXCHANGE RATE FLUCTUATIONS
During 2023, we had a €1.4 million positive effect of exchange rate fluctuations on our cash flow movements,
which compares to a €3.0 million unfavorable effect during the prior year period.
FINANCIAL POSITION
TOTAL ASSETS
During 2023, the Company’s total assets increased by 14.9% from €4,659.8 million on December 31, 2022, to
€5,353.9 million on December 31, 2023, mainly due to the €512.0 million increase in investment property and
investment property under construction (IPUC), and an increase in cash of €170.8 million.
As of December 31, 2023, approximately 94.4% of the Company’s total assets consisted of non-current assets.
Investment property (including right-of-use investment property) and IPUC represent 94.1% of total assets.
Investment property
Investment property (including IPUC but excluding IP ROU assets recognized under IFRS 16) increased by 11.3%
(or €500.8 million) in the year ended December 31, 2023, to €4,929.4 million. The main reasons are incremental
expenditure of €113.8 million, predominantly for developments and redevelopments, and acquisitions of €67.3
million. In addition, the Company recognized €297.9 million of favorable fair value revaluation income and €21.8
million from favorable exchange rate fluctuations on its investment property and investment property under
construction.
Cash and cash equivalents
The Company had cash and cash equivalents of €258.1 million as of December 31, 2023, compared to
€87.3 million cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2022, an increase of €170.8 million.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
46
CAPITAL RESOURCES AND FINANCING STRUCTURE
Shurgard’s financial resources comprise the Company’s total equity as well as certain debt financing instruments.
The Company’s total equity increased by €754.3 million from €2,867.8 million on December 31, 2022, to
€3,622.1 million on December 31, 2023, mainly due to €534.4 million net profit realized during the period, €22.3
million revaluation gain on consolidation of our Swedish, Danish and British operations because of favorable
currency movements, €4.2 million increase in share-based compensation reserves and €297.7 million net
proceeds from the issuance of equity. These increases were partially offset by €104.3 million dividend distribution
in 2023.
As of December 31, 2023, the equity ratio was 67.7% (December 31, 2022: 61.5%).
(in € thousands) FY 2023 FY 2022
Total equity 3,622,122 2,867,808
Total equity and liabilities 5,353,877 4,659,831
Equity ratio 67.7% 61.5%
Shurgard has issued senior guaranteed notes in the years 2014, 2015 and 2021 with a total nominal amount of
€800 million and remaining maturities varying between 2024 and 2031. Effective interest rates vary from 1.3%
to 3.4%.
Shurgard has a €250 million syndicated revolving loan facility maturing in October 2025 and entered in April
2023 into a €450 million term loan facility agreement with BNP Paribas Fortis Bank NV/SA, Belfius Bank SA/NV,
ABN Amro Bank NV, KBC Bank NV/SA and Banque International à Luxembourg SA (with BNP Paribas Fortis bank
as agent) with maturity of three years, which can be extended at the option of the Company by an additional
period of up to two years. During October 2023, the company drew €160 million from the term loan facility and
reduced the Company's remaining borrowing capacity under the term loan facility to €290 million. The €160
million was repaid during December 2023. See Note 28 to our consolidated financial statements.
As of December 31, 2023, we had no outstanding borrowings under these facilities, and the commitment fee on
the undrawn amounts was equal to 35% of the applicable margins, or 0.16% and 0.42%, respectively.
DIVIDEND
It is the Company’s objective to pay dividends in May and September/October of each year. The amount of any
interim or final dividends and the determination of whether to pay dividends in any year may be affected by a
number of factors, including our earnings, business prospects and financial performance, the condition of the
market, the general economic climate and other factors considered important by the Board of Directors.
100
130
100
110
60
300
2024 2025 2026 2027 2030 2031
Debt maturity profile (€ million)
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
47
We have proposed a total dividend of €1.17 per share for the year 2023. With respect to the first half of 2023, our
Board of Directors approved an interim dividend of €51.7 million or €0.58 per share paid on October 5, 2023. The
Board of Directors recommended, subject to shareholders’ approval, a final dividend for the year 2023 of €0.59
per share (€57.4 million, taking into account the number of outstanding shares as of December 31, 2023).
The second and final dividend on 2023 results will be payable on or around May 29, 2024 to Shareholders on the
record at close of business on May 28, 2024.
EMPLOYEES
Our employees play a crucial role in the success of our organization by providing our customers with outstanding
levels of service and support. We facilitate this by ensuring our people are well trained and motivated, with clear
career progression, and feel safe and supported at work.
Due to the company’s focus on digitalization, which amongst other initiatives includes our e-rental service, our
workforce has decreased in 2023 compared to the prior year. The following table shows the number of full-time
equivalent employees by category of activity as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively:
FY 2023
FY 2022
+/-
Store personnel 538
547
-9
Operational management 50
46
4
Support functions 121
123
-2
Total 709
716
-7
RISKS
Shurgard is exposed to several risks that are described in detail in the "Principal Risks and Uncertainties” section
of the 2023 Annual Report.
EVENTS AFTER THE REPORTING PERIOD
Please refer to Note 39 in the Notes to the consolidated financial statements of this report.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
48
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
49
1. SHURGARD’S ESG HIGHLIGHTS
1.1 ENVIRONMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS
1.2 SOCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
1.3 GOVERNANCE HIGHLIGHTS
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
50
1.4 EXTERNAL AGENCIES AND BENCHMARKS
Shurgard participates in several surveys and initiatives led by external agencies and benchmarks and is proud to
be recognized as an ESG leader in its sector. Through these ratings, the organizations confirm the quality of our
initiatives and the completeness and transparency of our reporting to our stakeholders.
1
1 Learn more about MSCI ESG ratings here.
2 Copyright ©2021 Sustainalytics. All rights reserved. This section contains information developed by Sustainalytics (www.sustainalytics.com ). Such information
and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not
constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular
purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at https://www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
51
1.5 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
In 2015, the member states of the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a universal
call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. As
a responsible company, we are committed to contributing to the SDGs as recommended by the United Nations.
Therefore, we have identified the following most significant SDGs for our company:
The SDG framework brings together society, governments and businesses to drive positive change. As a responsible
company, Shurgard is determined to play an active role, on its own scale, contributing materially to these SDGs via
our sustainability strategy. To affirm this, Shurgard has been a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact
since 2021.
GRI 2-28
CLIMATE ACTION
We understand our role in mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change, and
our net zero carbon goals demonstrate our commitment to urgent climate action.
RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
By its nature, our business enables people to reduce their waste footprint, and we seek
to ensure that our own material consumption is sourced and disposed of responsibly.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
We play our part in making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, by developing
modern, resource-efficient stores which provide excellent service to their communities.
NO POVERTY
We organize charity events and provide services to vulnerable communities, to contribute to
creating a world without poverty.
GOOD HEALTH AND WELLBEING
We help to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all of our customers and
employees, by making our stores safe and supportive environments for all.
AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
By continually seeking to source energy sustainably at our stores, we support the
transition to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
As a responsible business, we are always ensuring that we provide decent, equal work
to all our employees, as part of an economy which is fairer for everyone.
LIFE ON LAND
We seek to preserve nature and biodiversity wherever possible at our development sites,
constructing green buildings and respecting ground permits.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
52
1.6 MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO
GRI 2-14 / 2-22
Message from Marc Oursin
Chief Executive Officer
Welcome to our annual sustainability report
2023.
ESG considerations are of great importance to our s
takeholders and our organization. In the pursuit of sustainability
and responsible corporate citizenship, Shurgard
continues to be on a transformative journey.
Shurgard's commitment to sustainability is evident in our tangible achievements. We
have
reduced energy
consumption and carbon emissions significantly, particularly with green
-energy procurement. Heat pumps are now in
26
of our 108 gas-heated stores, and we have adopted LED lighting, a Building Management Systems (BMS), and smart
water meters for centralized tracking. These accomplishments demonstrate our dedication to addressing climate
change.
The acceleration of our ESG
program has been recognized by the awards and ratings we have received from reputable
ESG frameworks. We improved our score in S&P Global’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment by a further 4 points,
placing us in the world’s top 9% of scores achieved by real estate companies this year. We were awarded an
outstanding 5
-star rating (the top banding) and a score of 91 out of 100 in the GRESB 2023 results. We have reaffirmed
the MSCI ESG Rating of AA, only one grade away from their h
ighest level. Achieving recognition through these ESG
ratings inspires Shurgard to reach even greater heights in sustainability. It sends a powerful message to our employees,
partners, and stakeholders that their collective efforts are
making a difference.
As Chief Executive Officer, I, alongside my colleagues, work to develop and implement our ESG strategy. To do that, we
set up an efficient governance structure which
consists of the ESG Committee at Board level and a formal, cross-
departmental ESG Management Group entrusted to implement the ESG goals of the
company. This level of ESG
oversight
reflects the importance of sustainability across our organization. We also demonstrate our commitment to
uphold
ing good governance practices by continually striving to improve our corporate governance. In 2023, we reduced
the board size from 11 to 9 directors and
increased diversity by nominating Tom Boyle and Lorna Brown to the Board.
To monitor our ESG progress, we prioritize transparent reporting. This 2023 report demonstrates our commitment to
accountability. It features enhanced transparency with a double materiality matrix, risk analysis, and our refined
net
z
ero carbon strategy. These steps align us with CSRD compliance, preparing us for expanded reporting and assurance
requirements.
Our employees have been instrumental in driving
Shurgard’s sustainability initiatives. Our dedication to the workforce
has been recognized through our accreditation by Investors in People, where we have earned a prestigious Silver medal.
This recognition stems from a thorough assessment of our employees' needs an
d valuable feedback. Furthermore, our
rating of 4.
7 on Glassdoor, a testament to our employees' experiences, supports our commitment to aligning with their
needs and aspirations.
Shurgard’s
commitment to sustainability extends beyond our corporate walls. Through our community outreach
programs, we have positively impacted the lives of communities where we operate. This year, we have continued our
charity programs and provided support to the
most vulnerable groups in all of our seven countries.
While our sustainability progress has been remarkable, we recognize the challenges
of the rapidly changing world. The
main challenge is to maintain our sector leadership while upholding our high performance.
We also face the challenge
of
navigating the complexities of implementing solar solutions across seven countries. However, we view these
challenges not as obstacles but as opportunities for innovation and growth, moving us further towards
achieving our
sustainability goals.
Today, the ESG trajectory of the
Company is clear. We have an effective formula designed to achieve our objectives by
2030 and 2040 through the combination of talented people,
a resilient financial framework, and a supportive Board.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
53
2. SHURGARD SELF STORAGE
Shurgard is the largest owner and operator of self-storage properties (“stores) in Europe.
Our network of 276 stores (including one store under management contract) comprises approximately 1.4 million
rentable square meters and serves c. 190,000 customers in France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK),
Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and Denmark.
At the date of report compilation, we employ 715 personnel (57.6% men, 42.4% women), with a range of about 40
nationalities (top three: 24.6% French, 17.4% Dutch and 13.5% Belgian).
GRI 2-6 / 2-7
2.1 HOW WE OPERATE
Shurgard commenced operations in 1995 and is one of the pioneers of the self-storage concept in Europe.
We
generate revenue through the lease of storage units and related activities.
Our real estate operating revenue and income from property have increased steadily in recent years, as we
increased occupancy and rental rates, while growing our footprint through redevelopments, new developments and
acquisitions.
We integrate local expertise in the seven countries where we operate, with centralized in-house
capabilities to provide a consistent experience to residential and commercial customers. We primarily operate in
urban areas across Europe, with approximately 93% of our properties located in capital and major cities.
2.2 OUR DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
Shurgard has an established track record of redeveloping, developing, and acquiring stores.
Between December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2023, we developed 32 new stores, completed redevelopment
projects at 33 stores, and acquired 64 stores from competitors, a total of 129 stores.
Our investment criteria are focused on acquiring and developing high-quality properties that are easily accessible
by our customers in markets we believe have strong growth potential.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
54
3. RISK ASSESSEMENT AND DOUBLE MATERIALITY
We aim to address the ESG topics that materially affect Shurgard and our stakeholders. We seek to identify both
the risks and opportunities that will impact our ability to operate successfully and create long-term value, as well
as the topics that matter for our stakeholders, to drive continual positive and transformational change.
To achieve this, we first identified and engaged with our stakeholders. We drew up a list of potentially relevant
sustainability topics and defined the related impacts, risks, and opportunities. We assessed the importance of each
topic, through impact and financial materiality assessments, as prescribed by the European Financial Reporting
Advisory Group (EFRAG), and this informed our double materiality matrix.
3.1 OUR STAKEHOLDERS
We define stakeholders as individuals, groups or organizations that may benefit or be affected by our business
activities. Our key stakeholders have been identified and prioritized according to the level of sustainability impact
we believe our operations might have on their activities, and, in turn, their potential sustainability impact on our
activities.
We place great importance on building lasting relationships with our stakeholders. Our success depends on
the quality of the interactions we build inside and outside Shurgard, and this requires an understanding of
their expectations.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
55
We are committed to:
Maintaining a strong corporate governance structure to manage risks and take advantage of
opportunities;
Providing first rate services to advance the environment and society;
Engaging with stakeholders in an ethical and socially responsible manner;
Requiring all our suppliers to comply with the Suppliers’ Code of Conduct by including a clause in all
our contracts;
Pursuing efforts to reduce carbon emissions and protect biodiversity;
Adhering to no deforestation considerations as directed by local regulations and incorporating this
into the design process of our buildings;
Fostering a working environment that supports employee health and safety, diversity and inclusion;
Collating social and environmental measurements to assess our progress in meeting these
commitments;
Sharing data on sustainability indicators with stakeholders to continuously improve our performance.
GRI 2-29
3.2 RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Stakeholders are increasingly concerned by how companies operate, and the impact of their activities on society.
Such trends give rise to specific risks and opportunities. Understanding them and their potential impact on the
commitments we make is at the heart of Shurgard‘s sustainable approach. The way we manage risks allows us to
see how risks interact over time and at different stress levels. It benefits from our commitment to transparency
and informed decision-making. By adhering to monitoring our risks and opportunities, we commit to a long-term
resilient business model.
The risks and opportunities highlighted below are detailed and scored according to the importance of the topics
for our stakeholders (impact materiality), or for our business and operations (financial materiality). They have been
considered as part of our double materiality exercise, detailed in Chapter “3.3 Double materiality matrix”. For more
details on all financial risks and uncertainties, please refer to the “Principal Risks and Uncertainties” chapter of our
2023 Annual Report.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
56
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
57
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
58
3.3 DOUBLE MATERIALITY MATRIX
Our initial double materiality assessment, covering both financial as well as environmental and social materiality,
was conducted in 2023 to ensure that we are addressing the most important sustainability issues. This exercise
incorporates both an internal assessment and the feedback received from our various stakeholders (customer
feedback, supplier surveys, investor days, employees’ feedback, etc.) on various topics. The outcome is reflected in
the objectives defined in our updated Environmental Management System (EMS). Every year, the ESG Management
Group identifies and assesses the relative importance of specific ESG and sustainability topics for Shurgard,
considering the feedback received from our stakeholders. A sustainability topic or information meets the criteria
of double materiality if it is material from the environmental impact perspective or from the financial perspective
or from both perspectives.
The Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for considering the below matrix, i.e. how sustainability topics
interrelate with our business strategy and developing sustainability materiality processes that link with the wider
risk management process.
GRI 3-1 / 3-2 / 3-3
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
59
3.4 OUR MATERIAL TOPICS
The table below summarizes the topics that have been assessed to be material and provides a reference where the
topic will be discussed further in this report:
Material topics Where to read more
GHG emissions
4.1Transition to low carbon-economy
Climate change adaptation & resilience 4.2 – Resilience of properties to climate risks
Pollution
4.1 Transition to low carbon-economy
4.4 – Responsible waste management
Resources use & circular economy 4.4 – Responsible waste management
Employee diversity, equality & inclusion
5.1 Safe and inclusive workplace
Employee health and safety 5.1 Safe and inclusive workplace
Employee development, attraction & retention
5.2 Invest in the development of our people
5.3 Share and live the Shurgard Culture
Customerswelfare and safety
6.1 Best-in class customer service
6.2 Customersprivacy & safety
Customers privacy
6.2 Customersprivacy & safety
Local communities’ wellbeing 6.3 Positive impact on local communities
Workers in the value chain
6.4 Encouraging ESG best-practices in our supply chain
Corporate governance 7.1 High governance standards
Business ethics
7.2 Business ethics and Code of Conduct
Data and cyber security 7.3 Data and cyber security
Product lifecycle management
4.1 Transition to low carbon-economy
4.4 Responsible waste management
6.4 Encouraging ESG best-practices in our supply chain
Compliance with regulatory framework
3.6 Recognition from external agencies and benchmarks
7.1 High governance standards
8 – GRI, EPRA and EU Taxonomy
GRI 3-2 / 3-3
Other areas have been identified in connection with our activities but have not been selected as priorities. We
integrate them into the monitoring and measurement system used to further develop our sustainability program
under our EMS. Our main topics of double materiality impact are directly linked to the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). We monitor our sustainability program in line with the most significant SDGs for our
business sector. Through our actions, our investment strategies, our partnerships, and our decisions, we seek to
provide concrete responses to the SDGs that concern us.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
60
3.5 SUSTAINABILITY AIMS
We have translated our sustainability topics into concrete sustainability goals, grouped into four pillars:
“Sustainable self storage”, “Employer of choice”, “Positive impact on society” and “Ethics and Governance”.
Whether serving our customers, developing our employees, growing in a sustainable manner, or building
relationships with communities, we focus on what is good for business and for a sustainable future. This leads to
responsible investment solutions and decisions, with enhanced value for all our stakeholders. We look forward to
continuing to work to make positive changes, relentlessly advancing self-storage solutions for every move in life.
Each of these sustainability goals will be discussed separately in further detail in this report.
GRI 2-23 / 2-24
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
61
4. SUSTAINABLE SELF STORAGE
As an owner and operator of real estate, we understand our impact on the built environment and the importance
of managing that impact in a sustainable manner. Storage assets generally have low operational environmental
impacts due to minimal utility use, given the nature of our business. Nonetheless, we continue to explore and,
where feasible, implement solutions designed to mitigate climate change risk, reduce our carbon emissions, and
limit our overall impact on the environment.
At the heart of our environmental commitment lies our robust Environmental Management System (EMS). This
systematic framework integrates our sustainability objectives with comprehensive strategies for environmental
conservation and risk mitigation. The EMS guides our actions, enabling us to measure, monitor, and continuously
improve our environmental performance across our operations. Through structured processes, data-driven insights,
and stakeholder engagement, our EMS empowers us to proactively address challenges, optimize resource
utilization, and uphold compliance with environmental regulations. We believe that using EMS supports continuous
improvement in our ESG results. Shurgard’s EMS is aligned with the International Standards Organization (ISO)
14001 standard.
We recognize the crucial importance of sustainable design in our buildings and consider appropriate measures in
all our construction and refurbishment work. Where possible, we seek passive design solutions that aim to reduce
heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation energy use. Our external design and material specifications aim to
incorporate the benefits of thermal mass and reduce cooling energy use. We also utilize a range of technologies to
minimize heat transfer (particularly in climate- and/or humidity-controlled storage). To ensure proper land use,
we seek expert advice and endeavor to conduct works in a sustainable manner.
Natural hazards including severe storms and flooding may impact our operations and our real estate assets.
Comprehensive business continuity plans detail our management and operational approach in hazardous
situations. In case remedy actions are required, we seek expert advice and, always and where possible, we conduct
works in a sustainable manner.
We follow the Greenhouse Gas Protocol standards to measure and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under
Scopes 1 and 2. Further, we have initiated work to quantify our most material categories of Scope 3 emissions. See
chapter 4.1 for further details.
GRI 2-22 / 2-23 / 2-24
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
62
4.1 TRANSITION TO LOW-CARBON ECONOMY
The general consensus is that there is a need to substantially reduce carbon emissions, to keep global warming
below 1.5°C and reduce the impact of climate change on human society and nature.
The topic has risen in prominence, as countries, cities, companies, and others are increasingly committed to
decarbonizing their operations. Regulations have been introduced to direct the real estate sector towards energy
efficiency and emissions reduction, and Shurgard is required to adhere to them.
According to the International Energy Agency, the real estate industry produces c. 40% of the world's annual
greenhouse gas emissions. This statistic does not depict the significant variances between the industry’s
subsectors, as evidenced by a study performed by KPMG on 88 European listed real estate companies that were
member of the EPRA organization as of December 31, 2020
1
. The average GHG intensity (expressed as emissions
of kgCO
2, by year and by sqm) of the self-storage industry is already c. 70% below the EU real estate average, and
the lowest of the real estate subsectors included in the study.
1 https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/ie/pdf/2021/10/ie-overview-of-real-estate-companies-environmental-performance.pdf
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
63
Nevertheless, our Company is dedicated to contributing to the decarbonization of our industry. To keep up with the
decarbonization requirements, Shurgard has taken a step closer to conceptualizing its net zero carbon goals.
OUR NET ZERO CARBON (“NZC") STRATEGY
Our strategy can be split into two phases: (i) addressing operational emissions (i.e., so-called Scope 1 & 2 emissions
as classified in the GHG Protocol) and (ii) achieving Material NZC by 2040, or sooner, which also addresses Scope
3 emissions, including business travel, employee and client commuting and embodied carbon from our properties.
We define Operational NZC for our properties as when the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their
operation each year are zero or negative. This is achieved through a decrease in energy consumption, powering
the property with renewable energy sources on-site and/or off-site, and balancing any remaining emissions by
high quality offset projects.
Material NZC includes the emissions from indirect sources, with the most material source being embodied carbon.
With our NZC strategy, we aim to describe our plans to achieve the 2030 Operational NZC goal, including the targets
we have set and the metrics we will be using to track our progress.
PHASE ONE SCOPE 1 & 2 EMISSIONS OPERATIONAL NET ZERO CARBON
Our Phase One net zero carbon target, which we aim to achieve
by 2030, applies to the Scope 1 & 2 emissions of our stores. This
is where we have operational control and therefore a direct
ability to impact energy use and their associated emissions.
Our Scope 1 emissions include direct GHG emissions that result
from sources that are owned or controlled by Shurgard. In 2023,
we have emitted 760 tCO
2 (location-based
1
) Scope 1 emissions,
mainly resulting from the consumption of gas to heat our
stores.
Our Scope 2 emissions include indirect emissions from the use of purchased electricity and district heating. In 2023,
we have emitted 3,200 tCO
2 (location-based, extrapolated for the entire portfolio) Scope 2 emissions. This covers
the heating of our properties, as well as all electricity used to operate the store (lighting, lifts, ventilation, etc.).
Today, already 100% of our electricity and more than 70% of our gas is sourced from Renewable Energy
Guarantees of Origin (REGO) backed sources.
1 A location-based emission reflects the average emissions intensity of grids on which energy consumption occurs (using mostly grid-average emission factor data).
This contrasts to a market-based emission that reflects emissions from electricity that companies have purposefully chosen, including the impact of contractual
instruments, such as energy from renewable sources.
Shurgard has committed to decarbonizing its business to be net zero carbon in its operations by 2030
(Operational NZC) and to reach net zero carbon across the value chain by 2040 (Material NZC).
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
64
PHASE TWOSCOPE 3 EMISSIONS – MATERIAL NET ZERO CARBON
Our commitment to sustainability extends beyond our direct operational impacts to encompass a broader
understanding of our environmental footprint. Our 2040 Phase Two net zero carbon target covers our Scope 3
emissions. Scope 3 emissions are from indirect sources, such as the embodied carbon in capital goods used to build
new developments and refurbishments.
We have identified six “Scope 3” categories that are relevant to our business activities:
Scope 3-managed emissions, i.e. those under Shurgard’s operational control:
capital goods,
fuel- and energy-related activities,
waste generated in operations,
business travel,
employee commuting, and;
Scope 3-related emissions, i.e. those we can influence but do not directly control or manage:
downstream transportation and distribution.
Currently, we have collected data and insights in
three Scope 3 emission categories: business travel
(360 tCO
2), employee commute (330 tCO2) and
emissions resulting from customers visiting their
rented units (7,560 tCO
2), enabling us to quantify
the emissions arising from these activities. We are
working on expanding our reporting to all Scope 3
emissions, including embodied carbon, to provide
a comprehensive view of their environmental
impact and be in position to establish a clear path
to carbon neutrality.
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NET ZERO CARBON DELIVERY STRATEGY
We follow the greenhouse gas management hierarchy when planning to deliver our net zero carbon commitment.
The first step is to ‘eliminate’ sources of emissions from our operations, through low-carbon business decisions.
The next step is to ‘reduce’ those emission sources which cannot be eliminated, by increasing efficiency across our
operations. When no further reductions can be achieved, we then aim to ‘substitute’ energy-intensive technologies
for low-carbon alternatives. Finally, the hierarchy ‘compensates’ for residual emissions through offsetting and
carbon removal. This will only be considered as a final step should the emissions be unavoidable. Today, already
100% of our electricity and more than 70% of our gas is sourced from Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin
(REGO) backed sources. We want to go further and achieve net zero carbon on a location-based basis, taking into
account the simultaneousness of our purchased or produced renewable electricity and the related consumption.
The above strategy is embedded in all core stages of our business, when acquiring, developing, refurbishing, and
operating the assets.
LIKE-FOR-LIKE ENERGY EMISSIONS
In the framework of our Operational NZC commitment, we have set a like-for-like emission target reduction of 10%
in 2023, compared to a 2017 base line. Thanks to our efforts, we have achieved a 53% reduction in our emissions,
surpassing our plans.
EMISSIONS INTENSITY
Our Scope 1 & 2 GHG intensity has already decreased by 57% compared to 2017 and we are on the right trajectory
to achieve our ambitious Operational NZC target by 2030.
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EMISSIONS PROJECTIONS
We are developing a coherent energy supply strategy, with the aim of making our operations as neutral as possible
for the environment. Our initiatives are strategically rolled out, considering their financial return and the
specificities of all the countries in which we operate. In order to support our decision process, we have projected
our Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from 2023 to 2030, at store level, taking into consideration our current GHG
emissions, the impact of our initiatives on our utility consumption, the growth of our portfolio and the expected
evolution of the national grid carbon intensities.
Our initiatives have already delivered great results from 2018 to 2023. Despite the growth of our portfolio, we have
cut absolute location based GHG emissions by c. 40%. With our current ongoing initiatives (such as LED retrofits,
heat pump rollout and implementation of a building management system), as well as the national efforts to
decrease the carbon intensity of the electricity produced and injected into the grid, our GHG emissions, at constant
perimeter, are expected to decrease from c. 4,250 tCO
2 in 2023 to c. 2,200 tCO2 in 2030 (-50%). Notwithstanding
a continuous reduction in our consumption and emission intensity, expressed by sqm, emissions will be impacted
by our projected growth, as we plan to increase our footprint by more than 50% by 2030.
We are now looking at the next steps in our efforts to reduce our
carbon footprint. For example, based on our experience from the 23
properties that are already equipped with solar panel installations,
we are performing a technical assessment of our full portfolio in the
Netherlands, a country where electricity production has a high
carbon intensity. This includes studying roof structure and
capacities, electrical connections, permit requirements, and
reinjection possibilities. With the learnings in this specific market,
including the analysis of business cases and different scenarios, we
aim to develop a coherent solar strategy for our entire portfolio.
While solar can help us decrease our daily consumption, this will
only be a partial answer to our NZC journey. We are therefore also
engaging with carbon transition experts to evaluate alternative on-
site and off-site renewable energy production options and potential
power purchase agreements (“PPA”).
Shurgard Stadionweg store in Rotterdam. a new
building (certified with BREEAM “Very Good”) of
a total of c. 13,000 sqm, has been equipped with
420 sqm of PV panels placed on the roof.
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SCIENCE-BASED TARGETS INITIATIVE (SBTI) ALIGNMENT
SBTI is an internationally recognized standard that supports companies in setting up carbon reduction targets. It
probes the alignment of these targets, by sector, with the science-based decarbonization pathways required to
achieve the commitments of the Paris Agreement. New guidance for the buildings sector was released in 2023,
aligned with the CRREM tool (Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor), developed by the EU. Shurgard aims to align its
current GHG trajectory and targets with scientifically recognized pathways.
As of today, no specific SBTI guidance has been set up for the self-storage real estate subsector. We therefore
used the one that is the closest to our activity, namely the “distribution warehouse (warm)”. It is important to
recognize that our 2023 carbon intensity is c. 80% lower than the closest real estate SBTI subsector.
Shurgard’s ambitious targets are significantly ahead of the SBTI decarbonization pathways:
As targets are set up at country level, we used a weighted average based on the portfolio sqm in
each of the countries in which we operate.
With our already confirmed decarbonization initiatives, i.e. not considering the above-mentioned
additional initiatives under investigation, such as solar and PPA, we will already largely meet the
2030 and 2040 carbon intensity expectations set by SBTI.
While the science-based targets expect a 52% reduction in carbon intensity, our 2030 pathway to
NZC will achieve a carbon intensity reduction target of 100%, i.e. significantly outperforming the SBTI
requirements.
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LIKE-FOR-LIKE ENERGY CONSUMPTION
In the framework of our net zero carbon commitment, we have set a like-for-like consumption reduction target of
10% in 2023, compared to a 2017 base line. We are very proud to confirm that we have surpassed our commitment,
with a reduction of 40%.
This was achieved through various investments, such as the roll out of our LED retrofit program, the implementation
of smart building management systems, and the continuous focus on increasing the share of our portfolio with
excellent building ratings (EPC or BREEAM certificates for instance).
LED RETROFIT PROGRAM
In 2015, we started a major retrofit program of our stores, investing more than €11 million to make our stores more
energy efficient. The key element of that program was the installation of motion sensors in our stores, and the
replacement of our traditional lighting with energy-efficient LED lights. This covers not only the lighting of the
storage area, but also the parking, offices, and internal drives.
The lighting of the stores represents a significant portion of the electricity consumed (c. 50%) and the LED lights
are expected to deliver a consumption saving of c. 60% compared to traditional bulb lights.
Last year, we announced an acceleration of the roll-out of the program, and we are proud to announce that we
achieved 100% coverage in all seven markets, with the installation of more than 100,000 LEDs across our entire
portfolio.
SMART BUILDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
To optimize our energy consumption control and avoid wasted energy, we have subscribed to a state-to-the-art
building management system. We have completed the installation in our two test markets, in Belgium and the
Netherlands. This system will help us to operate our stores in an optimal way, through online centralized
monitoring, metering and control of utilities and devices to lower consumption. It comes with alerts on unusual
consumptions, allowing us to take immediate remediation actions. We will take the learnings from this test and
will consider further expansion in the coming years.
EPC AND BREEAM CERTIFICATIONS
Shurgard encourages the achievement and maintenance of green building certifications to protect value and stay
ahead of regulations. The real estate department at Shurgard is responsible for achieving and maintaining green
building certifications, with the support of our ESG Management Group. The Group initiates feasibility studies and
provides support to meet certification requirements and performance objectives. BREEAM (Building Research
Establishment Environmental Method) is the certification of choice across our seven markets. BREEAM is a
sustainability assessment method used to assess the environmental performance of buildings. Currently, 65% of
our floor area is associated with an EPC label A or A+ and 24% of our portfolio holds a BREEAM certification
(BREEAM New Construction or BREEAM in use), and we are committed to certifying developing assets in our
pipeline where relevant.
We recently conducted a comprehensive review of our EPC labels and aligned our reporting to the different national
methodologies applied by EU countries to our reported EPC labels and coverage. We also chose to consistently
consider EPC across the entire site, rather than previously allowing for EPC in certain areas, for example where the
property is heated. This review impacted our EPC scores and coverage negatively. Looking ahead, we anticipate an
updated European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive that is expected to provide clearer guidelines and
recommendations on harmonizing EPC labels across member states. We are actively monitoring these
developments to ensure our practices align with forthcoming industry standards.
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Shurgard Alperton Park Royal, BREEAM "Outstanding”
SOLAR PANELS
We are developing a coherent energy supply strategy, with the aim of making it as neutral as possible for the
environment. Today, already 100% of our electricity and more than 70% of our gas is sourced from Renewable
Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) backed sources.
We are now preparing the next step in our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. Based on the experience gained
from our 23 properties that are already equipped with solar panel installations, we are embarking on a full technical
assessment of our properties in the Netherlands, a country where electricity production has a high carbon intensity.
Not only are we studying roof structure and capacities, but also electrical connections, permit requirements,
reinjection possibilities, as well as a gap analysis to achieve full carbon neutrality. This will allow us to make sure
that resources and funding can be planned and committed effectively.
GREEN BOND
On July 23, 2021, the Group issued new ten years Senior Notes for €300.0 million. The proceeds of the issue were
used to repay TrancheA (€100.0 million) of its 2014 senior guaranteed notes maturing in July 2021, to finance
potential acquisitions, and to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, recently completed and future projects that
are underpinned by sustainable criteria such as, for instance, a BREEAM certification (Eligible Green Projects). As
of December 31, 2023, the proceeds allocated to Eligible Green Projects amounted to €259.7 million, representing
an increase of €34.0 million compared to June 30, 2023. A portion €89.2 million was used to refinance existing
projects at issuance, whereas €170.5 million was used to finance new projects. A total of €40.3 million unallocated
proceeds of the Green Bond remain available and is expected to be used before the Bond maturity.
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Store Name Certification date Rating Address
Total ('000€)
31/12/2023
Park Royal September 9, 2019 Outstanding London 12,793
Greenwich February 5, 2019 Excellent London 14,079
Depford March 5, 2020 Excellent London 15,428
Herne Hill July 16, 2020 Excellent London 13,886
Barking (*) September 30, 2020 Excellent London 12,697
City Airport April 1, 2021 Excellent London 6,044
Camden (*) August 17, 2022 Excellent London 2,941
Morangis October 11, 2022 Very Good Paris 10,278
Rotterdam Stadionweg (*) July 25, 2023 Very Good Rotterdam 16,113
Lagny October 20, 2023 Very Good Paris 10,155
Projects with BREEAM certificate "Very Good or Higher"
114,415
Croydon Purley Way Upcoming certification
London 9,044
Bow Upcoming certification
London 25,401
Satrouville Upcoming certification
Paris 9,814
Versailles Upcoming certification
Paris 11,111
Chiswick Upcoming certification
London 23,782
Chadwell Heath Upcoming certification
London 17,900
Tottenham Upcoming certification
London 16,071
Berlin Charlottenburg-Nord Upcoming certification
Berlin 13,028
Hayes Upcoming certification
London 1,333
Wangen Upcoming certification
Stuttgart 3,131
Neuss Upcoming certification
Dusseldorf 6,132
Leinfelden Upcoming certification
Stuttgart 8,086
Southwark Upcoming certification
London 494
Other Eligible Green Projects (upcoming certification)
145,327
Total Eligible Green Projects
259,741
Shurgard’s Green Bond Committee is held annually and took place on July 10, 2023 to review the Green Bond
Framework and the amounts of the net proceeds allocated to the Eligible Projects.
In addition, the amounts allocated to Green Projects have been reviewed by an independent external audit firm
and the reports and auditor’s limited assurance on the Eligible Green Projects are available on Shurgard’s corporate
website: https://www.shurgard.com/corporate/corporate-responsibility/reports-and-publications.
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4.2 RESILIENCE OF PROPERTIES TO CLIMATE RISKS
Climate change is a growing concern for businesses around the world, and the self-storage industry is no exception.
As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, Shurgard recognizes the need to assess its
vulnerability to climate change risks and take proactive steps to mitigate them. Climate change risks are
represented by transition and physical climate risks.
We assess climate change-related risks using state-of-the-art technological tools and comprehensive practices
every year. To this end, we follow our risk management policy:
1. We identify potential climate-related risks, whether physical risks (e.g., flooding or extreme weather
events) or transition risks (changes in policy, regulation, and market conditions).
2. We evaluate exposure to these risks, whether direct or indirect.
3. We assess likelihood and impact (potential financial, operational, and reputational consequences).
4. We prioritize risks.
5. We develop risk management strategies to mitigate, transfer, or accept the risks. These strategies may
include physical adaptation measures, such as building resilience to extreme weather events, as well as
transition strategies, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to low-carbon energy
sources.
6. We monitor and review the risk management strategies on an ongoing basis to ensure that we remain
effective in the face of changing climate conditions and emerging risks.
PHYSICAL CLIMATE RISK
We identify physical climate risk as a risk related to the physical impacts of climate change including event-driven
risks such as changes in the severity and/or frequency of extreme weather events.
Climate scenario analysis allows a company to plan for what it considers to be the material impacts of climate
change. We believe that, depending on the location and risk potential, physical climate risks can be expected to
have a certain impact on our business in the future, and, taking double materiality into account, we trust that we
can act to minimize risks associated with climate change. Climate change is deemed a material issue to the Group
from a financial, environmental, and social perspective.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body, laid the foundation for the 2015 Paris
Agreement. Our climate change assessment relies on the latest 6
th
release of the IPCC assessment report, where
the Panel redefined what “cutting edge” climate change modelling means. Previously, climate change scenarios
had only considered the development of concentrations of greenhouse gases, characterized in a set of
Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), which we used in our 2022 sustainability reporting.
In 2023, we performed a physical climate risk assessment of our entire portfolio of 276 stores. We partnered
with Munich RE, one of the most recognized providers of reinsurance, primary insurance, and insurance-
related
risk solutions in the world, having 40 years of climate experience and systematic recording of global hazard
data over the past decades.
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Now the IPCC has adopted a more holistic approach to expected developments in the 21
st
century. They now endorse
using Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) in the modelling of future scenarios. The SSPs are used to derive
greenhouse gas emissions scenarios with different climate policies
1
. The SSPs provide narratives describing
alternative socio-economic developments.
The existing five SSPs scenarios are
2
:
SSP1: Sustainability ("Taking the Green Road")
SSP2: "Middle of the Road"
SSP3: Regional Rivalry ("A Rocky Road")
SSP4: Inequality ("A Road Divided")
SSP5: Fossil-fueled Development ("Taking the Highway")
For our 2023 reporting, we have opted for the SSP2 (or SSP2-4.5) “Middle of the road” scenario.
In this scenario, global and national institutions work towards sustainable development but make slow progress.
Development and income growth proceed unevenly, with some countries making relatively good progress while
others fall short of expectations. The environment experiences degradation, but the overall intensity of resource
and energy use declines. This scenario would be expected to lead to a warming by end of the 21st century of
between 2.1 and 3.5°C relative to the pre-industrial period (18501900). The SSP2 scenario is comparable to the
RCP 4.5 scenario
3
, which was previously used in our 2022 reporting. This scenario is deemed appropriate by the EU
Taxonomy for projections up to 2060, whereas scenario SSP5 (or RCP 8.5) is largely considered as a ‘worst-case
scenario’ that is possible but unlikely to happen.
Including the SSP into our physical climate risk analysis helps us to tailor our climate strategy. By supplementing
the degree-based RCP scenarios with socio-economic considerations, we can see a more realistic picture of how
climate change will impact our portfolio and make more informed, tailored sustainability strategies for Shurgard
and its stakeholders.
1 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), "SSP2 Overview," May 14-15, 2019, Pathways to Sustainable Energy Workshop Consultation
https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/energy/se/pdfs/CSE/PATHWAYS/2019/ws_Consult_14_15.May.2019/supp_doc/SSP2_Overview.pdf.
2 Carbon Brief, "Explainer: How shared socioeconomic pathways explore future climate change," https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-how-shared-
socioeconomic-pathways-explore-future-climate-change/.
3 Munich Re, "Climate Change Edition," Location Risk Intelligence, https://www.munichre.com/rmp/en/products/location-risk-intelligence/climate-change-
edition.html.
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Based on Munich RE’s assessment, we considered and reviewed the following climate risks, hazards, and
meteorological stresses, which are classified from low to high risk:
For the purpose of the climate-related disclosures, projections up to the year 2050 were used for all risks, except
for the “sea-level rise” risk, for which only long-term projections up to 2100 were available. This is in line with the
typical lifetime of our properties and aligned with the requirements of the EU Taxonomy for our asset class.
The assessment was made at the individual asset level, using precise geo-localization. The below chart summarizes
the number of stores affected by climate related risks and the associated risk assessment, as defined in the above
table.
Based on this detailed analysis, river floods and sea level rise are currently the most relevant climate related risks
for Shurgard that could have an impact on our assets and operations. The financial consequences could come from
a range of impacts, such as damage to goods stored, unblocking drains, clearing up large scale flooding, and more
frequent maintenance of the building infrastructure resulting in higher repair and maintenance, as well as higher
insurance costs and preventive investments in our properties. The analysis also showed that river flood and sea
level rise risks would impact only the ground and underground floors, if any, i.e., not the total building, which in
Shurgard’s case are typically multi-level properties.
In total for 2023, we have identified 81 stores that were associated with at least one “high” physical climate risk,
with 57 stores for the sea level rise risk and 24 stores for the river flood risk.
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The rentable sqm at high physical climate risk represents 10% of our total lettable area. Most of these properties
are located in the Netherlands (with 6% of our total rentable sqm), due to its geographic situation and low elevation
against sea levels, followed by UK, France and Sweden.
TRANSITION RISKS
Transition risks are defined as risks associated with transitioning to a lower-carbon economy. As part of Shurgard’s
risk management system, our various departments that are part of the ESG Management Group are responsible for
identifying, assessing, managing, and monitoring climate risks associated with their business area. Risks are
assessed in line with Shurgard’s risk management policy.
We have identified the following transition risk drivers for our business and operations:
1. Regulatory risks: The implementation of new policies and regulations to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions could lead to increased compliance costs, such as the need to invest in new equipment or
technology, or the need to purchase carbon offsetting credits. This could result in increased capex and
opex, which could affect the profitability of the company.
2. Energy and resource risks: Higher energy prices or scarcity of resources could result in increased
operating costs, such as increased electricity bills or higher costs for raw materials. This could lead to
lower profitability or decreased competitiveness in the market. Poor energy management may lead to a
loss of market share, longer term.
3. Technology risks: The adoption of new technologies or changes in the market demand for storage
solutions could lead to the need for new investments in technology or infrastructure. Failure to adapt to
these changes could result in decreased revenue or increased costs.
4. Reputation risks: Negative public perception or association with unsustainable practices could lead to
decreased demand for Shurgard’s products and services, which could result in lower revenue.
5. Financial risks: Increased borrowing costs or difficulty accessing capital could result in decreased
investment in new technologies or infrastructure, which could affect Shurgard’s ability to adapt to the
transition to a low-carbon economy.
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Decarbonization pathways offer a valuable measure of transition risk, especially concerning real estate portfolios
and assets. These pathways employ a metric, GHG intensity (measured in kgCO
2e/sqm/year), applicable to the
entire real estate asset category. The Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) has established science-based
decarbonization pathways for numerous developed real estate markets globally, aligning with climate goals set by
the Paris Agreement. These pathways serve as practical benchmarks for assessing individual assets in light of high-
level global commitments, like NZC targets and the Paris Agreement.
These pathways serve two main purposes: NZC alignment and transition risk assessment. Organizations like the
NZC Asset Owner Alliance and the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change recommend CRREM pathways
for real estate compliance with their criteria, even though the 1.5°C CRREM pathways do not precisely reach zero
CO
2e/sqm by 2050, they are considered ambitious enough for NZC alignment.
“Stranded assets” are properties that will not meet future energy efficiency standards and market expectations
and might be increasingly exposed to the risk of early economic obsolescence. The highest risk for the real estate
sector is that assets would lose their economic value due to, for instance, the loss of their license to operate or the
inability to resell them because of their inability to comply with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements.
Although decarbonization pathways do not directly reflect the evolution of the local regulatory environment, they
might be used as an indication of an increasing risk of stranded assets.
The risk of asset stranding is a concern across sectors, including real estate. It can arise due to various factors
associated with transition risk, such as policy, legal, technological, market, or reputational factors. While
decarbonization pathways reflect regulatory ambition, they are not precise indicators of regulatory requirements
in each jurisdiction. Instead, they serve as a proxy for regulatory or policy transition risk. An asset's GHG intensity
exceeding its decarbonization pathway does not guarantee license loss but suggests an elevated risk of stranding
if regulatory alignment with national commitments is anticipated, even if it is currently lagging.
Today, we have not identified any asset that would be stranded or at risk of becoming stranded in the near future.
We refer to the section 4.1 Transition to low-carbon economy, where we demonstrate that our ambitions of being
NZC in our operations by 2030 should prevent any material risk related to asset stranding, as our carbon intensity
trajectory will remain largely below scientifically recognized decarbonization pathways.
OUR REPONSE TO CLIMATE RISK
Climate change risks mentioned above are one of the risks that Shurgard considers in its risk assessment
framework.
Firstly, we strive to rely solely on green electricity and green gas. We are reducing our consumption year by year.
We invest in renewable energy sources to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. By installing solar panels on our
facilities, we not only plan to generate energy and reduce our exposure to rising energy costs and potential carbon
taxes, but also contribute to the overall resilience of our operations. The power created with solar installations can
be invested back into the grid, enhancing our ability to adapt to changing energy dynamics influenced by physical
climate risks. Additionally, we prioritize energy-efficient measures such as LED lighting to further reduce our carbon
footprint and minimize the strain on resources in the face of climate-related challenges.
Secondly, we implement comprehensive measures to enhance the resilience of our infrastructure and operations
against physical climate risks. This includes upgrading lighting (to LED) and HVAC systems to improve energy
efficiency, as well as implementing strategies to reduce waste, manage water resources efficiently, and prevent
water and energy leakage and spilling. By taking these proactive steps, we not only reduce our environmental
impact but also strengthen our ability to withstand and adapt to the physical risks posed by climate change, such
as extreme weather events and changing hydrological patterns.
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Thirdly, our company actively explores new business models that align with a low-carbon economy and address
physical climate risks. We also seek partnerships with companies and suppliers that offer sustainable solutions,
further minimizing our environmental impact and helping to mitigate physical climate risks. These initiatives
demonstrate our commitment to resilience and adaptation in the face of climate change.
Lastly, Shurgard engages with stakeholders, such as suppliers, investors, customers, and employees, to
communicate our commitment to sustainability and seek their input on ways to reduce the company's carbon
footprint and address physical climate risks. By actively involving stakeholders in our sustainability efforts, we
foster trust, credibility, and collaboration, which ultimately enhances our reputation and strengthens our ability to
manage potential reputational risks arising from both transition and physical climate risks.
4.3 SAVE WATER
Ensuring sustainable water withdrawal and supply of fresh water to address water scarcity and reduce the number
of people suffering from water scarcity was identified as another important risk. Having said that, water use for
self-storage properties is typically very low compared to sites of a similar size in the real estate sector. Our
employees and visitors have toilet facilities, some stores have showers for employees who choose to travel by bike
and our employees have access to a small kitchen. We are maintaining specific protocols in the design and
operations of our storage properties to ensure low water consumption.
Over the past few years, we have rolled out water efficiency measures at portfolio level, such as low flow taps and
other fittings. In 2023, we equipped 100% of our stores with smart water metering facilities, which allows live
monitoring of water consumption by store. The system can detect abnormal water consumption, such as water
leaks, and sends an alert to our facility teams that can take immediate remediation actions. Considering the very
low water consumption overall in our business, water leaks have a major impact on our consumption. Installing
these smart water systems helps us to act in a timely manner and prevent abnormal peaks in consumption.
In 2023, we outperformed our target to decrease our like-for-like water consumption by 5% (vs. 2017 baseline),
achieving an actual reduction of 46%.
4.4 RESPONSIBLE WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental pollution has been sub-divided for the purpose of this report into (i) reduction of carbon emissions
(see our discussions in chapter 4 on this) and (ii) responsible waste management, which is discussed further below.
We have equipped our properties with waste bins for general waste and recycling; and we have special collection
arrangements for waste electronic and electrical equipment and lightbulbs. We provide guidance on their use and
recycling to our store teams during induction. Our main source of waste is from the operational activities of our
stores. Our employees apply best practice waste segregation for general and mixed dry recyclable materials.
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In addressing other environmental concerns in the area of pollution, Shurgard is committed to utilizing sustainable
materials in its packaging for customers' moving needs. We diligently require that our suppliers of wood fiber-
based products used in packaging source their wood fibers exclusively from certified forests, ensuring sustainable
management practices and providing comprehensive traceability. All forestry-based products obtained by Shurgard
for packaging solutions adhere to certification standards, including the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and PEFC,
along with other certifications recognized by PEFC. These certifications are prominently highlighted on our
packaging materials for sale, emphasizing our dedication to eco-friendly sourcing. Moreover, any additional
documentation provided to customers is presented on paper that carries the FSC certification, reinforcing our
commitment to responsible environmental practices.
In 2023, we maintained our achievement of 100% diversion from landfill as well as our protocols for low waste
consumption in design and operations of our stores.
4.5 OUR “SUSTAINABLE SELF STORAGEFUTURE COMMITMENTS
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5. EMPLOYER OF CHOICE
Human capital is a key pillar in our sustainability strategy. Our commitment to the development of our human
capital is based on common values such as collective effort, a strict sense of ethics and the search for excellence.
Our ambition is to embed Shurgard‘s culture in everyday practices in order to forge positive relationships, improve
the employee experience and create a united internal environment. This also means ensuring that our employees
are working in a safe and inclusive environment. We invest in our talents, through training, feedback, internal
mobility, promotion opportunities as well as a dynamic and fair remuneration policy.
5.1 SAFE AND INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The safety of our employees and our customers is a key priority. Safe practices are inherent in our systems, our
operating procedures, and most importantly in the way we think and act. Shurgard is fully committed to providing
safe storage facilities for our customers and our employees. Health and safety criteria are regularly assessed in our
properties to ensure that applicable health and safety rules are respected. All the properties are audited from a
health and safety perspective:
By Internal Audit within a three-year cycle (more than one third of the properties are audited each
year); and
By the District Managers three times per year (self-assessments).
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A workplace health and safety organizational induction is provided to all new team members and contractors upon
initial employment or engagement with Shurgard.
Regular periodic training is conducted with all team members, in addition to instances of changes to the workplace
or operations, plant or equipment, legislation, policies, work processes or processes, and generally as required.
Furthermore, task-specific training is conducted to provide knowledge of health and safety issues and safe work
practices relevant to work activities, workplaces, or equipment. Training is hands-on and interactive, to ensure
complete understanding of procedures. Records of training conducted, participation, and acknowledgment of
training by team members, are kept in an online learning management system or filed with the Human resources
department.
GRI 403-5
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
Shurgard is committed to an inclusive workplace that embraces and promotes diversity, pay equity and equal
opportunity. The principle of non-discrimination (see our policy on non-discrimination and anti-harassment)
permeates all the processes inherent to human resources. To meet this commitment, we make sure that Shurgard
guarantees gender equality in all its processes, including:
Talent review;
Compensation review;
Promotions; and
Development programs.
Our support and operation teams are located in eight countries, representing 40 different nationalities. We
therefore benefit from a naturally diverse and high-quality employee base. Our diversity of thinking and experiences
foster innovation and long-term relationships. We strive to increase the diversity of gender, culture, age, origin,
and training within our workforce. We believe that this encourages innovative solutions and exceptional customer
service to an equally diverse community. Our pledge to creating and ensuring a diverse work environment
contributes to Shurgard’s corporate objectives and embeds the importance and value of diversity within the culture
of our organization. In 2023, we launched a new employee training program on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Shurgard aims to create an inclusive environment that supports people and removes artificial barriers from the
workplace. Training for all employees on sexual harassment and discrimination occurs at induction and is refreshed
on a regular basis. The management of equal employment opportunities within Shurgard is the responsibility of all
employees. Recruitment, selection, and promotion of individuals into specific positions or for development
opportunities are determined on personal/professional merit, and all employees are subjected to the same rules
and conditions of employment without regard to any individual differences. Shurgard also respects the right of all
employees to form and join a trade union of their choice without fear of intimidation or reprisal, in accordance
with national law.
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Within our stores, we foster an inclusive culture which engages with all potential candidates. The outcome of this
culture is a good gender balance at our properties, which employ 83% of the total Shurgard personnel. Within
stores across our seven operating countries, the total gender split is 58% male and 42% female. In 2022, the
gender split was 58% male and 42% female.
The gender split for our European Support Center employees was 57% male and 43% female in 2023, against 53%
male and 47% female in 2022.
The gender pay difference for store personnel is marginal across our different operating countries. The total
difference is 3.3% (in favor of male personnel) across all geographies which reflects a range between 10.4.% and
0.2%.
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5.2 INVEST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR PEOPLE
CONTINUOUS TRAINING
Our ambition is to place the development of human capital at the center of our priorities by devoting attention to
the continuous improvement of skills and knowledge, and therefore to a continuous process of education and
learning. A comprehensive training offer is defined and updated every year, in line with Shurgard‘s strategy, the
Investors in People accreditation, and regulatory requirements. We support our managers and business units in
setting development priorities through specific training or on-the-job learning activities.
We believe the quality of customers’ interaction with our employees is critical to our long-term success.
Accordingly, we emphasize customer service and teamwork in our employee training programs. Each in-store
employee is required to complete a training program which builds a foundation to assist our customers with their
storage needs. All new support center employees are also engaged in an extensive induction program which lasts
several weeks. We offer a continuous feedback program to help employees improve their performance. We invest
in a wide range of training to develop both professional skills as well as soft skills, such as communication, problem-
solving and time management.
In pursuit of organizational excellence, Shurgard has embarked on
a transformative journey by adopting and implementing the
renowned "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" training framework
developed by FranklinCovey.
The 7 Habits framework has become an integral part of our
employee development program. Through this program, our
employees of all levels have learned to cultivate habits that
prioritize and balance personal and professional goals. Teams
routinely engage in feedback sessions and 7 habits-themed
lunches, identifying areas for growth and implementing positive
changes in their everyday work and life.
To streamline various aspects of talent management and
development, Shurgard uses a cloud-based talent management platform. It allows us to establish a structured
performance management process and manage all training offered at Shurgard. It helps us to create better
onboarding processes and follow-up of new hires to make sure they are well integrated into the company from
day one. The platform provides a central hub for organizing and delivering training and development programs. It
offers a learning management system (LMS) that allows us to create, manage, and track training courses. Our
employees can access training materials, complete courses, and monitor their progress through the platform. On
top of that, the platform facilitates 360-degree feedback processes, where
employees receive feedback from managers and subordinates. To support the
feedback process, we also have a 360-degree assessment for managers via
the FranklinCovey training platform.
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The comprehensive feedback helps our employees gain insights into their strengths and areas for improvement,
enabling them to grow and develop in their roles.
To retain and attract top talent within our stores, we launched the Shurgard Academy in 2018. The Academy
provides a transparent program of progression which empowers our employees to develop throughout their
careers. The Academy ensures a structured process of career progression, from Junior Assistant Store Manager to
Senior Store Manager and District Trainer.
In 2023, 100% of our employees underwent a performance appraisal process. Shurgard’s large training program
resulted in a total amount of approximately 23 training hours completed per full-time employee, representing a
100% ratio of our workforce that followed at least one training this year. Our total training hours for 2023
amounted to over 15,900 hours, including first aid and fire emergency training in addition to all the new joiners
induction training and some other externally provided training deemed important for the development of our
employees.
As we continue our progress, we are modernizing our learning by collaborating with a new partner who specializes
in game-based learning and virtual reality learning. Starting in 2024, we are planning to create customized game-
based training courses for the stores, and this will be added to the Shurgard Academy.
INTERNAL MOBILITY AND PROMOTION
Shurgard‘s priority is to develop support for employees in
their career development, in line with the business needs, and
to help them build a rich career while strengthening their
employability. Mobility is an act that demonstrates the
employee’s commitment to building a long-term career. It
aims to match personal aspirations with the needs of
Shurgard, prepare for the future in line with strategic focus,
develop a shared culture, retain employees, and strengthen
our employer brand. Various measures include the:
Systematic publication of open positions on
our website;
Priority given to internal applications.
A DYNAMIC REMUNERATION POLICY
The philosophy of Shurgard‘s remuneration policy is to reward long-term performance, attracting and retaining
talent through competitive, fair and gender-neutral compensation. Performance is as much individual as it is
collective. Shurgard is committed to the sincerity and transparency of the link between performance and
remuneration. This link must also be a driver for employee motivation and commitment. We are looking at pay
equity at all levels. Calibration meetings are conducted annually among the executive team to ensure that all
remuneration decisions are fair across the entire employee population. Thus, people with similar roles,
responsibilities, and experience receive comparable salaries. Moreover, executive remuneration policies are
reviewed each year by the ESG Committee and a dedicated survey was conducted on executive salaries (we refer
to the Remuneration Report). We ensure our alignment with best practices and our compliance with the various
legislation in force. We regularly organize remuneration calibration meetings to assess our conditions within the
business and align the salaries of all our employees according to the market.
GRI 2-19, GRI 2-20
Fabrice Gaude, Store Manager/District Trainer for France, has
been awarded the prestigious
FEDESSA (federation of
European self-storage associations) Manager of the Year
Award
at the 2023 FEDESSA Conference and Trade Show.
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5.3 SHARE AND LIVE THE SHURGARD CULTURE
EMPLOYEE HAPPINESS AND ENGAGEMENT
Our policies and programs are designed
to make our employees’ working life
productive and rewarding, and we
regularly evaluate the success of these
efforts.
Glassdoor operates a review site for
employees of large corporations, such
as ours. Our current ranking is higher
than average (4.7/5 vs. an average of
3.7/5, and 97% CEO approval vs.
average rating of 73%). The results
prove that our mission is well reflected
in the employees’ experience.
INVESTORS IN PEOPLE
We are accredited by Investors in People, an internationally
recognized people management accreditation association. The
accreditation recognizes Shurgard as having principles and practices
in place to support our employees and that our employees are aware of how to use them to make our work
environment better. We have gone through the assessment by Investors in People in 2022 and have been
recognized as a Silver Investors in People organizationin 2023 as a result of this evaluation. The Investors in
People assessment contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal #8 ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’.
The survey was available to all employees at Shurgard and has enabled us to see and address our highs and lows
when it comes to employee engagement and happiness. We have improved our results compared to the previous
assessment of 2020 and are planning to continue the process of empowering our employees and enriching the
company culture.
EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING INITIATIVES
In a commitment to prioritizing the health and happiness of our employees, we have recently initiated a
comprehensive array of well-being initiatives. At the heart of these endeavors lies a sincere focus on both mental
and physical well-being, recognizing that a harmonious balance between the two is indispensable for overall
wellness and peak performance.
Among the initiatives introduced is the approach to monitor and assess the well-being of our dedicated operations
and support center staff. We use different techniques for assessing the well-being of employees, which includes
online surveys and screenings. This pursuit of well-being is by no means novel within Shurgard. In 2023, in
partnership with Attentia, a rapidly growing Belgian professional services organization that offers a broad range
of HR, well-being and payroll solutions, we performed a well-being assessment survey aimed at checking the needs
of employees during homeworking.
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Further, we have a “Direct employee participation on welfare form”, which is aimed at addressing immediate
concerns and feedback of employees on the road to creating a workplace that promotes employees’ health,
happiness, and productivity. The insights gained from the answers on various surveys launched in 2023 allowed us
to delve into the most important elements that contribute to the vitality of our workforce, such as condition of the
office, appreciation at work, inclusive culture and work-life balance.
The culmination of these well-being assessments is not merely confined
to data collection. As we are working towards a more enriched employee
experience, we have processes in place to address the issues identified
with the invaluable data we receive. This process signifies our dedication
to not only identifying areas of concern but also taking tangible steps to
effect positive change. In 2023, we have implemented bi-monthly stress
relief workshops for our support center staff, invested in teleworking and
ergonomics training to facilitate the experience of comfortable and
effective homeworking for our employees. We have equally addressed
such office space issues as indoor air quality and lighting control. We
promote physical well-being by encouraging our support center and
store employees where possible to use the office bicycles during the lunch breaks. To promote social interaction,
connection and inclusion, our employees have an opportunity to connect as a team during get-together events
both occasional, quarterly and yearly corporate gatherings. There are recognition events to build the team and
keep spirits high. Performance rewards and “Employee of the Month” are used to emphasize the value of employees
and their efforts at work. Each country has a range of recognition events and an annual awards event. Each action
undertaken is a testament to our commitment to fostering a workplace that prioritizes the holistic well-being of
our workforce.
It is our duty to assess and monitor the physical and mental well-being of our employees and create a workplace
that thrives on the principles of care, support, and empowerment. Through these initiatives, we aim not only to
enhance the well-being of our employees but also to cultivate a culture where wellness is a shared journey
embraced by all.
Our ambition is to anchor Shurgard‘s culture in everyday practices in order to forge positive relationships, improve
the employee experience and create a united internal environment. To this end, Shurgard has developed four pillars
that represent our work identity and are recognized by all employees in their day-to-day job: happiness, training,
team spirit and perspective. They represent what we stand for as employees at Shurgard and are the foundations
for each employee to build a successful career at Shurgard. By fostering a culture centered around these pillars,
we aim to have engaged people, knowing that their commitment and enthusiasm are crucial drivers for our
collective success.
Bicycle used by our employees of the
Zoetermeer store in the Netherlands
Happiness
Training
Team Spirit
Perspective
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In 2023, we launched the pillars training, an e-learning module that all new hires will follow during their onboarding
period to help to integrate them into the working culture of Shurgard.
These pillars stand as a testament to our unwavering commitment to fostering an environment where every
employee thrives, grows, collaborates, and gains a well-rounded outlook on both professional and personal aspects
of life. Each year, we celebrate and recognize the outstanding contributions of our Shurgard support center
employees who exemplify excellence in these core values. These awards not only acknowledge individual
achievements but also serve as a collective celebration of the shared values that define our unique culture.
Happiness:
At the core of our corporate culture lies a belief that happiness is not just an outcome, but a journey. We have
diligently integrated happiness into every facet of our organization, ensuring that our employees experience joy
and fulfillment in their daily endeavors. Our initiatives, from well-being programs and flexible work arrangements
(e.g., homeworking) to recognition and celebration of achievements, reflect our dedication to cultivating a
workplace where positivity and well-being are not only encouraged but are integral to our identity.
Training:
The value of continuous learning and growth is deeply ingrained in our organization's DNA. Our commitment to
training is not just a standalone activity; it's a dynamic process that fuels our employees' professional development.
From structured training programs to mentorship opportunities and access to cutting-edge resources, we empower
our workforce to evolve and excel. By fostering a culture of curiosity and skill enhancement, by continuously offering
trainings and opportunities for professional growth internally, we ensure that our employees remain at the
forefront of their respective fields.
Team Spirit:
Collaboration and unity are the cornerstones of our success. The spirit of teamwork resonates in every department,
project, and interaction. We have nurtured an environment where diverse talents converge, fostering a rich
exchange of ideas and perspectives. Our open communication channels, cross-functional projects, and team-
building activities bolster a sense of belonging that transcends roles and hierarchies, ultimately driving us towards
collective achievements.
Perspective:
We recognize that a broad perspective is essential for innovation and adaptability. Our commitment to cultivating
a diverse and inclusive workforce ensures that varied viewpoints enrich our decision-making processes. Beyond
diversity, our focus on perspective also extends to nurturing a culture of empathy and understanding. Through
initiatives that promote cross-cultural awareness and community engagement, we broaden our employees'
horizons, enabling them to appreciate the interconnectedness of our global society.
Our sustainability report proudly reflects the journey of integration of our cultural pillars into our corporate identity.
Through our commitment to happiness, training, team spirit, and perspective, we have not only set a benchmark
for excellence but are on the way to fostering an environment where employees are empowered, valued, and
inspired to contribute their best. As we look ahead, these pillars will continue to serve as guiding lights, illuminating
the path toward sustained growth, innovation, and a workplace that is a true embodiment of our core values.
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5.4 OUR “EMPLOYER OF CHOICE” FUTURE COMMITMENTS
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6. POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOCIETY
Shurgard wants to have a positive impact on society. This means building lasting and equal relationships with our
stakeholders. We want to deliver best-in-class services to our customers, and make sure that they can use our
services.
6.1 BEST-IN-CLASS CUSTOMER SERVICE
Delivering excellent customer service is central to the Shurgard ethos and we view it as a key competitive
advantage. We are committed to understanding our customers’ needs, providing tailored storage solutions and
delivering on our brand promise. Our focus on customer engagement and insights informs our customer experience
strategy which aims to deliver superior experiences and in turn, drive retention and referrals.
Our policies and procedures are designed to protect the health, safety, and privacy of our customers. We monitor
and assess these programs which are updated regularly based on our learnings.
A vast majority of the Shurgard customer base are residential customers whose storage needs range from short
term due to moving home, renovating, or simply needing more room, through to long term needs for collectibles
or hobbies. The remainder of the Shurgard customer base is businesses, from online retailers or local businesses
through to multi-national companies requiring a distribution network.
In 2023, we conducted a move-out survey in our seven countries to better understand our customers’ feedback
and Net Promoter Score (NPS). The survey was conducted by a third party. The feedback collected is used to improve
the quality of our services towards our customers. The key findings of the NPS survey include:
Overall satisfaction: most respondents expressed high levels of satisfaction with our
products/services, indicating a strong foundation of customer contentment.
Loyalty indicators: the NPS revealed a significant number of promoters who are highly likely to
recommend our offerings to others, underscoring the strength of our client relationships.
Areas for improvement: constructive feedback from detractors has been carefully analyzed, and we
are committed to addressing specific concerns to enhance the overall client experience.
This survey is part of our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement. As the next steps, we will dive into the
survey responses to identify actionable insights and opportunities for improvement.
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Throughout the year, we collected no fewer than c. 14,800 Google reviews, adding to our all-time total of 98,000
reviews, of which 89% are 5-star. Our overall all-time rating stands at 4.8 out of 5 stars, collated from over 350
reviews per property a result seen consistently across our stores and countries. Overall, in 2023, we have
managed to obtain 4.6 reviews per store per month, even more than we set out as our aim in our 2023 Customer
Service actions. Our strategy is not only to obtain customer feedback, but we also look to receive qualitative
responses we can act upon. As of December 2023, 84% of our Google reviews contained written feedback. As of
December 2023, our Trustpilot rating was 4.7 out of 5 stars.
6.2 CUSTOMER PRIVACY AND SAFETY
DATA PROTECTION
Ensuring the privacy of our customers’ personal data is a daily concern at Shurgard. We are committed to protecting
the privacy of the data collected for the sole purpose of executing the self-storage contract, and to ensuring the
security of the premises.
The Company has set up a privacy policy that can be found on our commercial website, available in all languages
in the countries in which we operate, and on the Company’s corporate website. Our contracts with our customers,
but also with our suppliers and employees, contain a data privacy provision, to ensure that all the rights and duties
are understood by the parties. A dedicated email address is available to raise any request or issue regarding the
protection of personal data: dataprotection@shurgard.eu
The Security Committee, a cross-departmental body (IT, finance, legal, HR, internal audit, operations, real estate),
has been established for the purpose of proactively engaging and monitoring data security across the organization
as well as spreading awareness on the topic and training employees about it.
The Security Committee convenes on a bi-monthly basis and discusses the different security topics related to each
department based on findings, experiences, proposals, actions and reactions, and dedicated reporting. Activities of
this committee are reported to the Board of Directors.
The Security Committee actively monitors security and privacy risks, improving our ability to mitigate them through:
Company-wide programs;
Established industry practices;
Assessments and responses to threats and vulnerabilities.
Digitization is accelerating and, with it, the risks of invasion of privacy. We are supporting these changes with
digitization projects. Our goal is to optimize certain processes and offer our customers new service options. At the
same time, we pay attention to the smallest details to support seamless protection for our stakeholders.
Information security policies and procedures define the classification and rules to be adopted for the purposes of
confidentiality of information and compliance with regulations on the protection of personal data. They describe
the organizational controls put in place to protect information. Our other security measures include firewalls, data
encryption and 24-hour monitoring. This enables us to maintain the quality of technological systems and
proactively detect unusual activity. In addition, all our employees are trained in the collection, the processing, and
the protection of personal data.
We ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data. This is essential to maintain the trust placed in us
by our customers, employees, and other stakeholders. Since the spread of teleworking for our corporate employees,
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we have further strengthened our security capabilities. We can thus monitor the increasing number of threats
involving phishing and social engineering.
We also focused on improving the user experience. To do this, we have simplified the processes and controls and
consolidated security. We are continually and exponentially adapting all our systems.
Our employees from the HR, Marketing and IT departments participate in regular data privacy training, specifically
designed for their area of business.
CUSTOMER SAFETY
Shurgard is fully committed to providing safe storage facilities to our customers. Health and safety criteria are
regularly assessed in our properties to ensure that applicable health and safety rules are respected. All the
properties are audited with respect to health and safety criteria:
By Internal Audit within a three-year cycle (more than one third of the properties are audited each
year).
By the District Managers three times per year (self-assessments).
All our locations have:
strategically placed digital CCTV camera;
alarms monitored by an external security team;
sensor lighting;
perimeter fencing;
PIN coded electronic gates;
individual storage units with specifically designed secure locks.
On top of these security measures, we also make sure all our stores are fully insured for such things as natural
disasters, and our customers are all insured for stored items against loss or damage.
In 2024, we will roll out a significant improvement of our security systems, using the latest available technologies
to maintain and enhance the best security standards for our clients.
6.3 POSITIVE IMPACT ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES
At Shurgard, to help enable meaningful action, we define community as our immediate neighbors and those in the
local catchment areas surrounding our stores. We support and empower our community partners by focusing on
building positive and lasting relationships and maintaining a sustainable operation. We believe that having an open
and transparent dialogue with our local communities enables us to create a harmonious environment for our
neighbors, customers, and employees alike.
All our stores, as well as our support centers, have time and financial budgets to provide in-kind support and
sponsorship to our community partners and this financial year they have continued to utilize these budgets to
make a positive contribution.
The effectiveness of our community engagement is continuously reviewed and adjusted to ensure that we
sufficiently address community interests and opportunities
.
In 2023, we have implemented and made publicly available a Community and Charity Policy.
GRI 413-1
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OUR CHARITY SUPPORT
We have a charity partnership with Le Rire Médecin, a
leading association in France working with clowns
entertaining children in hospitals. Shurgard provides
free storage space at three of our stores in the Paris
region; and a large number of our staff participated in
a fundraising flea market event across the country
during the Christmas period. Shurgard France
continues to support this association financially. In
2023 we helped and participated in the organization
of the big clearance sale of Le Rire Médecin 2023.
After a very positive result in 2022, 14,300 euros were
raised which made it possible to offer 477 clown visits
to hospitalized children in 2023. Shurgard’s aim for
2023 was to bring as many smiles and laughter as
possible to hospitalized children by supporting Le Rire
Médecin.
We also have a charity partnership with Stichting Babyspullen, a leading foundation in the Netherlands providing
free baby essentials to low-income parents and parents-to-be. Shurgard serves as a collection point for the
foundation by placing donation containers at selected self-storage locations across the Netherlands. In addition,
Shurgard provides free storage space for Stichting Babyspullen at 23 of our locations in the Netherlands.
Through our charity partnership with the Mayor's Fund for London, an
independent pan-London charity offering support to young Londoners from
low-income backgrounds, Shurgard regularly facilitates CV writing workshops,
interview workshops and on the job experience for young adults through the
Access Aspiration Program. We recently completed another successful CV and
interview workshop, this time at the Walthamstow Academy. Our District
Managers collaborated with the students, guiding them through the process of
preparing for CVs and interviews.
We are organizing fund raising activities at Shurgard for the Mayor’s Fund for
London and we held two in 2023. One was a fancy dress event in the East
District and one was a fancy dress event in the South District for Halloween.
Shurgard is donating £10,000, which will be invested in food, education and
job support.
On top of that, our Shurgard UK team is organizing game-based math
workshops that give the students the opportunity to understand why math is
important for the future. Since launch, a total of over 300 students have
benefited from the Shurgard workshops.
Our Swedish and Danish market teams will continue their strong support and
relationship with Team Rynkeby, a Nordic charity cycling team raising money
for organizations that support children with critical diseases across Europe into
2024. Shurgard is providing free storage space at three locations in Denmark and eight locations in Sweden.
Throughout the year, not only must the members make preparations to cycle the 1,200km trip to Paris, they also
do what they can to raise money for children with critical illnesses. In 2022, all the stores in Denmark and Sweden
collected money as part of the Team Rynkeby fundraising for the Childrens Cancer Fund in Sweden and in 2023,
we continued our support of Team Rynkeby. Team Rynkeby donated €9.1 million to organizations that help children
with critical illnesses in 2023 and Shurgard is proud to have contributed to this goal.
Initiative from our UK team to support
our charity partner the Mayor's Fund in
London in raising funds. The event not
only raised money for the charity but
engaged the team and the customers
in a fun way. It supported our goal to
drive engagement, team spirit and
happiness among employees.
Group photo of the students of Walthamstow Academy and
our UK district managers (DMs): Monir (DM North), Zak (DM
South) and Danny (DM West).
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We support Off Road Kids, a German non-profit
organization that runs a street social work system to
prevent homeless young people from becoming street
children. We provide free storage space for this charity
at five of our stores in Germany. Several of our staff also
participated in a blood donation fundraising event.
In Belgium, we have a charity partnership with Pelicano,
a foundation that fights to end child poverty. The
foundation is committed to ensuring all children’s basic
needs of healthy living conditions, nutritious food,
education, and meaningful leisure time are met.
Shurgard provides the foundation with free storage
space at seven different self-storage locations.
PHILANTHROPIC CONTRIBUTIONS
For 2023, we estimate below the total monetary value (at cost) of Shurgard's corporate citizenship/philanthropic
contributions for each of the following categories. 100% of our corporate citizenship and/or philanthropic activities
are comprised of charitable donations, a breakdown is provided in the table below:
Type of Contribution
2022 2023
Cash Contributions
€19,833
€20,707
Time: employee volunteering during paid working hours
16,214
16,260
In-kind giving: product or service donations, projects/partnerships or similar 83,924 95,636
Total Charitable Contributions 119,972
€132,603
6.4 ENCOURAGING ESG BEST-PRACTICES IN OUR SUPPLY CHAIN
We commit to working with appointed partners, suppliers, and contractors to improve ESG performance through
our supply chain.
To drive positive change and as part of our procurement process, we ask our suppliers strategic questions and
evaluate different options using a wide variety of criteria. Sustainable procurement means going beyond price,
quality, and value to also incorporate environmental, social, and governance considerations into our supply-chain
decisions and purchases. Our sustainable procurement strategy contributes to local communities and, by buying
locally, helps reduce negative environmental and health impacts, by notably promoting high labor standards and
local job creation.
As part of our sustainable procurement strategy, Shurgard:
Considers environmental, social and governance matters when procuring products, services and
equipment;
Provides employees and suppliers with knowledge and resources about sustainable procurement
principles;
Proactively implements compliance provisions in contract templates;
Reviews human rights, modern slavery and bribery risks throughout the supply chain through the
ESG questionnaire and due diligence processes.
In March 2023, Shurgard Scandinavian team (Sweden and
Denmark) made all their way to meet at three different gyms
in Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm to spin together with
Team Rynkeby for the Children's Cancer Foundation.
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SUPPLIER CODE OF CONDUCT
We continually look for opportunities to increase the dialogue around sustainable sourcing and improve
understanding, both internally and externally. Strategies include addressing sustainability-specific requirements in
our standard procurement agreements. Within all our contracts we have clauses relating to anti-bribery, human
rights, and modern slavery, as we intend to partner with suppliers who share the same values. In addition to that,
in 2023, we made the Suppliers’ Code of Conduct publicly available on our website. This Code clarifies the guiding
principles Shurgard applies to our suppliers to create a mutual understanding of our core values. It is a commitment
we have towards our customers, employees, and investors to ensure sustainable sourcing of services and aims to
ensure that suppliers adhere to high standards of safe working conditions, fair and respectful treatment of
employees, and ethical and environmental practices. Suppliers’ obligations to comply with the Suppliers’ Code of
Conduct is also now part of all our contract templates.
SUPPLIER SURVEY
To ensure ongoing compliance with ethical and environmental standards, we survey our critical tier-one suppliers
every three years regarding their ESG performance. In 2022 we have identified these suppliers through an internal
assessment based on various factors, including the magnitude of the financial relationship, the access to our
corporate information and network, as well as the impact on Shurgard’s operations if the services were to be
disrupted. These suppliers were asked to complete the ESG questionnaire, assessing whether they have appropriate
policies, systems, and resources in place to manage potential adverse ESG impacts. The result has shown that the
critical suppliers who participated in the survey share and respect the internationally recognized norms of ethics,
diversity, as well as environmental norms.
In 2023, we have invited our suppliers to participate in the SMEs sustainability training, provided by the UN Global
Compact. By encouraging our suppliers to participate in this learning journey, we can enhance sustainability
performance across our operations and ensure our supply chain is well-prepared for market changes, climate-
related challenges, and evolving regulations.
WORKERS IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN
In our commitment to maintaining a sustainable supply chain, we conduct rigorous sample-based audits of our
vendors and suppliers on new development sites on a yearly basis. These audits serve as a comprehensive
evaluation of various aspects, ensuring the well-being and compliance of supply chain employees with health and
safety, as well as human rights standards.
A crucial aspect of our audit process involves an examination of the working conditions for third-party employees.
We go beyond confirming adherence to local laws and standards and require all suppliers to adhere to the Shurgard
safety charter, a robust framework that regulates vital health and safety issues within the working environment.
Recognizing the importance of well-being of our supply chain employees, we ensure that each new worker or
contractor undergoes a thorough safety induction training. This training, which encompasses essential components
such as the prevention and health plan and the general safety plan, equips employees with the knowledge and
awareness necessary to maintain a secure environment on a construction site.
Moreover, we take a proactive approach to enforcing working procedures that uphold the rights and welfare of all
employees on site, e.g., identification and formal registration of all visitors and workers, verification of legal papers.
This also ensures that child labor is not involved on site. Through these on-site checks and comprehensive audits,
we not only fulfill our regulatory obligations but also reinforce our dedication to maintaining an ethical and
sustainable supply chain. By prioritizing the well-being of employees in the supply chain, adhering to local
standards and laws, and eliminating any potential ethical concerns, we strive to create a supply chain that reflects
our commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainable business practices.
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SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY
Shurgard is committed to preserving rainforests and other natural forests with high conservation value and will
work systematically and purposefully to ensure that our products do not contribute to deforestation. This
commitment applies to all our operations and sourcing.
Shurgard uses paper and board in the packaging sold to customers to aid their moving needs. We impose that all
our suppliers of wood fiber-based products for packaging applications only use wood fibers from certified forests,
which are managed sustainably and provide appropriate traceability. All forestry-based products Shurgard procures
are used for our packaging solutions and are either Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or PEFC (and other
certifications recognized by PEFC) certified. We promote these credentials alongside the packing materials for sale.
Other documentation given to customers is on FSC certified paper.
6.5 OUR “POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOCIETY” FUTURE COMMITMENTS
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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7. ETHICS & GOVERNANCE
Ethics and governance are foundational values of Shurgard. All activities and developments are guided by a strict
sense of responsibility and a duty of transparency. We expect our employees and stakeholders to respect our
fundamental values, sense of ethics and compliance with applicable regulations.
As a company whose shares are listed on Euronext Brussels, we recognize the importance of high standards of
corporate governance, we have set up our own Corporate Governance Charter that meets the specific needs and
interests of our Company. The charter came into effect when the Company was listed on Euronext Brussels. Our
governance structure is designed to foster principled actions, informed and effective decision-making, and
appropriate monitoring of both compliance and performance. Shurgard follows a clear code of conduct, guiding
our employees and other stakeholders. Our Board of Directors make significant business decisions based on
thorough analysis to ensure well-informed choices. Regular audits are conducted to ensure that all business
activities adhere to relevant laws, regulations, and internal policies. Our KPIs are tracked and reviewed regularly to
assess the overall effectiveness of Shurgard and identify areas for improvement. For additional information please
refer to the Corporate Governance Charter in the “Governance” section of the Shurgard website: Governance
Documents | Shurgard Investor Relations. The last update to the Corporate Governance Charter occurred on
February 17, 2023. For the latest updates on our structure, please refer to the chapter “Group Structure” of our
Annual Report.
The governing bodies of our Company are the Board of Directors and the General Shareholders’ Meeting. The Board
together with the Senior Management manages the Company in accordance with applicable laws.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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7.1 HIGH GOVERNANCE STANDARDS
MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION OF THE COMPANY
The management and supervision of Shurgard comprises a Board of Directors which is the body responsible for
Shurgard’s Senior Management, supervision, and control. To support the Board, there are three main committees:
the Audit Committee, the ESG Committee and the Real Estate Investment Committee.
The Board of Directors can amend or rescind the powers delegated to each of the committees and amend the
internal rules and regulations to which the committee is subject.
According to their internal rules and regulations, each of the committees convenes at appropriate times and
whenever required by our affairs. The meetings are called by the Chairperson or by two members acting jointly.
The meetings of the committees are held at the place indicated on the convening notice; or via an online secured
videoconference system due to certain circumstances and as authorized by the law (such as the COVID-19 safety
rules and travel restrictions experienced). Except in urgent cases or for regularly scheduled meetings, the meetings
of the committees are announced in writing at least 48 hours in advance. This notice can be waived if each member
of the committee provides documented consent. Meetings previously scheduled by the committees do not require
separate notice. Members of the committees can participate in a meeting remotely by conference call or
videoconference. Remote participation is equivalent to a physical presence at the meeting. At least half of the
committee members present or represented at a committee meeting constitutes a quorum, and resolutions are
adopted by a simple majority vote of the committee members present or represented. In the case of a tie, the
resolution will not be approved. The committees provide periodic reports to the Board of Directors, which retains
ultimate responsibility, and assesses their own effectiveness annually.
Having robust governance bodies is a priority for Shurgard. A diversity of profiles is required among the members
of its collegiate bodies. Thus, the collective expertise of each of them contributes to the implementation,
management, and supervision of all business activities. The Board of Directors provides guidance, direction, and
oversight to advance the interests of Shurgard and our stakeholders.
Shurgard is committed to respecting the rules of governance. To this end, it has established transparent financial
reporting and effective internal controls. It is organized in such a way as to promote a strong culture of awareness
of compliance, business ethics and risk management.
GRI 2-14 / 2-9
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
According to our Articles of Incorporation, the Directors are appointed by the General Shareholders’ Meeting for a
term of one year. The General Shareholders’ Meeting also determines the number of members of the Board of
Directors, their remuneration and the terms of their office (which may not exceed one year). The Directors are
eligible for reelection, and they can be removed at any time by the General Shareholders’ Meeting, with or without
cause. If the Board has a vacancy, the remaining Directors have the right to appoint a replacement before the next
General Shareholders’ Meeting.
The Board of Directors is currently composed of nine members - one Executive Director and eight Non-Executive
Directors. We consider a majority (six) of the members of our Board of Directors to be independent. At the Annual
General Shareholders’ Meeting of May 10, 2023, seven members of the Board were re-appointed and two new
members of the Board were appointed for a term of one year ending at the Company’s Annual General
Shareholders’ Meeting to be held in 2024.
Since the last Annual General Meeting of shareholders held May 10, 2023, Ronald L. Havner, Jr. and Daniel C. Staton
have resigned from the Board. Mr. Havner has retained the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus. This is currently a
non-voting position wherein Mr. Havner provides advisory services to the Board as needed. Ian Marcus has been
appointed as Independent Chairman. Everett B. Miller III and Isabelle Moins have also resigned from the Board. Tom
Boyle and Lorna Brown have joined the Board of Directors.
Responsibilities
The Board of Directors retains sole responsibility for the following matters:
Topics Responsibilities
Corporate
governance
Convene the general meeting of shareholders of the Company;
Establish the internal regulations of governance of the Company;
Elect the members of the Audit Committee, the ESG Committee and the Real Estate
Investment Committee;
Appoint and remove the Chief Executive Officer of the Company;
Delegate the day-to-day management of the Company to the Chief Executive Officer;
Appoint and remove the other executive Board members when their appointment or
removal is proposed by the Chief Executive Officer.
Strategy and
policies
Approve the overall Company strategy;
Approve the sustainability strategy of the Company;
Approve the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy.
Financial
information,
budget,
investments and
pensions schemes.
Approve the annual overall Company budget;
Approve the annual balance sheet and profit and loss accounts and propose an
allocation of the annual profits;
Approve any acquisition or disposal of assets, properties or subsidiaries worth more
than €50.0 million;
Decide on a Company basis on the introduction or major amendments of pension
schemes, share option schemes, participation of employees in profits, or similarly
important labor relations schemes.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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Meetings
The Board of Directors meets as often as the interests of the Company require and at least four times a year. The
meetings are called by the Chairperson of the Board. Except in urgent cases or with the prior consent of all the
Directors, at least 48 hours’ written notice must be given for Board meetings.
The Chairperson prepares the agenda of the Board meetings after consultation with the Chief Executive Officer.
The Chairperson presides at meetings of the Board. If they are absent the Board can vote by majority to appoint
another Director as Chairperson for the relevant meeting. At least half of the Directors must be present at the
meeting for any deliberation and voting to be valid. No Directors can be represented by another Director at any
meeting of the Board.
The convening notice provides details of the day, time, and place of the Board meetings. The Board and its
committee meetings are conducted in English and can be held remotely (e.g., by video or telephone conference).
In these circumstances, the connection must be uninterrupted, all members taking part in the meeting must be
identified, and they must be able to communicate with each other on a continuous basis.
During the financial year 2023, the Board of Directors held five meetings. All members of the Board were present
at these meetings with the exception of one meeting where one member was not present due to personal reasons.
GRI 2-10 / 2-11
Directorships and Shurgard shares held by Board members
As of December 31, 2023, our Board members held directorship mandates in the following companies:
As of December 31, 2023, the members of the Board of Directors owned 157,181 shares or 0.16% of the total share
capital of the Company.
Name Mandates
Shurgard
shares owned
Ian Marcus
Town Centre Securities plc, Anschutz Entertainment, Work-Life, Elysian
Residences, the Wharton Business School Real Estate Faculty, Eastdil
Secured LLP, Redevco NV, Cambridge Land Economy Dept Advisory Board
,
BCP Futures
2,515
Marc Oursin CAG23 Capital 137,092
Z. Jamie Behar
Armour Residential REIT, Inc., Sila Realty Trust, Benefit Street Partners
Multifamily Trust
1,901
Tom Boyle None 0
Lorna Brown
BREC 1 UK Limited, Birchwood Real Estate Capital UK Limited, Birchwood
Real
Estate Capital Limited, BREC Fund I Jersey Limited, BREC Fund I CIP
GP Limited
0
Olivier Faujour
Wegrow SaaS, Neosilver Silver Economy, Alpange Pianos Company
, Bon
Vivant Food
4,347
Frank Fiskers Whitbread PLC, Rak Hospitality Holding LLC 5,347
Muriel De Lathouwer
Coderdojo Belgium asbl, Etex, Olympia group of companies, CPH, ULB dev
(economic development of the research from the Free University of
Brussels)
2,979
Padraig McCarthy Eutelsat Communications 2,000
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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Independence
Six of the non-executive directors Ian Marcus (Chairman), Lorna Brown, Olivier Faujour, Frank Fiskers, Muriel De
Lathouwer and Padraig McCarthy are independent of management and other outside interests that might
interfere with the exercise of their independent judgement. We define an “independent Board member” as a
member who:
is not an executive or managing director of the Company or an associated company;
is not an employee of the Company or an associated company;
does not receive significant additional remuneration from the Company or an associated company
apart from a fee received as Non-Executive Director;
does not have an employee, contractual or managerial relationship with, is not an agent of, nor has
a financial interest in or receives compensation from, the controlling shareholder(s) (i.e., a strategic
shareholder with a 10% or larger holding);
has no significant business relationship with the Company. Business relationships include significant
suppliers of goods or services (including financial, legal, advisory or consulting services), a significant
customer and organizations that receive significant contributions from the Company or Group;
is not a partner or employee of the external auditor of the Company or an associated company;
is not an executive or managing director in another company in which an executive or managing
director of the Company is a non-executive or supervisory director, and does not have other
significant links with executive directors of the Company through involvement in other companies or
bodies; and
is not a close family member of an executive or managing director, or of persons in the situations
referred to in points above.
Skills matrix and Biographies
Shurgard is committed to achieving a high level of diversity at all levels in qualities such as age, gender, race,
ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, gender identity and diverse background. The commitment to diversity also
extends to the Company’s Board. Our Board reflects diverse perspectives, including a complementary mix of skills,
experience, and backgrounds, which we believe is paramount to the Company’s ability to represent the interest of
all shareholders. To enhance the self-storage and corporate governance skills of the members of the Board, ongoing
training is provided by the Company.
GRI 405-1
Board member Role
International
Management
Real Estate
Finance
Risk
m
anagement
and c
ompliance
Retail and
consumer
goods
Digital, IT
and
technology
Ian Marcus
Independent Chairman
Marc Oursin
Executive Director/CEO
Z. Jamie Behar
Director
Tom Boyle
Director
Lorna Brown
Independent Director
Olivier Faujour
Independent Director
Frank Fiskers
Independent Director
Muriel De Lathouwer
Independent Director
Padraig McCarthy
Independent Director
Total
100%
100%
63%
63%
44%
22%
22%
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
101
At the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 22, 2024, Olivier Faujour will resign and Paula
Hay-Plumb, whose biography is below, shall be proposed as a new Director.
All other current Directors’ mandates will be up for renewal.
Director and management conflicts of interest
Members of Senior Management have employment agreements with an entity of the Group other than the Chief
Executive Officer who has a management contract. Certain members of the Senior Management team also serve
on the boards of various Group companies. In addition, the Chief Executive Officer is a member of the Board of
Directors of the Company. Therefore, conflicts of interest could arise for members of the Board of Directors and of
Senior Management between their duties towards the Group, the relevant individual Group company and their
duties as members of the Board of Directors of the Company or as a member of Senior Management, respectively.
As of December 31, 2023, the following member of the Board of Directors is partner, director, representative and/or
employee of Public Storage or an affiliate thereof: Tom Boyle. Another member of the Board of Directors elected
on the designation of our shareholder New York State Common Retirement Fund is Z. Jamie Behar. Apart from
these potential conflicts of interest and the transactions and legal relations described in the section “Related Party
Transactions”, there are no other actual or potential conflicts of interest between the obligations of the members
of the Board of Directors or Senior Management toward the Company and their respective private interests or other
obligations.
None of the Board members or members of Senior Management are related to one another by blood or marriage.
We have not granted any Board members or members of Senior Management any loans, nor have we assumed any
guarantees or sureties on their behalf.
Pursuant to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation and Corporate Governance Charter, if a member of the Board
of Directors has a financial conflict of interest in any Company transaction submitted to the approval of the Board
of Directors, they must inform the Board of Directors at that meeting and include a record of their statement in
the minutes of the meeting. The members of the Board of Directors may not take part in the deliberations relating
to that transaction and may not vote on the resolutions relating to that transaction.
GRI 2-15
Diversity of Board members
Shurgard is committed to achieving a high level of diversity at all levels in qualities such as age, gender, race,
ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, gender identity and diverse background. The commitment to diversity also
extends to the Company’s Board. Our Board reflects diverse perspectives, including a complementary mix of skills,
experience, and backgrounds, which we believe is paramount to the Company’s ability to represent the interest of
all shareholders. As disclosed below, 33% of Board members are women, and the Company aims to increase that
ratio. Also, six nationalities are represented on the Board which allows for an enriching cultural exchange.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
102
Furthermore, the Board members have different skills backgrounds: all of them have management experience,
three quarters have finance experience, and seven directors have a strong background in real-estate, including self
storage (for four directors). The Board membersprofile is further complemented by experience in marketing,
engineering, and insurance, as well as in digitalization, transformation, and technology. To enhance the self-
storage and corporate governance skills of the members of the Board, ongoing training is provided by the Company.
GRI 405-1
AUDIT COMMITTEE
The Audit Committee is responsible for all matters set forth in its internal rules and regulations as adopted by the
Board. The Audit Committee should, in particular, perform the following activities:
inform the Board of Directors of the outcome of the statutory audit and explain how the statutory
audit contributed to the integrity of financial reporting and what the role of the Audit Committee
was in that process;
monitor the financial reporting drawing-up process and submit recommendations or proposals to
ensure its integrity;
monitor the effectiveness of our internal quality control and risk management systems and, where
applicable, its internal audit, regarding our financial reporting, without breaching its independence;
monitor the statutory audit of the annual and consolidated financial statements, in particular its
performance;
review and monitor the independence of the approved statutory auditor(s);
be responsible for the selection of the approved statutory auditor(s) and ensure that they are duly
qualified for appointment pursuant to the Companies (Guernsey) law, 2008 as amended regarding
commercial companies (the Guernsey Company Law).
During their meeting held on November 2, 2023, the Audit Committee members approved a revised version of its
internal rules and regulations reflecting on the reporting framework for sustainability and ESG as provided for
under
the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive :
monitor the ESG reporting drawing-up process and submit recommendations or proposals to ensure
its integrity;
monitor the effectiveness of the Company’s internal quality control and risk management systems
and, where applicable, its internal audit, regarding the sustainability reporting of the Company,
without breaching its independence;
review the consolidated sustainability reporting carried out according to the relevant sustainability
reporting standards;
monitor the assurance of the annual and consolidated sustainability reporting.
At least one member of the Audit Committee should be competent in accounting and/or auditing. The Audit
Committee members as a whole should be competent in the relevant sector in which we are operating. A majority
of the members of the Audit Committee should be independent of the Company. The chairperson of the Audit
Committee should be appointed by its members and should also be independent of the Company.
As of December 31, 2023, the Audit Committee consisted of four members: Padraig McCarthy (chairperson), Muriel
De Lathouwer, Lorna Brown and Z. Jamie Behar. Padraig McCarthy, Muriel De Lathouwer and Lorna Brown are
considered independent Board members. Padraig McCarthy, Muriel De Lathouwer, Lorna Brown and Z. Jamie Behar
have a special competence in accounting and/or auditing in listed companies. Three out of the four members of
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
103
the Audit Committee are independent, which ensures good governance and nonpartisan decision-making. Z. Jamie
Behar, non-independent director, has been appointed to the Audit Committee due to her renowned academic
knowledge in finance and 25 years of senior experience in both public and private market real-estate investment.
Over the year, the Audit Committee members assessed the way the Committee operates, the effective fulfilment
of its role, its rules and policies and tools available. They consider it adequate to perform their role and to ensure
good governance of the Company. During their meeting held on November 2, 2023, no change was requested.
During the financial year 2023, the Audit Committee held six meetings, where all committee members were present,
except for one meeting during which one member was absent due to personal reasons.
ESG COMMITTEE
GRI 2-14
The ESG Committee is responsible for the following matters:
the review and approval of corporate goals and objectives relevant to the Senior Management’s
compensation, and the evaluation of their performance related to these goals;
making recommendations to the Board on incentive compensation plans and equity-based plans;
submitting proposals to the Board on the remuneration of members of the Senior Management;
making recommendations to the Board on the Company’s framework of remuneration for Senior
Management and other members of the executive management, and assisting the Board in drawing
up the remuneration policy of the Company;
identifying candidates qualified to serve as members of the Board and executive officers;
recommending candidates to the Board for appointment by the General Meeting or for appointment
by the Board to fill interim vacancies on the Board;
facilitating the evaluation of the Board and reporting to the Board on all matters relating to
remuneration (including, for example, on internal pay disparity);
preparing a remuneration report (which should contain, among others, disclosure on the
remuneration of each executive officer) and which should be submitted to the annual Shareholders’
Meeting for an advisory vote;
overseeing the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy of the Company and monitoring
the completion of the ESG objectives;
reviewing any sustainability report filed by the Company;
assisting the Board in reviewing and assessing the Company’s ESG risks;
submitting a list of candidates to the Board on the appointment of new directors and Senior
Management;
assessing the existing and required skills, knowledge and experience for any post to be filled and
preparing a description of the role, together with the skills, knowledge and experience required;
making an assessment about the independence of candidate directors; and,
assessing, together with the Chief Executive Officer, the way in which the Senior Management
operates and the performance of its members at least once a year.
The ESG Committee members should be competent in the relevant sector in which we operate. The committee is
composed of independent non-executive directors.
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104
As of December 31, 2023, the ESG Committee consisted of four members: Frank Fiskers (chairperson), Padraig
McCarthy, Olivier Faujour and Muriel De Lathouwer, and all of whom are considered independent Board members.
During the financial year 2023, the ESG Committee held six meetings where all committee members were present,
except for one meeting during which one member was absent due to personal reasons.
GRI 2-12
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE
The Real Estate Investment Committee is authorized by the Board to review and approve all acquisitions or disposal
of assets, properties, or subsidiaries under €50 million.
As of December 31, 2023, the Real Estate Investment Committee consisted of four members: Z. Jamie Behar
(chairperson), Frank Fiskers, Olivier Faujour, and Tom Boyle. Olivier Faujour and Frank Fiskers are considered
independent Board members.
During the financial year 2023, the Real Estate Investment Committee held five meetings, where all committee
members were present, except for one meeting during which one member was not present due to personal reasons.
SENIOR MANAGEMENT
The Senior Management of the Group is made up of five members, who hold their positions through employment
contracts with entities of the Group, except for the Chief Executive Officer who has a management agreement and
who is appointed and may be removed by the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors has delegated the daily management of the business to the Chief Executive Officer. The
Chief Executive Officer has the authority to represent the Board, as well as a number of ancillary specific powers.
In addition, the Chief Executive Officer has been granted powers to approve any development or refurbishment of
real estate assets.
Directorships and Shurgard shares held by Board members
As of December 31, 2023, Senior Management owned the following numbers of shares, adding up to 283,134 shares
or 0.29% of the total share capital.
Name
Position
Mandates
Shurgard shares owned
Marc Oursin Chief Executive Officer CAG23 Capital 137,092
Jean Kreusch Chief Financial Office Transforming Talent sprl, Sports Abroad asbl 86,521
Duncan Bell Chief Operating Officer No other directorship 15,173
Ammar Kharouf
General Counsel and VP
Human resources
No other directorship 44,348
Isabel Neumann Chief Investment Officer Belfius Bank & Insurance 0
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
105
The members of the Senior Management team must meet share ownership requirements proportional to their fixed
compensation over five years. This shareholding requirement is set at 2.5 times the fixed compensation for the
Chief Executive Officer, 2.0 times for the Chief Financial Officer and 1.5 times for the other Senior Management
members. For all members except Isabel Neuman, this five-year period began at the time of the Company’s IPO in
2018. These requirements were satisfied by the members who were present in 2018 well before the five-year
period. For Isabel Neuman, this period began when she started in 2022 and therefore she has until 2027 to comply
with this requirement.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders must be held within six months following the end of the financial
year at the place and on the day set by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors can convene Extraordinary
General Meetings as often as the Company’s interests require. In accordance with the Companies (Guernsey) Law,
2008 (as amended) and the Company’s Corporate Governance Charter, a General Meeting of Shareholders must be
convened on the request of one or more shareholders who together represent at least one tenth of the Company’s
capital.
The right of a shareholder to participate in a General Meeting and to exercise the voting rights attached to his
shares are determined with respect to the shares held by such shareholder on the 14th day before the General
Meeting of Shareholders at 24 hours London time, which is known as the “Record Date”. Each shareholder has the
right to ask questions about the items on the agenda of a General Meeting of Shareholders. Each share entitles
the holder to one vote. Each shareholder can exercise their voting rights in person, through a proxy holder, or by
correspondence in advance of the General Meeting of Shareholders, by means of the form made available by the
Company.
In 2023, the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders took place on May 10, 2023 (further information can be found
on 2023 Annual General Assembly | Shurgard Investor Relations).
STATUTORY AUDITOR
During the financial year 2023 up to May 10, 2023, the Company’s statutory auditor (réviseur d’entreprise agréé)
was Ernst & Young S.A., registered with the CSSF as a cabinet de révision agréé and with the Luxembourg Trade
and Companies Register (Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés, Luxembourg) under number B47771 and with
registered office at 35E, Avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Ernst & Young
S.A. is a member of the Luxembourg body of registered auditors (Institut des Réviseurs d’Entreprises). As a result
of the migration to Guernsey, at the AGM on May 10, 2023, shareholders resolved to appoint Ernst & Young LLP,
of Royal Chambers, St Julian’s Avenue, St Peter Port, Guernsey as independent auditor of the Company.
Audit fees in 2023 were €906,667 for the audits of consolidated and statutory financial statements of the Company
and its subsidiaries.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
106
7.2 BUSINESS ETHICS AND CODE OF CONDUCT
At all times, our employees must act with loyalty, competence, care, and diligence, in the best interests of
customers and other stakeholders. Identifying and understanding irresponsible behavior is a pre-requisite for any
corrective action. Ethical and accountability principles are a mandatory part of each employee’s annual
performance review. In addition, the whistleblowing procedures in place guarantee employees complete
confidentiality in the event of a report. In all our activities, checks and balances ensure the proper monitoring of
the systems put in place, in support of our corporate values and objectives. Employee training involves courses
related to business ethics, compliance and regulations.
Our Code of conduct aims to:
Define the expected behavior of all employees;
Make the connection between our company values, policies and guidelines, and individual actions;
Promote ethical decision-making;
Ensure that our behavior meets the highest standards of professional conduct.
It covers a number of important topics, including:
Compliance with the laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate;
Ethics and transparency in the services provided to customers;
Protecting confidential information;
The fight against money laundering and corruption;
Maintaining a healthy environment, free from harassment and discrimination (see our group-wide
non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy).
It underlines our desire to have a positive and lasting impact on society and our commitment to sustainability. It
provides the overall framework for all topics relevant to our activities. Shurgard employees must comply with it at
all times. Shurgard further expects its employees to promote Shurgard values outside their business activities and
to speak up when they have a concern about a possible violation of the underlying Shurgard policies or the
applicable laws.
We have put in place internal guidelines for each issue that may impact our activities, our employees, or our other
stakeholders. These arrangements ensure the active monitoring of compliance with regulations, and all employees
facing these risks are informed of any regulatory changes. Shurgard‘s objective is twofold: maintain active
communication on procedures and guidelines, and review ethics-related policies to integrate non-financial risks.
GRI 102-15 / 102-17 / 102-29
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
107
ADVOCACY AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The group is part of local trade associations for self storage. In 2023 the total amount of the membership fees
across the group was around €32,000.
Association expenditures
2023
CISS (France) €6,600
NSSA (The Netherlands) €6,760
Self Storage Association UK (UK) £8,550
Self Storage Association (Sweden) SEK16,000
VDSU (Germany) €3,300
Belgian Self Storage association (Belgium) €2,100
Self Storage Association Denmark (Denmark) DKK12,500
GRI 2-14 / 2-28
ANTI-CORRUPTION AND BRIBERY
Shurgard prohibits employees from participating in schemes involving any payment or transfer of Shurgard funds
or assets to any representative of suppliers, customers, public authorities, officials, or others in the form of
commercial bribes, kickbacks, and other similar payoffs and benefits, as detailed in the Ethical Behavior policy of
the Company.
Bribery and corruption of suppliers and/or customers includes, but is not limited to:
Gifts (except if customary business practice or in compliance with Shurgard’s business expense
policy);
Cash payments reimbursed by Shurgard (except expenditures for meals and entertainment of
suppliers and customers that are a customary business expense and in compliance with Shurgard’s
business expense policy);
The uncompensated use of Shurgard services, facilities or property (except if customary business
practice and lawful);
Loans, loan guarantees or other extensions of credit (except at prevailing commercial rates);
Giving or receiving anything of value to (foreign) government officials, (foreign) political parties, party
officials, or candidates for public office, suppliers or customers for the purposes of obtaining,
facilitating (facilitation payments) or retaining business for Shurgard.
Shurgard also prohibits employees from receiving (other than salary, wages or other ordinary compensation from
Shurgard), directly or indirectly, from suppliers, customers or others in connection with a transaction entered by
Shurgard, anything of significant value, excessive hospitality, loans or other special treatments. The same applies
to any person having a close personal relationship with the employee.
Failure to comply with such commitments may lead to disciplinary or other measures against culpable employees,
including the termination of employment and/or the termination of contracts with business partners, or to such
contracts not being extended or changed for precautionary reasons.
As part of the mitigation of corruption risks, employees, and Directors of the Board of Shurgard make an annual
declaration relating to conflicts of interest. In addition, in 2023, our employees participated in online training about
anti-bribery as part of our Code of conduct refreshment training.
In 2023, no cases of corruption or bribery were reported. There were no legal proceedings against Shurgard or its
employees and no confirmed incidents of contracts with business partners being terminated.
GRI 205-1 / 205-2 / 205-3
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COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION
Shurgard encourages employees’ participation in supporting the community and charity organizations. Shurgard
realizes employee giving is an important part of the employee engagement process and supports the contribution
of our staff to organizing activities for non-profit organizations we are engaged with. a.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Shurgard wants its employees to remain neutral and independent when acting for the Company. Hence, conflicts
of interests are to be avoided by employees. If a conflict of interest is unavoidable it must be disclosed at the
earliest opportunity. An online assessment is carried out every year for employees, as per the Conflict of Interest
policy.
POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Shurgard did not make any contributions to or expenditures for political campaigns or organizations, lobbying, tax-
exempt entities, or other groups whose role is to influence political campaigns or public policy and legislation in
the reporting year.
(GRI 415-1)
INSIDER DEALING
Shurgard wants to ensure that its employees do not abuse, or place themself under suspicion of abusing, price
sensitive or inside information that they may have or be thought to have, especially in periods leading up to an
announcement of financial results or of price sensitive events or decisions. Basically, any of Shurgard’s directors or
employees (or people closely associated with them) are prohibited from dealing or attempting to deal in financial
instruments for his, her or its own account or for the account of a third party at any time (i) when such person is
in possession of inside information or (ii) during a closed period (as communicated by the management). Other
restrictions, such as the prohibition of short sales, hedging, or disclosing or using inside information, also apply.
In 2023, all employees participated in an online training course about insider dealing as part of our code of conduct
refreshment training.
WHISTLEBLOWING
Shurgard annually reviews and updates its whistleblowing procedure, consistent with best practice. The policy is
proactively communicated and made available to all employees in local languages. It is also available on the
Shurgard website for suppliers, customers and other third parties.
The policy is designed to allow all Concerned Persons (e.g., employees, shareholders, executive or non-executive
directors, contractors or suppliers) to disclose information internally on actual or potential acts, which they believe
shows malpractice, unethical conduct or illegal practices in the workplace, without being penalized in any way. The
policy also sets forth how Concerned Persons are to (i) safely express concerns, (ii) know who to contact, (iii) make
a report, and (iv) to be protected for raising concerns. Concerned Persons are expected to disclose or report the
acts/incidents (e.g., crime, offense, misconduct, threat or prejudice) that could occur in various contexts (e.g.,
financial markets, money laundering, anti-bribery, product safety and compliance, health and safety, consumer
protection and regulations). Shurgard ensures that employees act within the law and expects all Concerned Persons
to adhere to all rules, policies, and procedures.
A clear reporting procedure is in place to raise any wrongdoing in an appropriate way. As of 2021, cases can be
reported anonymously via a secure online platform, or any other way as per the local laws. Reported cases are
handled by the Internal Audit department (independent reporting line to the Audit Committee) and, in case of
conflict of interest, by the Legal department, treating any whistleblowing disclosure with the highest level of
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109
confidentiality. The identity of the reporting person will be protected at all stages in any internal matter to the
extent reasonably possible and subject to national legislation. Concerned Persons will be protected from retaliation,
harassment, victimization, or disciplinary action as a result of any disclosure.
The policy is proactively communicated and made available to all employees in local languages. Online training as
well as regular refresher courses are organized for all employees. Finally, employees in stores are regularly tested
by the Internal Audit department on their knowledge about this policy.
In 2023, all employees participated in an online training course about whistleblowing as part of our code of conduct
refreshment training.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Shurgard supports freedom of association. As part of this, it respects the right of employees to join unions and to
be represented by representatives of these unions internally and externally in accordance with the applicable
national or local laws and practices. The same standard is applicable for suppliers.
Suppliers must observe the right of their employees to strike and to be members of trade unions.
In 2023, Shurgard knows of no cases in which freedom of association or the right to collective bargaining have
been jeopardized or even breached. As of December 31, 2023, 69% of our employees are covered by the collective
bargaining agreement.
Shurgard is assessing its suppliers in relation to freedom of association, among other social, governance, and
environmental topics. To ensure ongoing compliance with these ethical and environmental standards, we survey
our critical suppliers every three years on their ESG performance. For more information on this topic, please refer
to the chapter 6.4 Encouraging ESG best-practices in our supply chain.
GRI 2-30 / 407
7.3 DATA AND CYBER SECURITY
In an era characterized by increased reliance on digital technologies and data, cybersecurity has become a
paramount concern for organizations worldwide. As cyber threats continue to evolve in sophistication and
frequency, safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring the resilience of digital infrastructure have never been
more critical. For us at Shurgard, cybersecurity is not merely an IT concern but a collective responsibility that spans
across all levels of the organization.
To protect its information and systems, Shurgard takes a defense-in-depth approach described below.
RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT
Shurgard conducts comprehensive risk assessments to identify potential vulnerabilities and threats. By
understanding the specific risks we face, Shurgard can prioritize efforts and allocate resources effectively.
SECURITY POLICIES AND TRAINING
Establishing clear and robust cybersecurity policies is essential. Equally important is ensuring that employees are
well-informed and trained to adhere to these policies. Regular cybersecurity training and awareness programs
conducted yearly help reduce human error, which is a common entry point for cyberattacks. We are constantly
developing awareness campaigns. Shurgard‘s employees are trained, business by business, in the risk of cyber-
attacks and the importance of data protection. In the financial year 2023, all employees participated in online
cybersecurity training, and phishing simulation exercises were designed to securely test user behavior and increase
employees’ awareness.
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REGULAR SOFTWARE UPDATES AND PATCH MANAGEMENT
We make sure to execute regular software updates and patch management. Cybercriminals often exploit
vulnerabilities in outdated software. We have a systematic process for applying security patches and updates to all
software and systems promptly.
FIREWALLS
Our firewall in place acts as a barrier that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing network traffic. This helps
identify and block suspicious activities, providing an additional layer of defense.
INCIDENT RESPONSE PLAN
Having a well-defined incident response plan in place enables us to react swiftly and effectively in the event of a
cybersecurity breach. We have a plan in place that outlines steps for detection, containment, investigation,
communication, and recovery. Responsible teams endeavor to anticipate and respond to incidents proactively.
Security incident management covers unwanted or unexpected events that affect confidentiality and the integrity
of information that may have an impact on Shurgard, our customers or employees. Management and escalation
processes are designed to best respond to cyber-attacks or threats to information security, minimizing losses,
leaks, or disturbances. We use the information obtained when dealing with incidents to continuously improve our
activities. We look to increase stability through a better understanding and proactive management of our cyber
security risks.
Regular Security Audits and Testing
Shurgard regularly conducts security audits, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing that help us
proactively identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities that need attention.
CLOUD SECURITY
Our transition to cloud-based services and ensuring cloud security has become paramount. Employing strong
encryption, access controls, and monitoring in the cloud environment is essential for our organization and we have
steps in place to guarantee security on that front.
BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY
Preparing for cyber incidents involves not only preventing them but also planning for their aftermath. Robust
business continuity and disaster recovery plans ensure that critical operations can continue in the face of a cyber
incident.
In today's digital landscape, cybersecurity is a dynamic and ongoing effort. By implementing these fundamental
cybersecurity practices, we significantly reduce our risk exposure, protect our data, and maintain the trust of our
stakeholders. Moreover, staying vigilant and adaptable in the face of evolving threats is essential to achieving the
long-term cybersecurity resilience we are striving for. In 2023, we have performed a cyber incident simulation
facilitated by Marsh. It allowed us to practice making swift decisions with incomplete information against time
constraints and testing the knowledge of existing security incident responses. As takeaways of this exercise, we
concluded that : (i) communications to take place via messengers for cyber incidents; (ii) cyber-crime awareness
to be done via simulation emails (Phishing) every quarter; (iii) cyber security to be included in project management
processes; (iv) agreements were reached on key decisions; (v) business impact was minimal. The Board of Directors
have been informed of the simulation and agreed on the procedure, which would trigger notification to the Board.
This way, our governing body stays informed on the most important security issues.
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7.4 OUR “ETHICS & GOVERNANCE” FUTURE COMMITMENTS
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8. CSRD, EU TAXONOMY, GRI AND EPRA
Shurgard prepares its Sustainability Report following international regulations, guidelines and references.
Amongst others, a specific reporting is prepared according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the European
Public Real Estate (EPRA) Best Practice Recommendations on Sustainability Reporting and the EU taxonomy. In
addition, Shurgard is committed to delivering transparent and qualitative reporting, and will apply the Corporate
Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) rules for the first time in the 2024 financial year, for its reports
published in 2025.
8.1 CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING DIRECTIVE (CSRD)
On January 5, 2023, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) entered into force. This new EU
directive modernizes and strengthens the rules concerning the social and environmental information that
companies have to report. The new rules will ensure that investors and other stakeholders have access to the
information they need to assess the impact of companies on people and the environment, and for investors to
assess financial risks and opportunities arising from climate change and other sustainability issues.
Shurgard is committed to delivering transparent and qualitative reporting and will apply the new rules for the
first time in the 2024 financial year, for its reports published in 2025.
To ensure we are ready for the new regulation, we have mandated a consulting firm to perform a readiness
assessment, bridging our actual disclosures to the CSRD requirements. We are working closely with all
departments to enhance our data collection to meet the new disclosure requirements.
8.2 EU TAXONOMY
EU TAXONOMY PERFORMANCE SUMMARY
Compared to prior year, we were able to increase our enabling green investments (e.g., LED, solar panels, BMS)
to c. €6 million in 2023 (from c. 2 million the previous year), while the updated proportion of assets in our
portfolio associated with an EPC “A or A+” and the higher non-eligible expenses related to our IT infrastructure,
intangibles and IT equipment impacted the EU Taxonomy KPI’s negatively.
EU TAXONOMY OBJECTIVES
The European Union (“EU”) is aiming to address the global climate change challenges through ambitious climate
and energy targets to reach the objectives of the European Green Deal, as well as regulatory actions. As part of
these activities, the EU Taxonomy has been issued. This establishes a common understanding of green economic
activities that make a substantial contribution to the environmental goals of the EU, by providing consistent and
objective criteria to classify and list activities that are environmentally sustainable. The EU Taxonomy aims to
provide companies, investors, and policymakers with appropriate definitions to objectively measure how
sustainable a company is, enabling comparability and helping direct investments towards sustainable projects.
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The EU Taxonomy defined six environmental objectives:
Shurgard’s Taxonomy-eligible activities
A taxonomy-eligible activity according to the EU Taxonomy is an economic activity that is described in the
European Commission’s Delegated Acts. The activities described were prioritized due to their significance in
contributing to the environmental objectives of the EU. Hence, these activities focus on specific high CO
2 emitting
sectors such as construction, transport, manufacturing, and energy production.
As a first step, entities must analyze whether their activities are part of the scope of the Technical Screening
Criteria (“TSC”) of the EU Taxonomy, which are linked to the relevant NACE codes. Entities performing several
economic activities might have to map them to different NACE codes. If an activity is not defined in the TSC, it is
currently not covered by the EU Taxonomy.
With both the guidance on these topics and market practices developing, we note that the interpretation and
implementation of this mapping or the implementation of the technical screening criteria might change going
forward.
Shurgard specific interpretation / application:
Ensuring that an activity is in line with the definition behind the NACE codes is crucial. Judgement needs to be
applied when determining the activities that are in scope for Shurgard. For example, the Group is frequently
involved in the construction of new properties. This activity is not performed with the purpose of reselling the
asset, but for future use as part of our self-storage activities. Based on available guidance, we concluded that
Shurgard should also not be considered to be a professional developer or construction company for the purpose
of the EU Taxonomy.
As such, activity 7.1 “Construction of new buildings” was considered to be not applicable for Shurgard, in
particular, as the EU Taxonomy makes specific reference to properties being constructed for subsequent sale.
We therefore included new developments in activity 7.7 “Acquisition and ownership of buildings”, which covers
the acquisition and exercising of ownership of properties.
Other activities, such as installation and/or operation of heat pumps or solar panels, while specifically mentioned
in the TSC, are considered “supporting” activities for the Group. Consequently, activities that would fall under 4.1
“Electricity generation using solar photovoltaic technology” and 4.16 “Installation and operation of electric heat
pumps” are included in our main activity 7.6 Installation, maintenance and repair of renewable energy
technologies” and 7.3. Installation, maintenance and repair of energy efficiency equipment”, respectively.
Based on the above, we concluded that the Group is currently engaged into the following eligible activities:
Activity description
Shurgard examples
7.2
Renovation of existing buildings
Major renovation of existing stores, leading to a reduction of the
primary energy demand
7.3
Installation, maintenance and repair of energy
efficiency equipment
Improving insulation of our properties, installing energy efficient
windows or doors, replacement of lights with LED, heat pumps,
installation of water flow reduction on the stores’ water taps
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7.4
Installation, maintenance and repair of
charging stations for electric vehicles in
buildings (and parking spaces attached to
buildings)
Installation of charging stations in the close surroundings of our
stores for electric vehicles
7.5
Installation, maintenance and repair of
instruments and devices for measuring,
regulation and controlling energy
performance of buildings
Installation of smart meters for electricity, motion control for lights,
building energy management systems, smart thermostat systems
7.6
Installation, maintenance and repair of
renewable energy technologies
Installation of solar panels
7.7
Acquisition and ownership of buildings
Acquisition of new stores and ownership of current portfolio of
stores
The remaining economic activities of Shurgard were classified as non-eligible as they are not part of the activities
defined in the EU Taxonomy.
Taxonomy-aligned activities
Shurgard has assessed the alignment of the eligible activities by reviewing (i) their substantial contribution based
on the TSC outlined in the Climate Delegated Acts, (ii) the fact they do not significantly harm the other five
environmental objectives and (iii) the compliance with minimum safeguards checks. The result of the alignment
assessment is reported through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as detailed below.
All activities were first tested for their alignment with the first environmental objective (Climate Change
Mitigation). When a specific activity was partly or totally not aligned, we tested the alignment versus Climate
Change Adaptation, while avoiding any double count.
In these cases, we cannot reliably obtain the required evidence at the time of this report that a specific activity
is complied with. This is the case for instance for assets recently acquired. When this occurs, we reported these
properties as “not aligned”, knowing that this affected our KPI’s negatively. Going forward we expect the number
of existing properties that are reported as aligned to increase and consequently positively impact our KPIs, as
evidence collection progresses.
Climate Change Mitigation (“CCM”)substantial criteria
In 2023, Shurgard incurred capital expenditure and operating expenses for the below activities, and their
substantial contribution to the CCM was reviewed against the TSC outlined in the Climate Delegated Acts. For
example:
7.3 Installation, maintenance and repair of energy efficiency equipment:
The substantial criteria are met when the activity respects nationally defined measures implementing the
EU Directive 2010/31/EU. In 2023, Shurgard finalized its project to replace old lighting bulbs with energy
efficient LEDs and continued investing in the installation of heat pumps in several buildings, replacing e.g.,
gas heating. This program is aligned with the requirements outlined in the TSC.
7.5 Installation, maintenance and repair of instruments and devices for measuring, regulation and
controlling energy performance of buildings:
During 2023, Shurgard invested in a building management system to operate its stores in an optimal way,
through online centralized monitoring, metering and control of utilities and devices to lower consumption
(heating, ventilation, etc.). It also comes with consumption analytics and alerts on unusual consumptions.
These investments are aligned with climate change mitigation TSC’s.
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115
7.6 Installation, maintenance and repair of renewable energy technologies:
Throughout 2023, Shurgard invested in the installation of renewable energy technologies, usually taking
the form solar panels, which is an enabling activity contributing to the climate change mitigation objective.
7.7 Acquisition and ownership of buildings:
Existing Buildings: According to the TSC, when a property has been constructed before December 31, 2020,
it is substantially contributing to the climate objective in the event it has an Energy Performance Certificate
(“EPC”) of A or equivalent. This is the case for most of our properties. Alternatively, an entity can
demonstrate that the property is in the top 15% of the national or regional building stock, expressed as
Primary Energy Demand (“PED”), in order to count as substantially contributing to the climate objective.
Shurgard evaluated this criterion, where necessary, country by country, based on national studies and
surveys and assessed the outcome at property level. When construction for a property was completed after
December 31, 2020, the TSC require that the property has a PED at least 10% lower than the Nearly Zero
Emitting Building (NZEB) requirements, usually expressed as a maximum PED in terms of kWh/sqm per
year. In addition, when a property has a size of at least 5,000 sqm, the TSC requires that it needs to undergo
air tightness and thermal integrity testing. The life-cycle Global Warming Potential resulting from the
construction should be calculated for each stage in the life cycle. In any event, large non-residential
properties are required to be efficiently operated through energy performance monitoring and assessment,
which is reviewed on a property-by-property basis.
Properties under construction: As indicated above, while Shurgard does construct self-storage properties,
these activities are not included under EU Taxonomy activity 7.1, but 7.7. This requires applying the above-
described requirements for existing properties to assets under construction. It will typically not be possible
to test most of the TSC before the construction has been substantially completed, at which point most of
the capital expenditures have already been incurred. For instance, when Shurgard constructs a new
property, there is no EPC available and air tightness testing can only be done late in the construction
process. In such cases, we use our best estimates, based on the designed construction and materials used,
to evaluate whether we can reasonably expect that the TSC will be met at completion and only then include
the capital expenditures in our reporting. In line with EU Taxonomy guidance, any outcome that would
materially differ from our initial expectations will result in a restatement of prior year information.
Climate Change Adaptation (“CCA”)substantial criteria
Shurgard also tested the activity 7.7 Acquisition and Ownership of buildings” for its contribution to the CCA
criteria.
In 2023, we performed a physical climate risk assessment of our entire portfolio of stores. We refer to the section
4.2 Resilience of properties to climate risk. This assessment evaluated the various potential physical climate risks
(e.g., floods, fires, sea level rise, tropical cyclones, etc.) that could affect our properties. To obtain aligned KPIs
with CCA, Shurgard needs to demonstrate that it has implemented physical and non-physical adaptation
solutions, substantially reducing the most important physical climate risks, even if the risk has been assessed to
be not material. With the results of the risk assessment, the Company is in a position to consider adaptation
measures and increase CCA alignment.
For the CapEx KPI, the Disclosures Delegated Act requires the nature and scope of CapEx in an activity that
contributes substantially to CCM to be differentiated from the CapEx that makes that activity adapted to climate
change. On the other hand, where the adaptation solution is an inherent part of the design of the new asset that
is itself aligned to CCM, and that it is difficult to distinguish both types of CapEx, both can be reported under
CCM.
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Regarding the turnover KPI, in accordance with the Annex I to the Disclosures Delegated Act, the revenue
generated from an activity that is adapted to climate may not be computed in the numerator of the turnover KPI
of the undertaking unless that activity is an activity enabling or is aligned with CCM or any non-climate
environmental objective.
Other delegated acts: water, circular economy, pollution, and biodiversity substantial criteria
In June 2023, the European Commission published the Taxonomy Delegated Acts with criteria for the remaining
four environmental objectives (circular economy, water and marine resources, pollution prevention and control,
and biodiversity and ecosystems), and additional criteria for climate. We reviewed Shurgard’s economic activities
and noted that the only activity carried out by Shurgard, in the real estate sector, that would be contributing
significantly to these new objectives was 7.2 Renovation of existing buildings”, for its contribution to the circular
economy objective. The TSC’s of the circular economy objective aims at ensuring that (i) construction and
demolition waste generated by the renovation is treated in accordance with Union waste legislation and the full
checklist of the EU Construction and Demolition Waste Management Protocol, (ii) the life cycle Global Warming
Potential (GWP) of the building’s renovation works has been calculated for each stage in the life cycle, (iii)
construction designs and techniques support circularity via the incorporation of concepts for design for
adaptability and deconstruction, (iv) at least 50% of the original building is retained and (v) the use of primary
raw material in the renovation of the building is minimized through the use of secondary raw materials. As we
did not renovate existing buildings in 2023, that would comply with the definition and applicable requirements
for major renovations, we concluded that no alignment is expected on these new environmental objectives.
Do Not Harm
After testing the substantial contribution criteria (CCM and CCA), Shurgard also confirmed that the activities were
not significantly harming other EU Taxonomy objectives.
For all activities in scope for Shurgard in 2023, a physical climate risk assessment is necessary to consider the
activity as aligned. This is to ensure that investments made are climate risk proof.
In addition, measures are in place to ensure that the building is not dedicated to extraction, storage, transport,
or manufacture of fossil fuels. Finally, when testing properties for their alignment on CCA, Shurgard reviewed
whether the properties built before December 31, 2020, had an EPC of at least class C or was in the top 30% of
the national or regional building stock, expressed as PED. For properties built after December 31, 2020, we made
sure that the PED was lower than the threshold for the NZEB requirements. This has been reviewed using national
studies and surveys.
Minimum Safeguards
We continuously monitor the relevance of our policies governing e.g., human rights, fair labor practices, modern
slavery, health and safety, diversity, and compensation against the latest standards. To assess our social
safeguards alignment with the EU Taxonomy-approved frameworks, we further analyzed our compliance with
the following: ILOs Core Conventions, OECD MNEs, UN Guiding Principles, and the International Bill of Human
Rights.
Implementation of social safeguards is assessed internally by the Executive Committee and the ESG Management
Group through regular monitoring and reporting on outcomes that are included in the organization’s internal
communication.
Besides having internal procedures, employees and dedicated working groups (e.g., ESG Management Group) are
in place to ensure our business’ alignment with the social safeguards. We use external advisors to review and
benchmark these policies and their implementation annually.
As a signee of the UN Global Compact since December 2021, we align our ESG Strategy with the universal
principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. We monitor our existing policies for updates
and make sure that our ESG agenda tackles these topics.
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117
Additionally, we participate in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), making annual disclosures on our business
practices, where an organization's most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including
impacts on their human rights are represented.
We have established adequate due diligence processes that allow us to monitor that all third-party agreements
have clauses relating to anti-bribery, human rights, and modern slavery, among other topics. In addition, we
inquire about the business practices of our suppliers on a regular basis, to ensure they align with our principles.
Based on the above, we concluded that our business activities are aligned with the social safeguard requirements
stated in the EU Taxonomy.
Turnover, CapEx and OpEx KPIs
Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation defines three KPIs to assess the proportion of (i) turnover, (ii) CapEx and
(iii) OpEx associated with economic activities that qualify as environmentally sustainable.
The basis for providing these KPIs is Shurgard’s financial information, prepared in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”), as adopted by the European Union. The KPIs calculated below are based
on EU Regulation definitions. In order to increase the readers understanding of these KPIs, qualitative information
is provided to give some clarity on what is included or excluded from the KPIs to detail how these KPIs were
calculated, allowing the reader to compare these to the financial statements of the Group.
EU TAXONOMY TURNOVER
The turnover KPI represents the proportion of Shurgard’s net turnover derived from products or services that are
Taxonomy aligned, as currently covered by the first Delegated Act. The EU Taxonomy turnover corresponds to
the real estate operating revenue, as per IFRS 4.
Shurgard specific interpretation / application:
The EU Taxonomy’s first Delegated Act covers, in connection with activity 7.7 “Acquisition and
ownership of buildings”, revenues derived from the ownership of a building, i.e., owners renting
out their properties to generate rental income directly from the property itself.
In a draft Commission notice from December 2022, the Commission clarified that only revenues
derived from the ownership of the building (whether through freehold or right-of-use asset),
should be considered, regardless of the activities that take place in a building. Other non-related
revenues, i.e., revenues that are not derived from the ownership of the building, are not in scope.
Based on this guidance, Shurgard concluded that the revenue generated from renting storage
space is to be considered as a rental income covered by the EU Taxonomy, whereas the revenue
generated from related services such as merchandise, insurance sales or third-party property
management income should not be considered for EU Taxonomy.
EU Taxonomy turnover APM ( thousands) Notes
31/12/2023 31/12/2022
Rental revenue 5,12 312,550 289,380
Other real estate revenue 5,12 2,769 2,383
Ancillary revenue, excl. other real estate revenue 5,12 8,699 9,211
Insurance revenue 5,12 33,683 32,075
Other revenue 5,12 222 2,241
Turnover considered for EU Taxonomy denominator 357,923 335,290
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118
Total EU taxonomy turnover is €357.9 million, of which €105.4 million is aligned (29.5%), €209.9 million is eligible
but not aligned and €42.6 million is not eligible. All of the EU Taxonomy-aligned revenue is coming from its
substantial contribution to Climate Change Mitigation. The aligned proportion remained relatively stable
compared to last year (from 32.5% in 2022 to 29.5% in 2023).
EU TAXONOMY CAPITAL EXPENDITURES (“CAPEX”)
The CapEx KPI represents the proportion of Shurgard’s capital expenditure that is either already associated with
environmentally sustainable economic activities or is part of a credible plan to extend such activities, or for
activities which are not yet taxonomy-aligned to reach environmental sustainability.
The CapEx defined under the EU Taxonomy differs from the information included in our financial statements in
the sense that it excludes e.g., remeasurements, revaluations, impairments, and fair value changes. For 2023,
the total CapEx considered for EU Taxonomy amounts to €186.0 million and consists of acquisition of stores
(accounted for under IAS 40), expenditures on our investment property (IAS 40), rights of use assets from lease
agreements (IFRS 16), as well as additions to property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”, IAS 16) and intangible
assets (IAS 38):
In total, we concluded that 97.8% of the EU Taxonomy CapEx is eligible. The non-eligible activities relate to the
acquisitions of intangible assets (mainly software capitalized costs and IT developments) and the PP&E additions
related to equipment and other assets.
Economic activities
Turnover ('000€)
% of EU Taxonomy Turnover
Climate change mitigation
Climate change adaptation
Water and marine resources
Circular economy / recycling
Pollution
Ecosystems protection
Climate change mitigation
Climate change adaptation
Water and marine resources
Circular economy / recycling
Pollution
Ecosystems protection
Taxonomy-
aligned
proportion
FY2023
Taxonomy-
aligned
proportion
FY2022
Enabling (E)
/
Transitional
(T) activity
A. Taxonomy Eligible activities
315,319
88.1%
29.5% 32.5%
A.1 Taxonomy Aligned activities 105,421
29.5%
29.5% 32.5%
7.7 - Acquisition and ownership of
buildings
105,421
29.5%
29.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0% 0.0%
0.0% Y
Y
29.5% 32.5%
A.2 Taxonomy non-Aligned activities
209,898
58.6%
7.7 - Acquisition and ownership of
buildings
209,898
58.6%
B. Taxonomy non-Eligible activities 42,604
11.9%
Insurance revenue
33,683
9.4%
Ancillary revenue, excl. other real
estate revenue
8,699
2.4%
Other revenue
222 0.1%
A+B Total Turnover 357,923
100.0%
29.5% 32.5%
Substantial contribution
Do not significant harm
EU Taxonomy CapEx APM ( thousands) Notes
31/12/2023 31/12/2022
Acquisition of investment property
15 67,336 76,310
Capital expenditure on investment property 15 113,817
112,577
Addition of investment property ROU assets 15
833 12,001
Investment property subtotal 181,986 200,888
Additions of PP&E (IAS 16, IFRS 16) 17 740 577
Additions of intangible assets (IAS 38) 17
3,304 2,654
PP&E and intangible assets subtotal 4,044 3,231
CapEx considered for EU Taxonomy denominator 186,030
204,119
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We reviewed the substantial contribution of the eligible CapEx against the technical screening criteria, their
compliance with the “Do no significant harm” principles, and the “minimum safeguards”. 15.6% of our CapEx
was assessed to be aligned with the Climate Change Mitigation objective.
EU TAXONOMY OPERATING EXPENDITURES (“OPEX”)
The OpEx KPI represents the proportion of operating expenditure associated with environmentally sustainable
economic activities or the above-mentioned CapEx plan. The operating expenditure covers essentially direct non-
capitalized costs that relate to research and development, building renovation measures, short-term lease,
maintenance and repair, and any other direct expenditures relating to the day-to-day servicing of assets of
property, plant and equipment that are necessary to ensure the continued and effective functioning of such
assets.
Consequently, the OpEx defined under the EU Taxonomy differs significantly from the IFRS operating expenses:
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Shurgard specific interpretation / application:
We considered in the EU Taxonomy OpEx KPI that all direct expenses related to searching, acquiring, and
developing our portfolio of properties are part of the “direct non-capitalized costs that relate to research
and development” (“R&D”) referred to in the definition. We excluded indirect costs such as travel expenses,
and included all direct employee benefits, accounted for in line with IAS 19.
Even though they are not specifically mentioned in the definition, we also included R&D and repair and
maintenance related to our intangible assets in the denominator, in line with guidance issued by the EU
Commission, explaining that “(…) maintenance and repair or other direct costs could be also relevant for
intangible assets (e.g., right-of-use assets, software, ERP)”.
We excluded most property linked costs that are not necessary to ensure their continued and effective
functioning. These costs are usually associated with our operations (e.g., real estate taxes, marketing
expenses, utilities, etc.).
Most expenses in scope for the OpEx KPI can be directly linked to individual assets. However, for some
specific expenses we used allocation keys to spread the cost on the relevant assets.
In line with the EU Taxonomy OpEx definition, the following operating expenses were considered for the
denominator:
The non-capitalized employee compensation and benefits expenses, including share-based compensations,
of our personnel directly related to research and development, maintenance and repair, and other direct
expenses related to the day-to-day servicing of our assets.
Repair and maintenance expenses, excluding specific expenses that are not directly necessary to the day-
to-day servicing of our properties and are rather associated with our operating activity (e.g., snow removal,
carpets, trash collection, etc.). Other operating expenses include mainly IT related contracts, non-capitalized
IT development expenses, real estate lawyer fees, outsourced architecture, design or engineering services,
and non-capitalized office equipment.
Based on the above, we concluded that 73.0% of the total EU Taxonomy OpEx is eligible. The non-eligible
activities relate to expenses that are not directly related to the acquisition and ownership of buildings (e.g.,
intangible assets including ERP, office equipment, general and administrative tasks, etc.).
We reviewed the substantial contribution of the eligible OpEx against the technical screening criteria, and their
compliance with the “Do no significant harm” principles. 24.5% of our OpEx was assessed as aligned with the
Climate Change Mitigation objective.
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The decrease compared to the prior year (-5.9pp) is mainly a result of the revised proportion of buildings with
an EPC below “A” in our portfolio, as well as higher non-eligible expenses related to intangible assets, IT
equipment and datacenter.
8.3 BASIS OF THE SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
This Sustainability Report of Shurgard Self Storage Ltd presents the quantitative and qualitative information
needed to understand its material sustainability issues for the calendar year 2023. It covers all activities of the
Company, which is the same entity reported on in our consolidated financial statements.
GRI 2-1 / 2-2 / 2-3
REPORTING SCOPE
The scope of this report covers 100% of the total workforce.
GRI 2-1
REPORTING FRAMEWORK
Shurgard has published a Sustainability Report annually since 2019, referencing the Global Reporting Initiative
(“GRI) standards and aiming to comply with EPRA sBPR guidelines.
GRI 2-3
DATA REVIEW
Shurgard cooperated with Evora Global Ltd who engaged an independent third-party assurance provider, IHS
Markit Ltd (part of S&P Global as of February, 2022) to review the data published. Their limited assurance report
on a selection of key performance indicators can be found in chapter 8.7 Assurance Summary Statementin
this document.
GRI 2-5
MATERIALITY ASSESSMENT
In 2023, Shurgard conducted an internal double materiality assessment to identify and select the most significant
social, environmental and governance issues. Further information can be found in the chapter 3. Materiality and
risk assessment in this document.
GRI 3-1
CONTACT
For any question or comment on the published content of this report, please contact:
investor.relations@shurgard.co.uk
GRI 2-1
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8.4 GRI CONTENT INDEX
Our sustainability reporting has been prepared with reference to the guidelines developed by the Global
Reporting Initiative (GRI). This content index demonstrates our alignment with the General Disclosures and
Topic-Specific Standards for the Priority 1 material topics that were identified following our most recent
materiality review in 2023.
STATEMENT OF USE
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd has reported the information cited in this GRI content index for the period January 1,
2023 to December 31, 2023 with reference to the GRI Standards.
The index is attached as an appendix, available on our investor relations website or upon request.
GRI 1-7
8.5 EPRA SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
Shurgard reports the Company’s sustainability indicators based on EPRA’s (European Public Real Estate
Association) latest recommendations: Best Practice Recommendations on Sustainability Reporting, third version
September 2017.
OVERARCHING RECOMMENDATIONS
Organization boundary
Shurgard limits its report to properties controlled by Shurgard (operational control) in accordance with the
principles of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. This includes all real estate assets owned or managed by Shurgard.
Data is reported for our storage center portfolio and separately for our own occupied offices.
Operational control has been chosen since it provides Shurgard with the best conditions for demonstrating
statistics and data that Shurgard can directly influence.
Coverage
Shurgard works actively to access relevant data for the properties that Shurgard owns and operates. Having
access to data is important to Shurgard, as the information creates conditions for efficient and sound technical
management of the buildings. The proportion of properties included in each indicator is mentioned in connection
with respective key indicators.
Measurement data is affected by changes in the portfolio i.e., recently purchased, sold and project properties
which complicate access to relevant data. Shurgard constantly strives to access all relevant data as
comprehensively as possible. We commit to reporting on progress annually.
Estimations of data
In order to meet Annual Report deadlines, a significant proportion of environmental data under measured
indicators has been estimated for the last three months in 2023 i.e., October 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023. There
are also a number of data gaps outside this period in 2022 and 2023 which needed to be estimated. To fill these
data gaps, we have used the following estimation methodology:
1. Short gap estimation: where data is absent for 15 days or less in a given month, we use the average
daily consumption from the available actual data for the remaining portion of that month to bridge the
gap.
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2. Trend adjusted consumption: in instances where complete data was available for the previous year
(2022), we calculated the year-on-year percentage change between periods of known data in both
2022 and 2023. This percentage change was then applied to the data we needed to estimate in 2023,
utilizing the corresponding period of data in 2022.
3. Average monthly consumption with no previous year: if there was insufficient previous data for the
above methods, we used the average consumption per day from 2022 or 2023 to fill in the remaining
gaps within each respective year.
This three-step methodology to estimate data is used to ensure that any estimates produced are in line with the
trends observed in the proportion of actual data on which they are based.
.Third party verification/assurance
This report has been independently assured by a third-party, IHS Markit. The assurance statement can be found
at the end of this report.
IHS Markit is a world leader in critical information, analytics and expertise to forge solutions for the major
industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. The company delivers next-generation information,
analytics and solutions to customers in business, finance and government, improving their operational efficiency
and providing deep insights that lead to well-informed, confident decisions. In February 2022, IHS Markit has
become a part of S&P Global, one of the leaders in providing financial and non-financial information and
analytics.
Changes since last year's report
In order to meet last year’s Annual Report deadlines, all environmental data under measured indicators were
estimated for the last three months of 2022. Shurgard now possesses the data for the entire calendar year. As
such, there is a difference between 2022 figures reported in last year’s report and 2022 figures reported
hereafter.
In addition, there has been a change in our methodology for classifying data as estimated, which we have applied
retrospectively to the previous years data included in this report. The reasons for this are explained above in the
section “Estimations of Data”.
Normalization
Shurgard calculates energy and water intensity ratios by dividing the in-scope buildings’ gross internal floor area
into the relevant total consumption figure. This is the most widely accepted method in Europe for a self-storage
facility to compare energy utilization and resource consumption.
Segmental analysis (by property type, geography)
Segmental analysis is conducted by property type. The Shurgard portfolio consists of only one building type
self-storage properties.
We operate in seven different countries all located in the European Union and UK. We have chosen not to
perform segmental analysis at country level in this report, but this granularity is available upon request.
We do report on the split of our energy labels (EPCs) and green building certifications (BREEAM) by rating.
Disclosure on own offices
Disclosure on performance for our office occupation is reported separately. Shurgard has a European Support
Center office where it is the landlord, located in Brussels, next to our Groot-Bijgaarden store. The European
Support Center has a floor space of 1,518 sqm and approximately 100 employees work there.
Location of EPRA Sustainability Performance in companies’ reports
This document is a supplement within the Annual Report, available on Shurgard’s official website.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
124
Narrative on performance
Where appropriate, we have provided a narrative on our performance alongside the relevant performance
measures in this document.
Reporting on landlord and tenant consumption
Due to the nature of the self-storage business model, Shurgard does not have any tenants” – as such all utilities
are the responsibility of the landlord i.e., Shurgard. Shurgard does have customers those that use the
portfolio to store belongings but these are not responsible for any utility consumption.
Reporting period
Reporting for each year accounted for in the EPRA table refers to the calendar year, e.g., January 1, 2023 to
December 31, 2023.
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8.6 EPRA AND GRI PERFORMANCE MEASURES
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE MEASURES
The table below provides an overview of the EPRA sustainability performance measures that Shurgard is able to
report on, and an explanation of where data cannot be reported. It also provides an index of the GRI Topic
Standards which these metrics have been disclosed with reference to.
GRI
Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Storage
assets
Own
offices
Pages
302
Elec-Abs
Total electricity consumption
128
302
Elec-LfL
Like-for-like total electricity consumption
135
302
DH&C-Abs
Total district heating & cooling consumption
N/A
128
302
DH&C-LfL
Like-for-like total district heating & cooling consumption
N/A
135
302
Fuels-Abs
Total fuel consumption
N/A
129
302 Fuels-LfL Like-for-like total fuel consumption
N/A 135
302
Energy-Int
Building energy intensity
128, 135
305
GHG-Dir-
Abs
Total direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
N/A 130, 137
305
GHG-Indir-
Abs
Total indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
127, 137
305 GHG-Int
Greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity from building energy
consumption
130, 137
303
Water-Abs
Total water consumption
132
303
Water-LfL
Like-for-like total water consumption
138
303
Water-Int
Building water intensity
132, 138
306
Waste-Abs
Total weight of waste by disposal route
133
306
Waste-LfL
Like-for-like total weight of waste by disposal route
138
N/A
Cert-Tot
Type and number of sustainably certified assets
×
140
Key:
Fully reported Partially reported
Not reported × Not applicable N/A
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Methodology
We have reported on all EPRA Sustainability Performance Measures, using the EPRA Best Practices
Recommendations on Sustainability Reporting 3rd Version, the main requirements of the GHG Protocol Corporate
Standard (revised edition) and emissions factors from country-specific, best practice conversion factors for the
appropriate year, such as the UK Government’s Conversion Factors for Company Reporting 2022 and 2023. At
the time of report production, the International Energy Agency conversion factors relating to 2019 have been
applied to both 2022 and 2023 data for relevant countries.
We have used the GHG Protocol’s location-based methodology for conversion factors for Scope 2 emissions and
have also reported market-based emissions to demonstrate the effect of green procurement.
Greenhouse gas emissions are reported as metric tons CO
2 equivalent (tCO2e), and greenhouse gas intensity is
reported as kilograms of CO
2 equivalent per square meter of Gross Internal Area (kgCO2e/sqm).
Like-for-like measures cover those assets held for the full two-year period from January 1, 2022 to December 31,
2023, for which we have at least two full quarters of actual data in each year (under our updated methodology
for classifying this). We also exclude from these measures any newly acquired assets or assets where a building
extension has been added, or stores that have been temporarily closed. Stores opened in 2022 were therefore
excluded from the like-for-like measures. These were all included in the absolute measures.
Any further exclusions from absolute and like-for-like measures have been reported in the data notes
accompanying the EPRA tables.
Applicable properties refer to the number of properties within our organizational boundaries for this indicator.
The absolute performance measures are each reported in two sections, one for the own office occupation and
one for owned assets. “Own office” refers to our European Support Center located in Groot-Bijgaarden, near
Brussels, Belgium. “Owned assets” refers to our storage properties.
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127
SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE PERFORMANCE MEASURES
We report on all Social and Governance Performance Measures. The EPRA sBPR compliance table below provides an overview of the EPRA sustainability performance measures
that Shurgard reports on, and an explanation of where data cannot be reported.
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
SOCIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Storage
assets
Corporate
Own office
occupation
Pages
405
Diversity-Emp
Employee gender diversity
N/A
N/A
142, 143
405
Diversity-Pay
Gender pay ratio
N/A
N/A
142, 143
405
Diversity-Pay
Equal pay analysis
N/A
N/A
142, 143
404
Emp-Training
Employee training and development
N/A
N/A
142, 143
404
Emp-Dev
Employee performance appraisals
N/A
N/A
142, 143
401
Emp-Turnover
New hires and turnover
N/A
N/A
144
403 H&S-Emp Employee health and safety N/A
N/A 144
416
H&S-Asset
Asset health and safety assessments
N/A
144, 145
416
H&S-Comp
Asset health and safety compliance
N/A
144, 145
413
Comty-Eng
Community engagement, impact assessments and development programs
N/A
145
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
GOVERNANCE PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Storage
assets
Corporate
Own office
occupation
Pages
2-9
Gov-Board
Composition of the highest governance body
N/A
N/A
146
2-10
Gov-Selec
Process for nominating and selecting the highest governance body
N/A
N/A
147
2-15
Gov-CoI
Process for managing conflicts of interest
N/A
N/A
148
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ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Absolute Energy measures
2023 2022
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Code
Metric Absolute Value % Estimated Coverage YoY Trend Absolute Value % Estimated Coverage
Own Offices
302-1 Elec-Abs
Consumption
39.1 17.4% 1 of 1 -16.1% 46.6 0.0% 1 of 1
% Renewable 100% 1 of 1 0.0% 100% 1 of 1
(Sub)metered exclusively to
tenants
0.0 0.0% O of O 0.0 0.0% O of O
302-1 Energy Total energy consumption 39.1 17.4% 1 of 1 -16.1% 46.6 0.0% 1 of 1
302-3 Energy-Int Energy intensity 23.7 1 of 1 -16.0% 28.2 1 of 1
Owned Assets
302-1 Elec-Abs
Consumption
15,949.1 18.0% 248 of 276 -7.3% 17,205.9 2.9% 249 of 266
% Renewable 100% 248 of 276 0.0% 100% 249 of 266
(Sub)metered exclusively to
tenants
0.0 0.0% O of O 0.0 0.0% O of O
302-1 DH&C-Abs
Consumption
2,425.7 28.7% 34 of 34 9.2% 2,220.8 0.0% 34 of 34
% Renewable 0% 34 of 34 0.0% 0% 34 of 34
(Sub)metered exclusively to
tenants
0.0 0.0% O of O 0.0 0.0% O of O
302-1 Fuels-Abs
Consumption
4,175.0 22.6% 68 of 68 -10.7% 4,674.2 3.2% 89 of 89
% Renewable 54% 68 of 68 -3.6% 56% 89 of 89
(Sub)metered exclusively to
tenants
0.0 0.0% O of O 0.0 0.0% O of O
302-1 Energy Total energy consumption 22,549.8 20.0% 248 of 276 -6.4% 24,100.9 2.7% 249 of 266
302-3 Energy-Int Energy intensity 12.0 248 of 276 -7.0% 12.9 249 of 266
Data notes for absolute energy: All reported energy totals are in MWh, and energy intensity is reported in kWh/sqm Gross Internal Area (“GIA”). We have been able to report fuel
consumption for all 68 properties for which we purchase fuels and 34 properties for which we purchase district heating. We have also been able to report electricity data for all
248 out of a total 276 properties. Please note that Shurgard does not have any tenants, so tenant consumption is zero.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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Narrative on performance for OT absolute energy: Total Shurgard obtained electricity for stores has decreased by 7.3%, reflecting the effect of our roll-out of energy efficiency
measures such as our LED program. Shurgard obtained consumption of district heating has increased by 9.2%. This can be attributed to a handful of assets that have shown an
increase in consumption, and as District Heating represents a small percentage of consumption across the portfolio, any increase can have an outsized impact on performance,
which represents a reversion to 2020 consumption levels after an increase in consumption last year. Consumption of gas decreased by 10.7% due to the ongoing success of our
scheme to replace gas-fired boilers with electric heat pumps across the portfolio but has remained fairly constant across the reported years. This consumption can be expected to
decrease as electric heating systems are installed to replace gas heating across our portfolio.
GRI 302-1 / 302-3
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Absolute GHG emissions Measures
2023 2022
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR Code Metric
Absolute Value Coverage YoY Trend Absolute Value Coverage
Own Offices
305-2 GHG-Indir-Abs
Scope 2 Emissions
(Location Based)
5.7 1 of 1 -16.0% 6.8 1 of 1
Scope 2 Emissions
(Market Based)
0.0 1 of 1 0.0% 0.0 1 of 1
305-4 GHG-Int Scope 1+2 intensity 3.5 1 of 1 -16.0% 4.1 1 of 1
Owned Assets
305-1 GHG-Dir-Abs
Scope 1 Emissions
(Location Based)
763.7 68 of 68 -10.5% 853.2 89 of 89
Scope 1 Emissions
(Market Based)
350.3 68 of 68 -7.1% 377.1 89 of 89
305-2 GHG-Indir-Abs
Scope 2 Emissions
(Location Based)
2,874.1 248 of 276 -1.6% 2,920.4 249 of 266
Scope 2 Emissions
(Market Based)
608.6 248 of 276 11.0% 548.5 249 of 266
N/A GHG
Scope 1+2 Emissions
(Location Based)
3,637.8 251 of 276 -3.6% 3,773.6 249 of 266
Scope 1+2 Emissions
(Market Based)
958.9 251 of 276 3.6% 925.7 249 of 266
305-4 GHG-Int
Scope 1+2 intensity
(Location Based)
1.94 251 of 276 -4.4% 2.03 249 of 266
Scope 1+2 intensity
(Market Based)
0.51 251 of 276 2.7% 0.50 249 of 266
Data notes for Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions: All total emissions numbers are reported in tCO2e, and GHG intensity is reported in kgCO2e/sqm GIA. We have been able to report
Scope 1 GHG emissions for all 68 properties for which we purchase fuels. We have also been able to report Scope 2 GHG emissions data for 248 of 276 properties, which includes
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131
the 34 properties for which we purchase district heating. Please note that Shurgard does not have any tenants, so tenant emissions are zero and therefore not reported in this
table. Please see the paragraph Reporting on Landlord and Tenant Consumptionin our Overarching Recommendationssection.
Narrative on performance for absolute GHG emissions: Total Shurgard obtained Scope 1 GHG emissions have decreased by 10.5%, as we continue to replace gas heating systems
across our portfolio. In 2021, Shurgard adopted green gas contracts, procured from 100% renewable sources, for all of its stores in the two highest demand markets (Germany and
the Netherlands). We have continued to expand this green procurement program, and so under the market-based approach our Scope 1 emissions have decreased by a further
7.1%. Shurgard obtained Scope 2 (location-based) emissions have reduced by 1.6%, due to a reduction in absolute energy consumption. In 2021 Shurgard adopted zero carbon
electrical supply contracts at all stores, procured from 100% renewable sources. Consequently, under the market-based approach we have zero Scope 2 emissions from our
electricity, and only our indirect emissions from district heating are included.
GRI 305-1 / 305-2 / 305-4
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Absolute Water Measures
2023 2022
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Code
Metric Absolute Value % Estimated Coverage YoY Trend Absolute Value % Estimated Coverage
Own Offices
303-5 Water-Abs
Shurgard -obtained water
60.3 0.1 1 of 1 6.1% 56.9 0.9 1 of 1
Tenant-obtained
water
0.0 0% 0 of 0 0.0 0% 0 of 0
Total-obtained water 60.3 0.1 1 of 1 6.1% 56.9 0.9 1 of 1
303-5 Water-Int
Water intensity for total-
obtained water
0.0 1 of 1 -5.8% 0.0 1 of 1
Owned Assets
303-5 Water-Abs
Shurgard obtained water
15,880.1 0.2 221 of 276 -43.9% 28,307.3 0.1 218 of 266
Tenant-obtained water 0.0 0% 0 of 0 0.0 0% 0 of 0
Total-obtained water 15,880.1 0.2 221 of 276 -43.9% 28,307.3 0.1 218 of 266
303-5 Water-Int
Water intensity for total-
obtained water
0.0 221 of 276 -44.0% 0.0 218 of 266
Data notes for absolute water: Water consumption is reported in cbm (“cubic meter”) and water intensity is reported in cbm/sqm GIA. We have been able to report water usage
for 221 of 276 properties. Please note that Shurgard does not have any tenants, so tenant consumption is zero.
Narrative on performance for absolute water: All water is municipal potable water discharged from taps in the communal areas of Shurgard properties. There is minimal landlord
obtained water across Shurgard’s portfolio and as the business does not operate in water-stressed locations, water consumption is not considered material. Total Shurgard
obtained water consumption has shown a significant reduction in 2023, which may be linked to a number of water leaks over the 2022 period and subsequent installation of leak
detection equipment in 2023 to mitigate this problem moving forwards.
GRI 303-5
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Absolute Waste Measures
2023 2022
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Code
Metric
Absolute Value Absolute Proportion YoY Trend Absolute Value
Absolute
Proportion
Own Offices
306-4
Waste-Abs
Recycled 3.1 56.1% 90.4% 1.6 63.9%
306-5 Incinerated (with and without energy recovery) 2.4 43.9% 163.8% 0.9 36.1%
306-5 Landfill (non-hazardous) 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
306-5 Hazardous Waste Treatment 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
306-4 Materials Recovery Facility - Unknown 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
Total tenant-obtained waste 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
306-3 Total 5.5 1.0 117% 2.5 100%
Coverage of applicable properties 1 of 1 1 of 1
Owned Assets
306-4
Waste-Abs
Recycled 725.8 37.7% -19.4% 900.7 47.4%
306-5 Incinerated (with and without energy recovery) 1,197.7 62.3% 19.9% 999.3 52.6%
306-5 Landfill (non-hazardous) 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
306-5 Hazardous Waste Treatment 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
306-4 Materials Recovery Facility - Unknown 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
Total tenant-obtained waste 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
306-3 Total 1,923.5 100% 1.2% 1,900.0 100%
Coverage of applicable properties 251 of 251 259 of 259
Data notes for absolute waste: All waste totals are reported in tons. Waste for the final quarter, October 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, has been estimated. Please note that
Shurgard does not have any tenants, so tenant waste is zero.
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134
Narrative on performance for absolute waste: Waste data is gathered for 251 of 276 properties in the portfolio where Shurgard has waste management contracts. Absolute
waste has increased slightly by 1.2%. The increase in overall waste volumes is due to an increase in general waste seen at a number of our properties. Total volumes of absolute
recycled waste have decreased significantly by 19.4%, as minimum standards are in place to ensure that all cardboard at stores is recycled, and plastic use minimized.
Waste going to hazardous waste treatment facilities has been completely phased out, and our record of 100% landfill diversion was maintained. Where actual waste data was not
available from the supplier, estimates of tonnages have been based on the volume, frequency and type of waste being collected dependent on country specific available conversion
factors.
GRI 306-3 / 306-4 / 306-5
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Like-for-Like Energy Measures
2023 2022
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Code
Metric
Like-for-Like
Value
% Estimated Coverage YoY Trend
Like-for-Like
Value
% Estimated Coverage
Owned Assets
302-1 Elec-Abs
Consumption
15,164.6 17.1% 236 of 236 -10.2% 16,892.5 0.1% 236 of 236
% Renewable 100% 236 of 236 0.0% 100% 236 of 236
(Sub)metered exclusively to
tenants
0.0% 0.0% 0 of 0 0.0% 0.0% 0 of 0
302-1 DH&C-Abs
Consumption
2,382.1 29.0% 33 of 33 8.1% 2,202.9 0.0% 33 of 33
% Renewable 0.0% 33 of 33 0.0% 0.0% 33 of 33
(Sub)metered exclusively to
tenants
0.0% 0.0% 0 of 0 0.0% 0.0% 0 of 0
302-1 Fuels-Abs
Consumption
4,089.6 21.0% 106 of 106 -9.1% 4,497.2 1.8% 106 of 106
% Renewable 55% 106 of 106 0.2% 55% 106 of 106
(Sub)metered exclusively to
tenants
0.0% 0.0% 0 of 0 0.0% 0.0% 0 of 0
302-1 Energy Total energy consumption 21,636.3 19.2% 239 of 239 -8.3% 23,592.5 0.4% 239 of 239
302-3 Energy-Int Energy intensity 12.0 239 of 239 -8.3% 13.1 239 of 239
Data notes for like-for-like energy: All reported energy totals are in MWh, and energy intensity is reported in kWh/sqm GIA. Under the new classification of estimated data (see
methodology section), we have included 239 properties in our like-for-like energy reporting. These are those properties which have been owned and operated by Shurgard for the
complete 24-month reporting period and for which the majority is classified as actual data. We therefore include electricity data from 236 of these properties, gas data for 106
properties, and district heating data for 33 properties.
Note that here and throughout the like-for-like performance measures we do not include our support center figures, as these would duplicate the absolute figures for this single
location.
Please note that Shurgard does not have any tenants, so tenant consumption is zero.
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Narrative on performance for like-for-like energy and energy intensity: Like-for-like electricity has fallen by 10.2%. This is a relatively similar percentage to the trend observed
across the whole portfolio, which is mainly attributed to the continuing installation of efficiency measures. Gas consumption has decreased by 9.1% within the like-for-like portfolio,
reflecting the impact of our efficiency measures and gas replacement program as mentioned previously. Almost all our stores with district heating systems fall into the like-for-
like group, so the trend displayed here is very similar to that displayed in the absolute data table.
We have used the floor area of in-scope like-for-like assets for the relevant utility under our management as our intensity normalization measure. Our like-for-like energy intensity
has fallen year-on-year, driven by electricity efficiency measures and reduced dependence on district heating systems.
GRI 302-1 / 302-3
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Like-for-Like GHG Emissions Measures
2023 2022
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Code
Metric
Like-for-Like Value Coverage YoY Trend
Like-for-Like
Value
Coverage
Owned Assets
305-1 GHG-Dir-Abs
Scope 1 Emissions (Location Based)
413.3 106 of 106 -8.7% 452.5 106 of 106
Scope 1 Emissions (Market Based) 334.8 106 of 106 -9.1% 368.4 106 of 106
305-2 GHG-Indir-Abs
Scope 2 Emissions (Location Based)
2,165.8 236 of 236 -6.5% 2,316.6 236 of 236
Scope 2 Emissions (Market Based) 597.7 236 of 236 9.8% 544.1 236 of 236
N/A GHG
Scope 1+2 Emissions (Location Based)
2,579.1 239 of 239 -6.9% 2,769.1 239 of 239
Scope 1+2 Emissions (Market Based) 932.5 239 of 239 2.2% 912.5 239 of 239
305-4 GHG-Int
Scope 1+2 intensity (Location Based)
1.4 239 of 239 -6.9% 1.5 239 of 239
Scope 1+2 intensity (Market Based) 0.5 239 of 239 2.2% 0.5 239 of 239
Data notes for like-for-like GHG emissions: All total emissions numbers are reported in tCO2e, and GHG intensity is reported in kgCO2e/sqm GIA. This table covers the same 239
properties included in our like-for-like reporting for energy, 106 of which use gas and therefore report Scope 1 Emissions. Please note that Shurgard does not have any tenants, so
tenant emissions are zero and therefore not reported in this table. Please see the paragraph Reporting on Landlord and Tenant Consumptionin our Overarching
Recommendationssection.
Narrative on performance for GHG emissions intensity: We have used the floor area of in-scope like-for-like assets for the relevant utility under our management as our intensity
normalization measure. It should be noted that, given the nature of our properties, these Scope 1+2 intensities are already very low, so year-on-year percentage changes correspond
to very small differences in the actual GHG intensity of our portfolio.
GRI 305-1 / 305-2 / 305-4
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Like-for-Like Water Measures
2023 2022
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Code
Metric
Like-for-Like
Value
% Estimated Coverage YoY Trend
Like-for-Like
Value
% Estimated Coverage
Owned Assets
303-5 Water-Abs
Shurgard-obtained
water
15,544.6 20.3% 212 of 212 -44.7% 28,132.4 7.3% 212 of 212
Tenant-obtained
water
0.0 0.0% 0 of 0 0.0 0.0% 0 of 0
Total-obtained
water
15,544.6 20.3% 212 of 212 -44.7% 28,132.4 7.3% 212 of 212
303-5 Water-Int
Water intensity for
Shurgard-obtained
water
0.010 212 of 212 -44.7% 0.018 212 of 212
Data notes for like-for-like water: Water consumption is reported in cbm, and water intensity is reported in cbm/sqm GIA. The 212 assets included are those properties which
have been owned and operated by Shurgard for the complete 24-month reporting period and for which the majority is classified as actual data. We will continue to expand the
coverage of this measure in 2024 with the ongoing installation of smart water metering across our portfolio. Please note that Shurgard does not have any tenants, so tenant
consumption is zero.
Narrative on performance for like-for-like water: All water is municipal potable water discharged from taps in the communal areas of Shurgard properties. There is minimal
landlord obtained water across Shurgard’s portfolio and as the business does not operate in water-stressed locations, water consumption is not considered material. The significant
decrease in water consumption shown in this subset is like that displayed in the absolute totals table. As previously stated, this decrease is largely linked to a number of water
leaks over the 2022 period and subsequent installation of leak detection equipment in 2023 to mitigate this problem moving forwards.
GRI 303-5
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Like-for-Like Waste Measures
2023 2022
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR Code Metric
Like-for-Like
Value
Like-for-Like
Proportion
YoY Trend Like-for-Like Value
Like-for-Like
Proportion
Owned Assets
306-4
Waste-Abs
Recycled 700.6 38.2% -21.1% 887.8 47.7%
306-5
Incinerated (with and without energy
recovery)
1134.2 61.8% 16.4% 974.3 52.3%
306-5 Landfill (non-hazardous) 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
306-5 Hazardous Waste Treatment 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
306-4 Materials Recovery Facility - Unknown 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
Tenant-obtained waste 0.0 0.0% 0.0 0.0%
306-3 Total 1834.8 100% -1.5% 1862.1 100%
Coverage of applicable properties 241 of 241 241 of 241
Data notes for like-for-like waste: All waste totals are reported in tons. Waste for the final quarter, October 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, has been estimated. Please note that
Shurgard does not have any tenants, so tenant waste is zero.
Narrative on performance for like-for-like waste: Like-for-like waste data is gathered for 241 properties in the portfolio where Shurgard has waste management contracts for
the complete 24-month reporting period. This subset of assets has been slightly reduced since 2021 due to more stringent data quality thresholds for inclusion. Like-for-like waste
has decreased by 1.5% in total across this subset of properties due to the large reduction in recycled waste. Minimum standards are in place to ensure that all cardboard at stores
is recycled, along with plastic use being minimized.
Waste going to hazardous waste treatment facilities has been completely phased out, and our record of 100% landfill diversion was maintained. Where actual waste data was not
available from the supplier, estimates of tonnages have been based on the volume, frequency and type of waste being collected dependent on country specific available conversion
factors.
GRI 306-3 / 306-4 / 306-5
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Type and number of sustainably Certified Assets
2023
2022
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA
sBPR Code
Certification Level
No. of Certified Stores
Percentage of
portfolio certified (by
floor area)
No. of Certified
Stores
Percentage of
portfolio certified (by
floor area)
N/A Cert-Tot
EU Energy Performance Certificate
253 90.7% 248 93.1%
BREEAM - In Use
Pass
13 5.1% 13 5.3%
Acceptable
1 0.3% 0 0.0%
Good
29 10.2% 27 9.8%
Very Good
6 2.4% 7 3.0%
Excellent
1 0.3% 1 0.3%
Outstanding
0 0.0% 0 0.0%
BREEAM New Construction
Pass
0 0.0% 0 0.0%
Good
0 0.0% 0 0.0%
Very Good
4 1.6% 2 0.9%
Excellent
7 3.5% 7 3.7%
Outstanding
1 0.5% 1 0.5%
EU ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES 2023
EPC Score A B C D E F G
N/A
Number of Assets 180 14 34 16 2 0 7
23
% of portfolio (by floor
area)
64.8% 5.6% 11.5% 5.4% 0.9% 0.0% 2.5% 9.3%
Narrative on performance for green building certificates: EU energy performance certificates are not mandatory for all Shurgard's properties, but we make sure that all new
developed and acquired stores obtain EPC's. We plan not to have any stores with rating lower than E by 2027 and lower than D by 2030. As Shurgard holds assets long-term this
is not a material aspect, however, to better understand the portfolio makeup, energy performance certificates have been obtained for the entire portfolio in 2021 and continue to
be obtained for new properties where feasible.
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141
Shurgard recognizes the benefits of green building certification and seeks to increase the percentage coverage year-on-year. We focus on pursuing BREEAM (Building Research
Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification, with the goal to obtain BREEAM certificates at all new constructions wherever possible. Further properties have
been entered for BREEAM certification but have not yet had their certification finalized as of the compilation of this report.
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SOCIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Note that our CEO has two functions: one as Board member and one as Senior
Management. In order to avoid double count, the CEO has been excluded from the
Senior Management social performance measures.
Employee Gender Diversity
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
Indicator
2023
2022
Female
Male
Female
Male
405-1
Diversity-
Emp
Employees in
the
organization’s
Board
of Directors
33.3% 67.7% 27.3% 72.7%
Employees in
the
organization’s
senior
management
25.0% 75.0% 25.0% 75.0%
All employees 42.4% 57.6% 42.3% 57.7%
Narrative on performance:
Shurgard believes that a diverse perspective is key to success. We have increased our
female representation on the Board, which stands at 33.3%.
GRI 405-1
Gender Pay Ratio
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
Indicator
2023
2022
Mean
Mean
405-2 Diversity-Pay
Mean (average) percentage by
which female pay is lower than
male pay.
-3.3% -5.0%
Narrative on performance:
For all in-store employees, Shurgard discloses the mean percentage pay gap between
female and male pay.
The gender pay ration has improved compared to our 2022 disclosures and now
represents -3.3% in 2023. We believe that this is reflective of our continual
commitment to maintaining a workplace that is free from discrimination.
GRI 405-2
Equal Pay Analysis 2023
Employee Level
Average Salary Female Average Salary Male
Executive level (base salary only) 320,000 301,067
Executive level (base salary + other
cash incentives)
640,000 600,274
Management level (base salary only) 91,418 89,847
Management level (base salary +
other cash incentives)
110,564 113,653
Data notes for equal pay analysis 2023: Executive level functions include all Senior
Management, with the exception of the CEO position. Management level functions
include all positions with people management responsibilities.
Narrative on performance for equal pay analysis 2023:
We believe that our salary paid is reflective of our continued commitment to maintain
a workplace that is free from discrimination. Every year, we strive to provide an equal
balance for all employees.
GRI 405-2
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Gender Pay ratio for directors and employees
GRI
Topic
Stand
ard
EPRA
sBPR
Meas
ure
Indicator
Mean (average) percentage by
which female pay is lower than
male pay
2023
2022
405-2
Diversity
-Pay
The organization’s Board of
Directors
-13.6% -8.3%
Employees in the organization’s
Senior Management
6.3% 6.3%
All employees
-17.6% -15.1%
Narrative on performance for gender pay ratio for directors and employees:
Shurgard discloses the mean percentage pay gap between female and male pay for
three levels of employees. Shurgard’s remuneration policy makes no differentiation
between female and male functions, therefore, all differences are mandate specific.
GRI 405-2
Employee Training & Development
GRI
Topic
Standard
EPRA
sBPR
Measure
Indicator 2023 2022
404-1
Emp-
Training
Average hours of training
undertaken by employees
in the reporting period
(per FTE)
22.7 30.2
404-3
Emp-
Dev
% of total employees who
received regular
performance and career
development reviews
during the reporting
period
100.0% 100.0%
N/A
Average spent on training
per FTE in the reporting
period
472.9 470.3
N/A
Total of hours of training
undertaken by all
employees in the
reporting period (overall)
15,986 21,641
Narrative on performance:
Participation in the Company’s learning and development program remained high
with 100% participation across the year. Our total training hours for 2023 amounted
to 15,986h, including first aid and fire emergency training in addition to all the new
joiners induction training and any other externally provided training deemed
important for the development of our employees.
Each in-store employee is required to complete a rigorous training program over the
course of their first four months employment. This builds the foundation to assist our
customers with their storage needs. European Support Center employees are also
engaged in an extensive induction program which lasts several weeks. Shurgard
recruited 242 new employees over 2023 who all went through induction training.
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144
The Shurgard Academy was launched in 2018 to enable us to attract, retain and train
top talent within our stores. The academy provides a transparent program of
progression which empowers our employees to develop throughout their careers. The
Academy ensures a structured process of career progression, from Junior Assistant
Store Manager to Senior Store Manager.
GRI 404-1 / 404-3
New Hires and Turnover
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
Indicator
2023
2022
Number Rate Number Rate
401-1
Emp-
Turnover
New
employee
hires
242
33.8% 300 40.4%
Employee
turnover
267 37.3% 331 44.6%
Narrative on performance: There have been fewer new hires because an increasing
number of stores are partially or remotely managed, along with lower turnover
compared to last year.
GRI 401
Employee Health and Safety
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
Indicator 2023 2022
403-2 H&S-Emp
Injury rate 0.0% 0.0%
Lost day rate 0.3% 0.3%
Absentee rate 6.3% 5.8%
Fatalities 0.0% 0.0%
Narrative on performance: Shurgard has specific internal control and management
systems to mitigate health and safety risks, including technological solutions and a
program of audit and assurance.
In 2023, we maintained our record of 0.0% injury rate for our employees. Our
absentee rate increased slightly in 2023.
GRI 403-1/ 403-2
Asset Health and Safety Assessments and Compliance
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
Indicator 2023 2022
416-1 H&S-Assets
% of assets for which
H&S impacts are
assessed or reviewed
35.5% 34.0%
416-2 H&S-Comp
Number of incidents of
non-compliance
with regulations and/or
voluntary standards
1 0
Narrative on performance:
Shurgard is fully committed to providing safe storage facilities to our customers and
our staff. Health and safety criteria are regularly assessed in our properties to ensure
that applicable health and safety rules are respected. All the properties are audited
with respect to health and safety criteria:
By Internal Audit within a three-year cycle (more than one third of the
properties are audited each year).
By the District Managers three times per year (self-assessments).
The organization has identified one instance of non-compliance with regulations
and/or voluntary codes.
GRI 416-1 / 416-2
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Community Engagement, Impact Assessments and Development Programs
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA
sBPR
Measure
Indicator 2023 2022
413-1
Comty-
Eng
% of assets under
operational control that
have implemented local
community engagement,
impact assessments,
and/or development
programs
100.0% 100.0%
Narrative on performance:
Shurgard has a corporate community program that applies across all activities.
Further details of which are included under the Community Enhancementsection
mentioned earlier.
Community engagement activities are undertaken at a growing number of stores.
All our community initiatives are based on an assessment of the local communities’
needs and we conduct social and environmental impact assessments for planning
purposes. We provide grievance processes for all stakeholders, including a formal
complaints procedure.
GRI 413-1
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GOVERNANCE PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Composition of the Highest Governing Body
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
Indicator
2023 2022
2-9 Gov-Board
Number of executive board members
1
1
Number of independent board
members
6 6
Number of non-executive board
members
8 10
Average tenure on the governance body
3.7 years
4.1 years
Number of independent / non-executive
board members with competencies relating
to environmental and social topics
6 6
Narrative on performance:
The Board of Directors (highest governance body) is currently composed of nine members, one executive director
and eight non-executive directors. We define “Executive” as a Director with executive functions within the
Shurgard group (such as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, etc.). The Independent Chairman, Ian
Marcus, leads the Board. The ESG Committee oversees the ESG strategy of the Company and monitors the
completion of the ESG objectives. Also, it is considered that all the non-executive board members have
competencies related to environmental and social topics, through academic and professional backgrounds,
and/or charity work.
GRI 2-9
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Process for Nominating and Selecting the Highest Governing Body
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
Indicator
2023 2022
2-10 Gov-Select
Composition of
the Board of
Directors
(Relevant for the reporting rules and did not change between 2022 and 2023 in
relation to the nomination and selection of the Directors; rules last reviewed
February 2023 in relation to overseeing the ESG strategy of the Company)
Source: Internal Rules and Regulations of the ESG Committee
Available under https://corporate.shurgard.eu/governance/committee-charter
The ESG Committee acts to:
- Identify candidates qualified to serve as members of the Board and executive
officers;
- Recommend candidates to the Board for appointment by the General Meeting of
Shareholders or for appointment by the Board to fulfil interim vacancies at the
Board;
- Submit a list of candidates to the Board on the appointment of new Directors and
executive officers;
- Make an assessment of the existing and required skills, knowledge and
experience for any post to be filled and prepare on that basis a description of the
role, together with the skills, knowledge and experience required - this includes
ESG topics;
- Make an assessment as to whether candidate Directors meet the criteria of
independence.
In respect of diversity: "Within six years from the effective date of the initial public
offering of the Company, at least 1/3 of the members of the proposed candidates
shall be female."
Narrative on performance:
The rules for the nomination and selection of members of the Board of Directors have not changed since 2019.
The ESG Committee makes recommendations to the Board about the renewal of the directors’ mandates and the
nomination of new directors when requested. It is then the prerogative of the shareholders of the Company to
approve the mandates of the directors.
GRI 2-10
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Process for managing Conflicts of Interest
GRI Topic
Standard
EPRA sBPR
Measure
Indicator 2023
2-15 Gov-Col
Board of
Directors
composition
Source 1: Corporate Governance Charter
Available under https://corporate.shurgard.eu/governance/governance-
documents procedure
- In relation to any transaction, submitted for approval to the Board or any
committee of the Board conflicting with that of the Company, a director having a
direct or indirect financial interest shall notify the Board or any committee of the
Board of Directors and shall not participate in any discussions or vote of the
Board or any committee of the Board, and the decision shall be taken by simple
majority of the voting directors.
- Where, due to a conflict of interest, the number of directors required to be
present for a valid quorum is not reached, the Board may defer the decision to
the general meeting of shareholders.
Source 2: Directors Code of conduct
Directors must take appropriate actions in case of conflicts of interest.
Directors must use their best efforts to avoid any potential conflict of interest
with the Company or any company controlled by it.
If a director has a direct or indirect personal and conflicting interest of a
financial nature in a decision or transaction within the authority of the Board, he
must so notify the other directors prior to a decision by the Board. A director
who has a conflicting interest may not participate nor vote in the deliberations
of the Board on such transactions or decisions.
This procedure does not apply if the decisions of the Board relate to transactions
at arm’s length and concerning the daily affairs of the Company.
Source 3: Disclosure into the Annual Report of the other directorships of the
directors of the Board
Narrative on performance: No conflicts of interest were identified in either year.
This indicator describes our processes to ensure that conflicts of interest are avoided and managed in the highest
governance body, and how conflicts of interest are disclosed to stakeholders.
GRI 2-15
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8.7 ASSURANCE SUMMARY STATEMENT ON SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE MEASURES
ASSURANCE STATEMENT: AA1000
EVORA Global Limited (“EVORA”) was engaged by Shurgard Self
Storage Ltd (“Shurgard” or the “Company”) to provide
assurance of the Environmental sustainability performance
measures of their 2023 Sustainability Report (the “Report”) for the reporting period of January 1, 2023 to
December 31, 2023 for their owned assets.
This assured data is intended to be reported to GRESB 2024 assessment as well.
The assurance was provided in accordance with AccountAbility’s AA1000 Assurance Standard V3 (AA1000AS)
Type 2 moderate level and EPRA Best Practice Recommendations for Sustainability Reporting (sBPR) 2017 3rd
Edition as well as GRESB criteria. The assurance was conducted via independent third party Markit Group Limited
(“IHS Markit”), engaged by EVORA.
Responsibilities
The Company has responsibility for ensuring the preparation of the Report. The EVORA Consultancy Team has
been appointed by the Company to support them in the data collection and analysis of the Report.
The EVORA Assurance Team (‘We’ / ‘Our’) engaged IHS Markit to conduct independent assurance on their behalf
and provide an opinion on the Report’s alignment with the Criteria for the defined reporting period, in all material
respects. The procedures selected depend on our judgment, including an assessment of the risks of material
misstatement or material non-compliance of the matter being audited. We conducted our engagement in
accordance with the AA1000AS.
Intended users
The intended users of this assurance statement are the Management of the Company, their stakeholders and
GRESB B.V.
Assurance standard and criteria
The assurance was conducted in accordance with AccountAbility’s AA1000 Assurance Standard 2020 v3
(AA1000AS), Type 2 at a moderate level of assurance.
The Report has been prepared by the Company in accordance with the EPRA Best Practice Recommendations for
Sustainability Reporting (sBPR) 2017 3rd Edition and GRESB (the “Criteria”).
Assurance scope
The scope of assurance covered the indicators outlined below pertaining to the owned assets for the reporting
period of January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 (collectively the ‘Subject Matter’):
Landlord managed and procured:
Electricity Consumption (kWh)
District Heating (kWh)
Fuels Consumption (kWh)
Water Consumption (m3)
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions (tCO
2e) – Scope 1 and Scope 2 (location based)
Waste (tonnes)
Intensity Calculations:
Energy (kWh / m2)
GHG (kgCO
2e/m2) – Scope 1 and Scope 2 (location based)
Water (m3/m2)
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
150
Alignment check of the Company’s reporting against EPRA Best Practice Recommendations for Sustainability
Reporting (sBPR) 2017 3rd Edition.
Disclosures covered
This assurance report covers the Subject Matter relating to the underlying assets, as defined above which forms
part of the Company’s Report and will be reported to the GRESB 2024 assessment as well.
Methodology
The procedures conducted in performing our moderate assurance included:
Performing a risk assessment, including considering internal controls relevant to the Company’s
preparation of the Report and associated data to inform further procedures
Making inquiries, primarily of persons responsible for the preparation of the Report
Understanding the Company’s activities covered within the scope of the Report.
Applying analytical and other review procedures including assessing relationships between energy
and emissions data and other information under our scope
Examination of source evidence including invoices, meter records, third-party reports for a select
sample of data
Analyzing and inspecting on a sample basis, the key systems, processes and procedures and
controls relating to the collation, validation, presentation, and approval process of the information
included in the Report.
Use of our assurance statement
This report has been prepared for the management of the Company for the sole purpose for reporting on the
matters being assured in accordance with the defined Criteria. We agree that a copy of the report may be
provided to the Company’s stakeholders for this purpose.
We and IHS Markit disclaim any assumption of responsibility for any reliance on this report to any person or
users other than the Company, or for any purpose other than that for which it has agreed in writing and for
which it was prepared. Any reliance any third party may place on the report is entirely at its own risk.
Limitations
There are inherent limitations in performing assurance - for example, assurance engagements are based on
selective testing of the information being examined - it is possible that fraud, error or non-compliance may occur
and not be detected. An assurance engagement is not designed to detect all instances of non-compliance with
the established Criteria, as an assurance engagement is not performed continuously throughout the year and
the procedures performed are undertaken on a test basis. The conclusion expressed in this report has been
formed on the above basis.
Additionally, non-financial data may be subject to more inherent limitations than financial data, given both its
nature and the methods used for determining, calculating, and sampling or estimating such data.
A moderate or limited level assurance engagement is restricted primarily to inquiries and analytical procedures
and the work is substantially less detailed than undertaken for a high level or reasonable assurance engagement.
As such the level of assurance is lower than would be the case for a reasonable assurance engagement.
Note:
GRESB has not yet released its 2024 assessment criteria but has confirmed that there are no
changes to the assurance requirements. This assurance would thus be valid for the Company’s
GRESB 2024 reporting as well.
Shurgard reports actual environmental data for nine months (January 1, 2023 to September 30,
2023), and estimated data for the last three months of the year which is in line with the Criteria.
For GRESB reporting, Shurgard updates the last quarter's data to the actual data. This is in line
with the accepted procedures.
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151
Independence and Competence
The assurance was conducted via IHS Markit independently. IHS Markit (now part of S&P Global) is a global
diversified provider of critical information, analytics, and solutions and has been working in the ESG space for
many years. IHS Markit’s ESG team has relevant assurance competencies and is highly experienced in
sustainability matters covering environmental, social, and economic aspects and is led by Certified Sustainability
Assurance Practitioner (CSAP) as certified by AccountAbility. IHS Markit has conducted this assurance
independently and impartially and in compliance with IHS Markit’s policies and procedures, including its Code of
Business Ethics that provide a framework relating to ethical conduct, conflict of interest and compliance with
law.
Findings conclusions and recommendations
Comments on AA1000 Accountability Principles:
Principle Observations, Findings & Recommendations
Inclusivity: actively identifying stakeholders
and enabling their participation in establishing
an organization’s material sustainability topics
and developing a strategic response to them.
An inclusive organization
accepts its
accountability to those on whom it has an
impact and to those who have an impact on it.
Shurgard has identified its priority stakeholders and actively engages
with them. The key stakeholder groups include employees, customers,
suppliers, investors, communities, regulatory bodies, communities.
Some of the engagement activities conducted in 2023 include:
- Employees: Satisfaction survey conducted in 2023
- Customers: Regular monitoring of feedback through various channels
including google reviews, Trustpilot etc.
-
Investors: Regular engagement through various modes including
investors days which happen at least once a month
- Suppliers: Supplier survey conducted in 2022 where questions
pertaining to ESG policies are raised Communities Community
program in place in countries across seven markets. Regulators:
Reports publications as required and feedback if there are any
questions.
Materiality: identifying and prioritizing the
most relevant sustainability topics, taking into
account the effect each topic has on an
organisation and its stakeholders.
A material topic is a topic that will substantively
influence and impact the assessments,
decisions, actions and performance of an
organiz
ation and/or its stakeholders in the
short, medium and/or long term
Shurgard has undertaken a comprehensive double materiality
assessment in 2023. Every year executive ESG committee meets to
discuss all the important and upcoming ESG trends from the
sector/business and stakeholders. In addition, a continual review is also
undertaken and is considered to determine any changes to the material
topics.
The assessment identified, refined, and assessed the various ESG factors
that affect the Shurgard business and/or stakeholders. The identified
issues span across the dimensions of Environment, social and
governance.
The process of determining materiality and relevance is documented
within the annual Sustainability report.
Responsiveness: an organization’s timely and
relevant reaction to material sustainability
topics and their related impacts.
Responsiveness is realized through decisions,
actions and performance, as well as
communication with stakeholders
Shurgard remains responsive to all the upcoming ESG demands as well
as to the stakeholders. The communication modes with the stakeholders
remain the same as described above.
Shurgard has an ESG Management Group which has multi-functional
expertise and includes representatives from HR, finance, ESG amongst
others to ensure a wide range of involvement from stakeholders across
the business. The ESG Management Group is positioned so that it can
respond as required to changing ESG demands. Above this group sits the
Executive Committee who are responsible for the sign-
off of ESG
objectives and the overarching ESG strategy.
Action plans are developed based on the result of the surveys and
engagement activities conducted and implemented to progress areas
which scored lower than desired.
To keep in line with the changing ESG demands and trends, Shurgard
has included many new frameworks and KPIs to monitor as part of their
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
152
Our unqualified opinion
Nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that:
The company does not adhere to the principles of inclusivity, materiality, responsiveness and
impact as per the AA1000 Accountability Principles (2018).
The Subject matter is not prepared in accordance with the EPRA Best Practice Recommendations
for Sustainability Reporting (sBPR) 2017 3rd Edition in all material respects, for the reporting period
1
st
Jan 2023 to 31
st
Dec 2023.
The Subject matter is not prepared in accordance with the GRESB criteria by the Company in all
material respects, for the reporting period 1
st
Jan 2023 to 31
st
Dec 2023.
EVORA Global Limited, London, UK
Date: 26 February 2024
ESG performance. These include turnover, business travel, working on
the EU taxonomy, physical climate risk assessment to identify risks
amongst others
Impact: the effect of behavior, performance
and/or outcomes, on the part of individuals or
an organisation, on the economy, the
environment, society, stakeholders or the
organisation itself.
Material topics have potential direct and
indirect impacts which may be positive or
negative, intended or unintended, expected or
realized, and short, medium or long term
Shurgard has defined ESG objectives, based on their impacts and
outlined within their ESG policy. These are reported within their annual
Sustainability report as well as other reporting including GRESB, EPRA,
ratings reporting like CSA, MSCI etc.
Metrics for measuring impact have been developed through various
mechanisms including advice from external sector specific consultants
and via the review of publicly available information i.e., from industry
bodies / and via GRESB where relevant.
Shurgard has been working very closely with the communities to
increase their positive social impact and included enhanced programs
and initiatives in 2023. These include offering storage space to social
communities in some markets, launched Shurgard academy last year for
increased training for the employees, increased monetary contribution
for their charity programs and many others.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
153
REMUNERATION REPORT
PRELIMINARY NOTE
This Remuneration Report has been prepared in accordance with the principles provided for under the Company’s
Remuneration Policy. The Remuneration Policy can be found on the Company’s website (
Governance Documents
| Shurgard Investor Relations). There has been no derogation from the Remuneration Policy.
2023 PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
In 2023, the Company delivered another year of solid results and is well-positioned to deliver long-term value.
Under the leadership of our Senior Management, and with our Board’s oversight, the Company achieved
significant performance successes, including:
Record Property operating revenue
357.7million
(+9.0% at CER)
EPRA NTA per share
€44.07
Dividend Per Share Growth
Record NOI
€237.2million
EPRA NTA per share growth
+8.4%
Same store NOI margin
67.6%
(+0.9pp at CER)
Total Investment property value (incl. IPUC)
5.0billion (+11.3%)
Underlying EBITDA growth (at CER)
+8.4%
+65K SQM
Added through acquisitions, developments, and
redevelopments
Record Adjusted EPRA earnings
€158.4million
(+12.3% at CER)
ESG
Record Adjusted EPRA earnings per share
€1.76
ESG
A GOLD MEDAL
at the EPRA Sustainability Best
Practices Recommendations (sBPR)
Achieved 5-STAR GRESB
rating out of a maximum of
five stars.
We are our sector leader.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
154
In addition, the Company’s stock and total return has consistently traded significantly higher than various indices
for the last five years.
Stock performance vs indices since IPO (Oct 2018)
Total performance, assuming reinvestment of dividends.
2023 COMPENSATION FRAMEWORK AND TARGETS FOR SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Senior Management compensation is a balance of fixed and variable compensation components and fringe
benefits aligned with market practice, such as company cars or allowances, as well as standard pension benefits.
We believe that the 2023 executive compensation is aligned with the Company’s strong performance, while also
recognizing the impact of significant macro-economic challenges the Company faced in the regions in which it
operates, and the individual contributions of each Senior Manager. The following is a summary of the ESG
Committee’s decision on the key components (fixed and variable) of the 2023 Senior Management compensation
program.
Framework of Short-Term Performance-Based Bonus Awards for all Senior Management
The annual performance-based cash bonus program provides an opportunity to reward Senior Management for
their performance during the fiscal year. The ESG Committee sets annual incentive award targets, and these may
be increased or decreased in the future.
The actual awards approved by the ESG Committee are based on whether the targeted corporate performance
metrics described below have been achieved. The ESG Committee considers the recommendations of the Chief
Executive Officer in deciding whether other members of Senior Management have achieved individual and
Company goals. In addition, the ESG Committee will solicit the views of the Chairman and the Board, particularly
in relation to the performance of the Chief Executive Officer.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, compensation targets (and their respective weighting) determined by the
ESG Committee for all executives are described below. They ranged from 0% to 125% of an individual’s base
salary based on the performance of the Company and the performance of each respective individual (taking into
account both financial and non-financial criteria).
Shurgard; 123.6%
EURO STOXX 600; 57.4%
FTSE EPRA Nareit;
-1.0%
-40%
-10%
20%
50%
80%
110%
140%
170%
15/10/2018
15/12/2018
15/02/2019
15/04/2019
15/06/2019
15/08/2019
15/10/2019
15/12/2019
15/02/2020
15/04/2020
15/06/2020
15/08/2020
15/10/2020
15/12/2020
15/02/2021
15/04/2021
15/06/2021
15/08/2021
15/10/2021
15/12/2021
15/02/2022
15/04/2022
15/06/2022
15/08/2022
15/10/2022
15/12/2022
15/02/2023
15/04/2023
15/06/2023
15/08/2023
15/10/2023
15/12/2023
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
155
Executive position CEO All other executives
Amount of potential target 0%-125% of base salary 0%-125% of base salary
1
Revenue performance
All store growth 2023 vs 2022 above 8.0%
Same store growth 2023 vs 2022
0%-30% 0%-40%
NOI growth & Adj. EPRA earnings growth
All stores NOI margin % above 2022
Adj. EPRA earnings growth
0%-15% 0%-25%
Development & M&A (all new sqm)
2023 total added new sqm above 70,000 sqm
2024 total potential above 70,000 sqm (pipeline exc. M&A)
0%-20% 0%-45%
Other KPIs
Other projects
ESG
2
(based on GRESB rating)
Shurgard share, TSR benchmark vs peers
0%-35% 0%-45%
1 Weight per section varies per executive.
2 More information about ESG targets is in our Sustainability Report available at
https://corporate.shurgard.eu/corporate-responsibility/reports-and-
publications.
2023 COMPENSATION DECISIONS
After considering the individual performances of each member of Senior Management, the solid results achieved
by the Company in 2023, the achievement of the short-term performance objectives described above, and the
individual contributions of each Senior Manager, the decisions made by the ESG Committee are as follows:
2023 CEO Compensation
The annual base salary for Mr. Oursin in 2023 was €500,000. This has remained unchanged since 2012.
Additionally, as indicated above, an annual cash bonus incentive award ranging from 0%-125% of his base salary
was set assuming the achievement of performance criteria, including individual performance. In recognition of
the performance of the Company in 2023 and his individual contribution, the ESG Committee approved in
accordance with the short term performance-based bonus program a cash bonus of €500,000, to be paid in
2024.
2023 Compensation for executives other than our Chief Executive Officer
2023 base salaries for Mr. Kreusch, Mr. Bell, Mr. Kharouf, and Ms. Neumann were €355,584, £250,000, €250,000,
and €320,000, respectively.
After considering the achievement of each of the 2023 short-term incentive targets and the individual
performances of the direct reports of Mr. Oursin, the ESG Committee awarded the following annual incentive
bonuses, which will be paid in 2024, to the following executives: Mr. Kreusch, €350,000; Mr. Bell, £250,000;
Mr. Kharouf €250,000 and Ms. Neumann €288,000.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
156
For comparative purposes, the following summarizes Senior Management compensation over the last two years:
Name
and
position
Year
Fixed remuneration Variable remuneration
Total
Proportion of
fixed and
variable
remuneration
Base salary
All other
compensation
2
Short-term
performance-
based bonus
3
Option
awards
4
Marc Oursin
CEO
2023 500,000 52,000 500,000 938,325 1,990,325
1 : 2.61
2022 500,000 52,000 500,000 956,816 2,008,816
1 : 2.64
Jean Kreusch
CFO
2023 355,584 32,796 350,000 586,453 1,324,833
1 : 2.41
2022 355,584 32,796 350,000 598,010 1,336,390
1 : 2.44
Duncan Bell
COO
2023 287,448 26,100 287,448 469,163 1,070,159
1 : 2.41
2022 287,448
1
26,100 287,448 478,408 1,079,404
1 : 2.44
Ammar Kharouf 2023 250,000 13,099 250,000 469,163 982,262 1 : 2.73
General Counsel
2022 250,000 13,099 250,000 478,408 991,507 1 : 2.77
Isabel Neumann 2023 320,000 23,868 320,000 469,163 1,133,031 1 : 2.29
CIO
2022 320,000 36,841 107,000 478,408 942,249 1 : 1.64
1 The amounts for Mr. Bell are converted from pound Sterling. The original Sterling value was £250,000 for 2023. As a constant exchange rate, we took the
average exchange rate of 2023.
2 The amounts shown in this column for all named executives reflect contributions to their group insurance. It also includes either a car allowance or the benefit
in kind for using a company car. For Mr. Kreusch this amount also includes his representation allowance.
3 The amounts shown in this column reflect annual cash incentive awards paid to the executive management based on performance targets for the prior year.
The amounts for Mr. Bell are converted from pound Sterling. The original Sterling value was £250,000 paid in 2023. As a constant exchange rate, we took the
average exchange rate of 2023.
4 The total value of the option award is spread over the vesting period and earned in the respective years as opposed to the full value of the stock options
attributed to the grant year. Additional information is available in Note 32 Share-based Compensation Expense” to the consolidated financial statements.
The total aggregate compensation for the members of the Senior Management team in the year ended
December 31, 2023 amounted to €6,500,610.
2024 COMPENSATION AND TARGETS
Historically, the base salaries of our Senior Managers have been relatively flat over the years with very infrequent
adjustments. For example, the salary of the CEO has not been adjusted since he took over the position in 2012.
Therefore, in 2023, the ESG Committee retained Willis Towers Watson to conduct an extensive compensation
review of our Senior Managers’ overall compensation package, and benchmark them with peer groups. Following
this review, the ESG Committee recommended to the Board that Senior Management base salaries be increased.
This decision will ensure the Company remunerates Senior Managers competitively compared to their peers and
is able to retain and recruit talent. The base salaries of the Senior Managers will be adjusted as follows, effective
as of January 1, 2024: Mr. Oursin €750,000, Mr. Kreusch €400,000, Ms. Neumann €400,000, Mr. Bell £300,000,
Mr. Kharouf €300,000.
In addition to the base salary increase, the ESG Committee determined that annual cash incentives can range
from 0% to 150% of a Senior Manager's annual salary for the year ending December 31, 2024. The awards will
be based on various Company-wide performance metrics and each Senior Manager’s individual performance as
described in the following table:
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
157
Executive position CEO All other executives
Amount of potential target 0%-150% of base salary 0%-150% of base salary
1
Revenue performance
All store growth 2024 vs 2023 above 7.5%
Same store growth 2023 vs 2022
0%-20% 0%-30%
NOI growth & Adj. EPRA earnings growth
Adj. EPRA earnings growth
All stores NOI margin % growth
0%-20% 0%-15%
Development & M&A (all new sqm)
2024 total added new sqm above 90,000 sqm
2025 total potential above 90,000 sqm (pipeline incl. M&A)
0%-15% 0%-50%
Other KPIs
Other projects
ESG
2
(based on GRESB rating)
Shurgard share, TSR benchmark vs peers
0%-45% 0%-55%
1 Weight per section varies per executive.
2 More information about ESG targets is in our Sustainability Report available at
https://corporate.shurgard.eu/corporate-responsibility/reports-and-
publications.
EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS
The Company did not grant any equity compensation awards in 2022 and elected again not to grant any equity
compensation awards in 2023. Below is a summary of all outstanding equity compensation plans.
Employee Stock Option Plan (2017)
The Company granted stock options under an incentive plan in 2017 which is still outstanding. No new grants
may be made under this plan. The total number of stock options granted under this plan was 265,000.
The key features of the stock options outstanding under the 2017 plan are as follows:
Upon exercise, each stock option gives the right to one ordinary share;
The stock options were granted for free;
The stock options were exercisable in tranches of 25% per year from the first anniversary of the
date of the grant, so that the grant was fully vested after four years;
The stock options have a term of 10 years;
The stock options vest subject to customary service rules; and
The exercise price of each stock option is €21.51.
Equity Compensation Plan (2018)
The Company also granted stock options under an incentive plan in 2018 which is still outstanding. No new
grants may be made under this stock option plan. The total number of stock options granted under this plan was
680,000.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
158
The key features of the stock options outstanding under the 2018 equity compensation plan are as follows:
Upon exercise, each stock option gave the right to one ordinary share;
The stock options were granted for free;
The exercise price of each stock option was equal to the stock exchange price of the underlying
share at the time of the grant;
The stock options only vested three years after their grant;
The stock options have a term of ten years;
The exercise date can occur any time as of the vesting and before the term;
The stock options vesting were subject to customary service rules; and
The exercise price of each stock option is €23.00.
Equity Compensation plan (2021)
The Company approved an equity compensation plan in 2021, which replaced all prior equity compensation plans.
Initial grants took place on August 2, 2021. The grant was intended to incentivize certain members of Senior
Management and a number of existing or future employees of the Group, as well as to support retention and
further strengthen the link between compensation and our stock price development. This plan enables the
Company to grant stock options and, possibly, restricted stock units in 2021 and following years. The options
have a two-stage vesting period with 60% of the stock options vesting three years after the date of grant, and
the remaining 40% of the stock options vesting five years after the date of grant.
The maximum number of stock options and restricted stock units intended to be granted under the plan is
2,000,000.
1,651,000 stock options were granted and accepted under this plan on August 2, 2021, at an exercise price equal
to €43.05. A second grant of 200,000 stock options under this plan took place on September 1, 2021, at an
exercise price equal to €47.75. A third grant of 19,000 stock options under this plan took place on July 18, 2022,
at an exercise price equal to €46.81. A total of 1,250,000 stock options were granted to Senior Management.
For additional information regarding the Company’s stock option plans please refer to Notes 23 and 32 “Share-
based payment reserve” and “Share-based compensation expense” in the Notes to the consolidated financial
statements.
The following table shows the grant of stock options held by each member of Senior Management for all
outstanding stock option plans, as of December 31, 2023.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
159
Position Main conditions Financial year 2023
Plan Award date Vesting
date(s)
Expiration
date
Shares
awarded
originally
Awarded Vested Shares awarded
but still unvested
at year end
CEO
2017 plan 03/07/2017 03/07/2018
03/07/2019
03/07/2020
03/07/2021
02/07/2027 60,000 - - -
2018 plan 16/10/2018 16/10/2021 15/10/2028 230,000 - - -
2021 plan 02/08/2021 02/08/2024
02/08/2026
01/08/2031 400,000 - - 400,000
Total
690,000 - - 400,000
CFO
2017
plan
03/07/2017 03/07/2018
03/07/2019
03/07/2020
03/07/2021
02/07/2027 40,000 - - -
2018 plan 16/10/2018 16/10/2021 15/10/2028 150,000 - - -
2021 plan 02/08/2021 02/08/2024
02/08/2026
01/08/2031 250,000 - - 250,000
Total
440,000
-
-
250,000
COO
2017 plan 03/07/2017 03/07/2018
03/07/2019
03/07/2020
03/07/2021
02/07/2027 35,000 - - -
2018 plan 16/10/2018 16/10/2021 15/10/2028 110,000 - - -
2021 plan 02/08/2021 02/08/2024
02/08/2026
01/08/2031 200,000 - - 200,000
Total
345,000 - - 200,000
General
Counsel
2017 plan 03/07/2017 03/07/2018
03/07/2019
03/07/2020
03/07/2021
02/07/2027 30,000 - - -
2018 plan 16/10/2018 16/10/2021 15/10/2028 100,000 - - -
2021 plan 02/08/2021 02/08/2024
02/08/2026
01/08/2031 200,000 - - 200,000
Total 330,000 - - 200,000
CIO
2021 plan 01/09/2021 01/09/2024
01/09/2026
31/08/2031 200,000 - - 200,000
Total
200,000 - - 200,000
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
160
COMPARATIVE INFORMATION ON THE CHANGE OF REMUNERATION AND COMPANY PERFORMANCE
For comparison purposes, the figures of: (i) Senior Management total aggregate compensation, (ii) Company
performance and (iii) the average remuneration on a full-time equivalent basis of the other employees of the
Company over the five most recent financial years are shown in the table:
Annual change
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Senior Management remuneration
1
CEO 1,193,32 1,262,797 1,672,360 2,008,816 1,990,325
CFO 811,565 858,034 1,114,380 1,336,390 1,324,833
COO² 630,815 632,319 837,150 1,091,575 1,070,159
General Counsel 446,449 505,089 731,419 991,507 982,262
CIO N/A N/A 562,761 942,249 1,133,031
Company Performance
Property operating revenue growth
3
5.0% 5.5% 10.7% 11.0% 7.4%
Adj. EPRA earnings growth
3
8.1% 9.9% 11.0% 9.5% 10.3%
Average share price per year (€)
29.88 33.30 44.62 48.17 42.63
Directors
690,000 700,000 700,000 797,500 790,000
Employees Average remuneration
(full-time equivalent basis)
40,732 41,537 44,598 48,059 51,932
1 For a detailed breakdown of Senior Management remuneration see the comparative table 2022-2023 above. The total value of the option awards included in
the remuneration is spread over the vesting period and earned in the respective years as opposed to attributing the full value of the stock options to the grant
year.
2 The amounts for the Chief Operating Officer are converted from pound Sterling at constant exchange rates.
3 At actual exchange rates.
REMUNERATION PAID OUT BY OTHER GROUP COMPANIES
For the year ended December 31, 2023, there was no remuneration paid out by other group companies.
MALUS AND CLAWBACK MECHANISMS
Under the Equity Compensation Plans of 2021, unvested equity awards will be canceled if the Company’s financial
statements are restated as a result of errors, omission, or fraud, or if a grantee has engaged in conduct that
resulted in substantial losses for the Company or is responsible for such losses.
EXCEPTION TO THE REMUNERATION POLICY
For the year ended December 31, 2023, there is no departure from or exception to the remuneration policy.
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMPENSATION POLICY
Non-executive directors receive cash retainers for serving on the Board, chairing a committee and/or serving on
a committee. The retainers are paid quarterly and pro-rated when a non-executive director joins the Board or a
committee, or changes his or her position on a committee, or no longer serves on the Board. The ESG Committee
evaluates directors’ compensation and recommends any changes. If there are any changes to non-executive
directors’ compensation, the proposed changes are presented for approval at the Annual General Meeting of
Shareholders.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
161
COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS IN 2023
From the time of their appointment, each non-executive Director of the Company receives €60,000 per year.
Each member who serves on a committee receives an additional €10,000 in compensation. Each member who
serves as the chair of a committee receives an additional €15,000 per year. The Chairman of the Board of
Directors receives a flat fee of €140,000. An executive director of the Company will not receive any additional
compensation for their mandate as director. Compensation is paid prorata based on attendance.
The total compensation of the Board of Directors in fiscal year 2023 amounted to €790,000.
Name Position Committee membership Year Compensation in €
1
Ian Marcus Chairman
ESG, Real Estate
2023 120,000
2022 90,000
Marc Oursin Chief Executive Officer N/A
Z. Jamie Behar Director Real Estate (Chair), Audit
2023 95,000
2022 85,000
Muriel De Lathouwer Independent Director Audit, ESG
2023 80,000
2022 75,000
Olivier Faujour Independent Director Real Estate, ESG
2023 60,000
2022 75,000
Frank Fiskers Independent Director
ESG (Chair),
Real Estate
2023 95,000
2022 85,000
Padraig McCarthy Independent Director Audit (Chair), ESG
2023 95,000
2022 85,000
Lorna Brown Independent Director Audit
2023 35,000
2022 0
Tom Boyle Director Real Estate
2023 35,000
2022 0
Ronald L. Havner, Jr. Former Chairman
2023 70,000
2022 107,500
Isabelle Moins
Former Independent
Director
Audit
2023 35,000
2022 65,000
Daniel C. Staton Former Director Real Estate
2023 35,000
2022 65,000
Everett B. Miller Former Director Real Estate
2023 35,000
2022
65,000
Total 2023 790,000
2022
797,500
1 The compensation amounts listed above are gross amounts and do not include any applicable VAT or the deduction of any applicable withholding tax.
DIRECTORS’ AND OFFICERS’ INSURANCE
We maintain a Directors and Officers insurance policy covering claims that might be made against members of
the Board of Directors and Senior Management of the Company in relation to their functions. The Company
entered into indemnification agreements with its Directors and Senior Management supplementing this policy.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
162
PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
OVERALL STATEMENT ON THE RISK POSITIONS
We see a variety of opportunities to continue our growth through optimization of our existing operations,
including leveraging our platform across planned redevelopment and development activities and bolt-on
acquisitions.
Besides these opportunities, Shurgard regularly faces risks that can have negative effects on the operating
results, financial position, and net assets of the Group. The risks set out below represent the principal risks and
uncertainties that may adversely impact the Group’s performance and the execution of our strategy.
To identify risks at an early stage and manage them adequately, Shurgard deploys effective risk management
and control systems which are also described below. Accordingly, we continuously assess the risks and conclude
at the time of the preparation of the management report the risks identified herein are limited and properly
mitigated. No identifiable risks currently exist that either individually or together would lead to a significant or
sustainable impairment of the Shurgard Group's operating results, financial position, and net assets.
Similarly, Shurgard also impacts its various stakeholders through its operations and faces risks related to ESG
topics that matter for them. We refer to Chapter 3. Risk Assessment and Double Materiality of our Sustainability
Report.
RISK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Shurgard’s Risk Management is carried out by the Senior Management, under policies approved by the Board of
Directors. The Board provides principles for the overall risk management, as well as policies covering specific
areas, such as foreign exchange risk, real estate risk, climate risk and credit risk, the use of derivative and non-
derivative financial instruments and investment of excess liquidity. The Group’s risk exposure is regularly reported
to the Company’s Executive Committee, which comprises the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief
Operating Officer, General Counsel, and Chief Investment Officer. The Company’s Audit Committee is responsible
for monitoring the effectiveness of our risk management system. It receives a report about the Group’s risk
situation every quarter.
The Group’s risk management process is designed to systematically identify and assess risks. We aim to identify
unfavorable developments at an early stage and promptly take counteractive measures and monitor them. All
risks are recorded in a risk register and are assigned to specific risk owners. Risk owners are responsible for
providing periodically updated risk fact sheets. The assessment of the risks is carried out, as much as possible,
according to quantitative parameters, likelihood of occurrence and the potential financial and reputational
impact. According to the results of this assessment, risks are qualified in a risk map as low, medium, high, or
very high. Risks that are categorized as high or very high on the risk map receive special attention and are
monitored very closely. The risk register and the resulting risk map are updated every year based on risk owners’
input (new risks, closed risks, mitigation factors, change of positioning).
With the rise of ESG awareness, we have enlarged the process to identify and assess also any ESG related risks
and opportunities, similar to our Enterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) process, playing a key role in the Groups
risk management and the double materiality assessment for CSRD purposes.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
163
KEY RISKS SPECIFIC TO THE GROUP AND ITS INDUSTRY
The risks set out below represent the principal risks and uncertainties that may adversely impact the Group’s
performance and the execution of our strategy. Other factors could also adversely affect the Group’s performance.
Accordingly, the risks described below should not be considered as a comprehensive list of all potential risks and
uncertainties. The principal risks are not listed in order of significance. In addition to the principal risks described
below, we are exposed to certain specific market risks such as foreign exchange risk, credit risk and liquidity risk.
A detailed discussion of these risks is included in Note 34 to the consolidated financial statements.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
164
Risk & Impact
Risk Mitigating Activities
Access to Capital Market
We may face risks in relation to financing future development,
redevelopment, or acquisition activities. Our ability to
undertake future investments may depend on our ability to
arrange necessary (or desired) financing, and we may not have
access to capital markets or sufficient availability under
existing or future credit facilities when such opportunities
arise. As a result, we may be unable to finance future
acquisition activity, on favorable terms or at all. If financing is
available, but only on unfavorable t
erms (i.e.,
only expensive
lending options available), this could have a significant impact
on our interest expense, impose additional or more restrictive
covenants or reduce cash available for distribution or for other
investments in the business. We could also be restrained from
raising significant debt for future acquisition activity due to
covenants in our existing debt agreements.
Also, significant systemic political,
economic
, or financial
crises or sustained periods of slow growth may restrict our
ability to access the capital markets and generate sufficient
financing due to cautious investor attitudes.
We also face risks related to the outstanding debt, which
might have customary covenant rules, which could affect,
limit, or prohibit our ability to undertake certain activities.
These include limitations on mergers, changes of business,
disposal of assets and certain specific acquisitions and joint
ventures.
A clear financial strategy is in place for the coming years.
This strategy is based on the underlying principle that
Shurgard’s financial position should allow the execution of
our strategy, independent of the capital market conditions,
i.e., should enable
Shurgard to have access to funding at
any point in time. Funding requirements for investments
and timing for commitments are reviewed regularly.
Shurgard manages liquidity in accordance with Board
approved policies designed to ensure that the Group has
ad
equate funds for its ongoing needs.
Our LTV is low and our debts could be mostly repaid with
cash flow.
Financial covenants are either tested quarterly or semi-
annually. We do not currently believe there is a risk of
breaching any of the covenants contained in those
financings.
The
directors assess the ability of the
Group to continue as
a going concern for a period of twelve months from when
the financial statements are approved for issue, based on a
forecast of the Group’s future cash flows and forecast
future loan covenant compliance. In making this
assessment, changes to the principal risks are evaluated, as
well as events and conditions which may warrant the
extension of the going concern period beyond twelve
months if they may have an impact on the Groups cash
flows, loan covenants and borrowing facilities.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
165
Acquisitions
One aspect of our growth strategy includes acquiring and
integrating acquisitions of properties, either as individual sites
or existing businesses. Demand for storage services at an
acquired site may not be as strong as we had projected prior
to the acquisition. We may fail to realize the occupancy levels
or rental rates that were expected, either at the levels or
within the timeframe anticipated. We may also experience
stabilization of rental and occupancy rates of acquired
properties that differ from our expectations. The costs of
achieving and maintaining high occupancy levels and rental
rates at acquired sites may be higher than expected.
The integration of newly acquired properties could also result
in unanticipated operating costs and exposure to undisclosed
or previously unknown potential liabilities, such as liabilities
for clean
-
up of undisclosed environmental contamination,
claims by persons dealing with the former owners of the
properties and claims for indemnification by general partners,
directors,
officers
, and others indemnified by the former
owners of the properties. If we fail to successfully integrate
any acquired sites, or if doing so requires investments beyond
budgeted amounts or other liabilities, it could have a material
adverse effect on our business, financial
condition
, and results
of operations.
Finally, we may face significant competition from other real
estate investors to acquire suitable properties, which might
prevent Shurgard from acquiring as many properties as it
intends.
Management has an established and clear strategy for
targeting and acquiring properties in our markets.
Thorough due diligence is conducted and detailed analysis
is undertaken
with the support of external experts
prior to
deciding on property investment and development. This
includes amongst other an in
-
depth review of the potential
revenue
and risk coverage in purchase agreements through
disclosure requirements, warranties, escrow and external
insurance, if necessary. Projects are not pursued when they
fai
l to meet the required investment criteria.
Integration of acquired properties follows a standard
process with the involvement of cross
-
departmental
specialists.
Performance of individual properties is benchmarked
against target returns and post
-
investment reviews are
undertaken.
Climate risk
We are exposed to climate change related transition and
physical risks. Physical risks may affect our stores and result
in higher maintenance, repair, and insurance costs. Failing to
transition to a low carbon economy may have a financial or
reputational
impact.
As part of our journey to comply with new ESG requirements,
Shurgard
continues
to develop its understanding of its
exposure and vulnerability to climate change risk.
At the Board level, the ESG Committee oversees our ESG
strategy, monitors completion of ESG objectives, reviews
the
Sustainability
report, and assists the Board in reviewing
and assessing the Company’s ESG risks.
The A
udit
Committee
is responsible to monitor the ESG
reporting
process and the effectiveness of ESG controls
.
We
seek to build to a minimum standard of BREEAM
Very
Good
on all our new store developments. Additionally, our
stores are regularly inspected and maintained following
sustainable principles where possible.
Climate related
risk
assessments are performed on all our properties to identify
and register the applicable risks to the property (flood,
hurricane, earthquake
, etc.
). As a result, we deploy risk
mitigation measures
, where necessary
. We implemented an
Environmental Management System (
EMS) to integra
te
ESG processes, train personnel, review efficiency and report
on outcomes of environmental commitments.
We plan to be
operational net zero carbon by 2030 and material net zero
by 2040.
We
also actively seek out external advice
to ensure
compliance with the applicable ESG framework.
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166
Competition for Suitable Properties
Shurgard primarily operates in capital and major cities, where
undeveloped or available sites are generally in short supply
and where real estate prices have historically been at a
premium. As a result, there is generally a limited number of
prime sites av
ailable for new self-
storage properties, and
competition for these sites can be intense and may constrain
our growth. At times of economic growth, this competition can
lead to significant inflation of property prices. This can
contribute to higher purchase
prices or rents for prime
properties, or result in the selection of less suitable properties,
either of which could result in a material adverse effect on our
business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We can leverage on an increased and experienced
Development team dispersed across our markets and on an
adjustable development strategy. Thanks to our efficient
and scalable operating platform, as well as the limited
building requirements to operate a self
-
storage property
and remotely managed stores, we can consider a wide
range of opportunities, including buildings requiring a
conversion or buildings that might appear be too small for
competition.
Compliance Risks
We must operate our properties in compliance with numerous
building codes and regulations and other land
-
use
regulations. These include fire and
health and s
afety
regulations, labor codes, building codes, data privacy and
other regulatory requirements. Failure to comply with the
applicable regulations could result in the imposition of
substantial fines or require us to incur significant additional
costs, or to
limit or cease part of our operations. This could
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial
condition, and results of operations.
We are subject to several laws and strive to comply with all
applicable laws and regulations. However, it is possible that
such requirements may be interpreted and applied in a
manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another
or may conflict wi
th other rules or our practices.
We are subject from time to time to disputes with tax or other
governmental or regulatory bodies. We may be required to
devote significant management time and attention to its
successful resolution (through litigation, settlement or
otherwise). Any such resolution could involve the payment of
damages or expenses by us, which may be significant. In
addition, any such resolution could involve our agreement to
terms that restrict the operation of our business.
As we are a publicly listed
c
ompany, we also must comply with
a large amount of ongoing reporting and disclosure
requirements. Any failure in meeting these requirements could
result in significant penalty fees.
Shurgard is committed to conduct business with respect to
laws and its values. Our
business c
ode of conduct is a
guidebook for putting these values into practice. This
c
ode
applies to every Shurgard employee in all countries where
Shurgard is
present.
We continuously communicate, train and review
compliance with our
health and s
afety standards. Employee
awareness is high in this area.
We seek legal and tax advice from our local lawyers and tax
advisors. When needed, specific projects are set up to
address the implementation of regulatory requirements.
Training is provided to our new and existing employees on
applicable and new regulations included in company
policies.
As part of their audits, Internal Audit assesses compliance
with applicable laws and regulations, including
health and
s
afety, fire, building permits, consumer protection and
data privacy.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
167
Constructions and Developments
We consider strategic acquisitions of existing properties and
sites for development, as well as redevelopment and remix
activities at specific properties in our network, to be a
significant part of our growth strategy. Our redevelopment
activities often entail significant building works at an existing
site, requiring material levels of investment and, at times,
severe disruption to ongoing operations.
We undertake many of our development activities through
service contracts where specific builders and other personnel
tender for particular roles in the construction process, rather
than comprehensive design
-and-
build agreements.
Construction delays due to
adverse weather conditions,
unforeseen site conditions, personnel problems, or cost
overruns could prevent us from commencing operations at
these locations on the timing or scale anticipated at the time
we commenced development activities. If we experience
significant cost increases after acquiring or commencing
construction at a particular site, we could be required to alter,
or in severe circumstances, curtail development plans. In
future periods, construction costs may also increase due to
increases in the cost of local contractors, in high demand
markets, as well as changes in the cost of raw materials,
whether due to market forces or other events, such as changes
in tariff regimes or trade policy.
Other risks arising from developing new properties may result
from any unfamiliarity with local development regulations or
delays in obtaining construction permits or risks in relation to
the quality of available contractors.
However, the environmental assessments that we have
undertaken might not have revealed all potential
environmental liabilities. It is possible that the remedial
measures subsequently prove to be inadequate, or that former
owners are found not to be liable or, even in situations where
they are found to be liable, they are otherwise unable to
compensate us fully for such liabilities.
Our in-house development team and our professional
advisers have significant experience in obtaining planning
consents for self
-storage sites.
We manage the construction of our properties very tightly.
We
work with established professional advisers and sub
-
contractors who have worked with us for many years to our
specifications.
We obtain environmental assessment reports on the
properties we acquire, develop, and operate to evaluate
their environmental condition and potential environmental
liability associated with them.
Internal Audit regularly reviews controls of new
development projects to assess control effectiveness of
new development business cases, tendering & contracting,
construction sites and budgeting & invoicing.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
168
Cyber Security
An increasing proportion of our business operations is
conducted over the internet, increasing the risk of viruses that
could cause system failures and disruption of operations.
Experienced computer programmers may be able to penetrate
our network security
and misappropriate our confidential
information, create system
disruptions
, or cause shutdowns.
Cyber incidents could also cause disruption and impact our
operations, which could require substantial restoration costs
or investment in new systems to protect against future cyber
incidents.
In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and may
store sensitive data, including intellectual property, our
proprietary business information and that of our customers,
suppliers and business partners, and personally identifiable
information of ou
r customers and employees.
Our information technology and infrastructure may be
vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee
error,
malfeasance
, or other disruptions. Any such breach
could compromise our networks and the information stored
there could be accessed, publicly disclosed,
lost, or stolen.
Any network interruptions or problems with our websites that
could prevent customers from accessing our website could
have a negative impact on potential new rentals or damage
our brand and reputation.
Security measures are in place, including securing our
systems and applications,
designing
, and implementing an
IT control framework, maintaining policies on the handling
of customer information, conducting awareness training
programs for our employees, regularly reviewing
assessments of the effectiveness of controls, and
maintaining a security
committee that regularly meets to
discuss and review cyber security related matters.
We have established and tested crisis management,
business continuity and disaster recovery plans. Our
environment is regularly reviewed by external and internal
specialists in respect of cyber security. We have dedicated
monitoring in place.
Cyber Risk Insurance is in place covering data breaches.
We minimize the retention of customer and employee data
in accordance with GDPR best practice.
Pandemic Diseases
Our business may be impacted by pandemic outbreaks and
such impact
could be materially adverse.
The COVID
-19 pandemic forced us to adapt our way
of
operat
ing our business and our self-
storage properties, both
from an employee as from a customer point of view.
The roll
-
out of vaccines provided a return to more normal
economic conditions, however risks around new variants
remain. We need to be adaptable in ensuring our business
resilience and maintaining our strong performance
.
Shurgard is monitoring pandemic risks and is taking
mitigation actions, with a focus on protecting our
employees and customers, and ensuring the continuity of
our operations. Overall and based on its performance
during the height of the current pandemic,
we
did not
identify any uncertainties that would cast any doubt on
Shurgard’s ability to continue as a going concern
.
Our
performance during the Covid pandemic has been resilient.
We continue
to adapt, if necessary,
to respect the guidance
issued by the various health organizations across our
markets to ensure the security of our employees and
customers.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
169
Price War
Competitors may offer lower prices, better locations, better
services, or other attractive features in any given property’s
catchment area, which may heighten competition for
customers. Local market conditions have a significant impact
on our business. This impacts the prices we can set, and from
time
to
time additional competition has lowered occupancy
levels and rental revenue of our properties in specific markets.
Aggressive price discounting measures by our competitors
(i.e.
,
a price war) can have a significantly negative impact on
our property operating revenue from activities at affected
properties. Also, increased pricing transparency because of the
increasing prevalence of online pricing, may increase pricing
pressure in o
ur markets.
The industry of self storage is very fragmented across
Europe. The presence of Shurgard in
seven
different
markets dilutes the price risk. Moreover, no individual
operator competes with Shurgard in
all
markets in which
we operate.
Shurgard’s pricing model has proven
dynamic
versus local
market conditions. Shurgard also actively monitors prices
of competitors. Price fluctuations are continuously
reviewed, discussed, and reported
.
Property Damage
We face risks relating to potential catastrophic property
damage due to fires or other disasters. Any catastrophic events
that cause significant property damage or affect the areas
where a store operates could limit our ability to continue
operations at a store, or in a portion of a store, after such an
event, while restoration or rebuilding works are undertaken.
Property damage could be caused by a variety of factors,
including external events such as natural disasters,
earthquakes,
hurricanes, or other se
vere weather events.
Property damage could also be caused by catastrophic events
inside a store, such as power outages, fires, flooding, plumbing
problems, or other issues, such as infestation.
Moreover, our properties can be damaged or destroyed by acts
of violence, civil unrest or terrorist attacks or accidents,
including accidents linked to the goods stored.
We are also subject to potential liability relating to damage to
customer goods. Such damage can arise from a variety of
factors, such as fire, flooding, pest infestations and moisture
infiltration, which can result in mold or other damage to our
customers
’ property, as well as potential health concerns.
Although we maintain reasonable liability cover where
possible, certain types of losses may be either uninsurable or
not economically insurable in some countries, such as losses
due to hurricanes, tornadoes, riots, acts of war or terrorism. In
such circumstances, we would remain liable for any debt or
other financial obligation related to that property. Our
business, financial condition and results of operations could
be materially and adversely affected in such circumstances.
Business continuity plans are in place and tested regularly.
Our system backups are at offsite locations and we have
remote working capabilities.
During store audits, we review and assess risks related to
potential natural disasters,
health and safety, building
, and
facilities. This also includes a specific focus on fire
prevention and safety procedures. As a result of audits, we
enhance the existing compliant aspects of buildings and
processes. Fire risk assessments are done as part of all new
store developments.
Our terms and conditions define what customer
s
can and
cannot do with their unit. Additionally, every customer
must sign an insurance contract or pro
ve that
the
customer’s
goods are adequately covered by personal
insurance. Our staff is continuously training on respect of
all operational procedures, including
health and safety,
and
fire.
The Group manages its insurable risks relating to property
damage, business interruption (“PDBI”) and customer
goods
-related claims through a combination of self
-
insurance and commercial insurance coverage. For this, the
Group uses a reinsurance undertakin
g.
All our stores are equipped and monitored by fire alarms,
instruction alarms and CCTV. Store access is secured by a
new
access system fully implemented in our stores.
We have a
Crisis Management Plan
designed to be used if
necessary.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
170
Public Relations (“PR”)
As a listed company, Shurgard is a transparent company for its
investors. It is a legal requirement with potential significant
impacts of the price share and the placing on the market of
Shurgard’s shares. The group shall also be reactive regarding
its PR, in case of any event.
Our company is exposed to risks of serious incidents materially
affecting our customers, people, financial performance and
hence our brand and reputation. The main risks could be:
failure to quickly response to PR issues, public communication
and response plan, monitoring of news media, negative press
on/from competitors affecting the Company’s image.
Our Investors Relations is supported by external advisors to
communicate with investors and the market. Investor
Relations and the executive team conduct every year non
deal
roadshow to meet investors and to promote good
communication on the Group. We maintain regular
communication with our key stakeholders, customers,
employees, shareholders, and debt providers.
Our management team is supported by PR agencies and
the Group set up a communication plan to address the
main risks it is facing. The management team follows
regular media
and crisis management training.
Finally, the Group is part of the professional associations
of the self
-
storage industry, in the markets where we
operate. It allows the Group to have a global consideration
of the market, to exchange good practices with peers and
to have, when needed, a global response to the challenges
faced by the self
-storage industry.
Legislation Changes
We operate our business and our properties in compliance with
laws, regulations or government policies which may be
adopted or changed from time to time. These include laws and
regulations relating to
health and s
afety and environmental
compliance, numerous building codes and regulations, other
land
-
use regulations, labor codes and other regulatory
requirements. Changes in such laws and regulations may
increase the costs of complying with these provisions, increase
construction, operating
and maintenance costs, increase
liabilities or lower the value of our properties.
The regulatory regimes might also evolve, including in relation
to data privacy and our ability to share customer data within
our organization. This could result in a material adverse effect
on our future business, financial
condition
, and results of
operations.
New regulations might develop in the United Kingdom because
of a change in its relationship with the European Union.
Legislation changes are actively monitored by our legal
team and external lawyers in our local markets. Our policies
and procedures are updated accordingly to reflect
applicable legislati
ve
updates and employees are regularly
trained. When needed, specific projects are set up to
address the implementation of new regulatory
requirements.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
171
Real Estate Market Development
Our business is dependent on residential and commercial
demand for self
-
storage areas, and our operating results are
driven by our ability to maximize occupancy levels and rental
rates at our properties. As a result, we are exposed to local,
national, and international economic conditions and other
events and factors that affect customer demand for self
storage in the European markets in which we operate. Demand
for self storage could decrease if these or other growth trends
declined or reversed in the future.
Moreover, we own substantially all
our
properties. Property
investments are subject to varying degrees of risks. The value
of these properties can fluctuate significantly when economic
conditions are unfavorable or could be adversely affected by a
downturn in the property market in terms of capital and/or
rental values. Rents and values are affected (among other
things) by changing demand for self storage, changes in
general economic conditions, changing supply within a
particular area of competing space and attractiveness of real
estate relative to other investment choices.
Shurgard owns most of its assets and has a good spread
of properties (and risks) across different European
countries. In our markets, we have high concentrations of
self
-
storage properties in urban areas. In recent years, our
operating results have been supported by structural
trends, including increased migration and mobility, growth
in urban areas and increased population density.
Further,
our operating model allows efficient execution in various
building types and sizes.
Our development team pro
-
actively and continuously
follows
-
up the housing market trends to adjust the
development strategy when needed.
Effective Internal Controls are in place to
review
cap rates,
store trading data and property status rates.
Our investment criteria and returns are carefully reviewed
and adjusted based on market conditions
and risks profile.
Investments are not pursued when they fail to meet our
set return target
s.
Performance of individual properties
once opened is benchmarked against target returns and
post
-investment reviews are performed.
Recruitment and Personnel Leakage
We depend significantly on the contribution of our
management team who make significant contributions to our
strategy and operations. In addition, our ability to continue to
identify and develop properties depends on
m
anagement
team’s knowledge and expertise in the
real estate and self
-
storage
market. There is no guarantee that any member of the
management team will remain employed with us. The failure
to retain these individuals in key management positions could
have a material adverse effect on our business.
We also depend on our store personnel responsible for the
management and operation of our properties. Our store
managers’ customer service, marketing skills and knowledge
of local market demand and competitive dynamics are
significant contributing factors to our ability to maximize
customer satisfaction and rental,
insurance
, and ancillary
revenue. Difficulties in hiring,
training
, and retaining skilled
store personnel may adversely affect our occupancy and rental
revenues.
We may face risks related to relations with our employees.
Across our network, turnover of our personnel in recent years
has been approximate
ly 40%
per year, which has historically
been moderately higher in certain markets from year to year.
Our employee engagement campaign stimulates internal
mobility, benchmarks competitive compensation &
benefits, and training in the Shurgard Academy. We are
supported by external recruitment agencies to find the
right talents.
Our e
mployer branding "we believe in you" is in
place on
social
media.
We implemented employee development plans and
succession planning at our Support Center including for
our executive team
and in our Operations.
Long
term incentive plans are in place
to incentivize
employees to continue working for Shurgard
.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
172
Self Storage Misuse
We do not generally have access to and monitor our customers’
storage units and cannot prevent our customers from storing
hazardous materials, stolen goods, counterfeit goods, drugs, or
other illegal substances in our properties. It is possible that our
customers will violate their lease agreements and we cannot
exclude the possibility that we may be held ultimately liable
with respect to the goods stored by our customers. This also
includes a potential close
-down by local authorities.
In addition, unfavorable publicity from illegal contents stored
at one of our properties, or items that have been used or are
planned to be used in crimes or for other illegal purposes,
including terrorist attacks, could have a material adverse effect
on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our customer lease contract terms prohibit the storage of
illegal and certain other goods on our premises.
The safety and security of our customers and goods,
stores, and our employees is a key priority. This is achieved
using access control systems, CCTV systems
and
intruder
and fire alarm systems
.
Additionally, training and
awareness sessions around safety and security are
provided regularly to all our employees. We review
the
effectiveness of operational procedures on a continuous
basis through regular store audits.
In 202
3,
a new access control system was implemented in
all our properties
strengthening
control through a more
centralized managed and digitalized system.
Shurgard Trademarks and Logos
We believe that the Shurgard brand is a critical marketing tool,
and we use a variety of channels to increase customer
awareness of our name, including highly visible store locations,
site signage and architectural features. However, we do not
own the trademarks for the Shurgard name and the Shurgard
log
os, which are held by Public Storage.
If we fail to
keep or
protect the trademarks against
infringement or misappropriation, our competitive position
could suffer, and we could suffer a decrease in demand for
storage units, which could materially adversely affect the
results of operations.
Certain standards of quality must be met
and there are certain restrictions on the use of any other
trademarks. We pay Public Storage monthly fees of 1.0% of the
Group’s gross revenues for the right to use the trademarks.
Although we do not own the Shurgard brand, we have
signed
a license agreement with Public Storage
(the
“Relationship Agreement”)
. Under this agreement,
Public
Storage owns the rights to the Shurgard
name and
licenses these rights to us in a number of European
countries for a fixed term of 25 years from the date of
Shurgard’s admission to trading on a regulated market.
This term can be extended for two consecutive 25
-
year
periods.
Following the initial 25-
year period Shurgard may
elect to purchase the ownership rights to the trademarks.
Public Storage may not terminate the Relationship
Agreement except for certain specific situations.
Public Storage and Shurgard management are in regular
contact regarding the use of the trademarks.
The
Relationship Agreement will terminate after 75 years or
earlier if we do not extend the license after each 25
-
year
term. We would then
have the possibility to purchase
the
ownership rights to the trademarks in the jurisdictions
covered by the license.
Tax Increases
Taxes and levies are or might be increasing in our operating
markets, beyond Shurgard’s direct span of control. We might
not be able or not willing to pass on the higher taxes to our
customers.
As a result, our earnings might be
adversely
impacted during periods immediately following such increases.
We are advised by external advisers for the review of all
applicable taxes. We regularly monitor actual changes in
tax legislation with the support of our advisers to
understand and mitigate the impact. We evaluate tax
changes against the projected demand in the relevant
market
s,
in order to anticipate the effect on our earnings
and decide on whether we should and can adjust our prices
accordingly.
When changes apply, our policies and procedures are
updated accordingly, and training is provided to relevant
employees.
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
We are engaged in certain commercial and financial transactions with related parties. Please refer to Note 33 to
the consolidated financial statements for further details.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
173
DIRECTORS REPORT
The Directors present their annual report and audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended
December 31, 2023.
Principal Activities
Our principal business activities are the acquisition, development and operation of self-storage facilities
providing month-to-month leases for business and personal use. We also provide ancillary services at our self-
storage properties consisting primarily of sales of storage products (merchandise) and protection of customers’
stored goods.
The financial and non-financial performance of the Group has been included under the respective sections in the
annual report.
Going Concern
The consolidated financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis as described in note 1 ‘Going
concern’ section.
Results and dividends
The results of the Group for the year ended December 31, 2023 are shown in the consolidated statement of profit
and loss for the year ended on page 176.
The Directors recommend the payment of a dividend amounting to €0.59.
Directors
Details of the Directors who served during the financial year are set out on page 98 in the Ethics & Governance
section of the Annual Report.
Subsequent events
The directors refer to note 39 of the consolidated financial statements.
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities
The Directors are responsible for the preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with The
Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008, generally accepted accounting principles and other applicable laws and
regulations. The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 requires the Directors to prepare consolidated financial
statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Group as at the
end of the year and profit or loss for that year.
The Directors are also responsible for ensuring that the annual report includes information required by the
Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) guidelines. The Directors ensure that the Group complies with
the provisions of the guidelines including corporate governance which require the Group to disclose how it has
applied the principles and complied with the provisions.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
174
In preparing those consolidated financial statements, the Directors are required to:
Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them on a consistent basis;
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable;
State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material
departures disclosed and explained in the Financial Statements; and
Prepare the Financial Statements on the going concern basis unless it is not appropriate to presume
that the Group will continue in business.
The Directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at
any time the financial position of the Group and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply
with The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008. They are also responsible for the system of internal controls for
safeguarding the assets of the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of
fraud and other irregularities.
Disclosure of information to the auditor
Each of the person who are Directors at the time when this Directors’ report is approved has confirmed that:
so far as each of the Directors is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Group’s
auditor is unaware, and
the Directors have taken all reasonable steps that ought to have taken as Directors in order to be
aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Group’s auditor is aware of that
information.
Responsibility Statement of the Directors in respect of the Annual Report and consolidated financial
statements:
Each of the Directors confirm to the best of their knowledge:
the consolidated financial statements, prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the
European Union, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or
loss of the Group and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole;
that the management report presented in this Annual Report contains a fair account of the
development of the business, the results and the position of the Group and the undertakings
included in the consolidation and a description of the main risks and uncertainties faced by them.
By order of the Board, 28 February 2024,
Ian Marcus Marc Oursin
Chairman Director / CEO
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2018
175
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS AS OF AND
FOR THE YEARS ENDED
DECEMBER 31, 2023 AND
DECEMBER 31, 2022
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
176
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT AND LOSS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31
(in € thousands)
Notes
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Real estate operating revenue
5,11
357,923
335,290
Real estate operating expense
6,11
(120,4 70)
(113,821)
Net income from real estate operations
237,453
221,469
General, administrative and other expenses
7
(25,961)
(22,51 5)
Of which depreciation and amortization
16
(3,377)
(2,866)
Acquisition benefit of business combinations
5
775
Royalty fee expense
33
(3,531)
(3,289)
Other expenses
8
(926)
-
Operating profit before property related
207,040
1 96,440
adjustments
Valuation gain from investment property and
investment property under construction and gain
14
294,350
586,181
on disposal
Operating profit
501,390
78 2,621
Finance costs
9
(23,39 0)
(21,407)
Finance income
3,120
6 22
Profit before tax
481,120
761,836
Income tax income / (expense)
10
53,283
(186,235)
Attributable profit for the period
534,403
575,601
Profit attributable to non-controlling interests
25
1,090
1,317
Profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the
parent
533,313
57 4,284
Earnings per share in €, attributable to ordinary
equity holders of the parent:
Basic, profit for the period
13
5.9 1
6.45
Diluted, profit for the period
13
5.8 9
6 .40
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
177
CON
SOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Profit for the period
534,403
575,601
Other comprehensive income
Items that may be reclassified to profit or loss in subsequent periods:
Foreign currency translation reserve
1
22,298
(85,6 40)
Net other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, that may be
reclassified to profit or loss in subsequent periods
22,298
(85,6 40)
Net other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax, not to be reclassified
(23)
251
to profit or loss in subsequent periods
Total comprehensive income for the period, net of tax
556,678
490,212
Attributable to non-controlling interests
(1 ,090)
(1,317)
Attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent
555,588
488,895
1 The mo
vement in the foreign currency translation reserve for the year ended December 31, 2023 mainly consists of translation gains recognized on translation
of assets and liabilities and statements of profit and loss of our UK (€21.0 million) and Swedish (€1.9 million) operations, marginally offset by translation loss
for our Danish (€0.6 million) operations.
T
he movement in the foreign currency translation reserve for the year ended December 31, 2022 mainly consisted of translation losses incurred on translation
of assets and liabilities and statements of profit and loss of our UK (€43.7 million) and Swedish (€42.0 million) operations, marginally offset by translation
gains for our Danish (€0.1 million) operations.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
178
C
ONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS OF DECEMBER 31
(in € thousands)
Notes
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Assets
Non-current assets:
Investment property
14
4,929 ,819
4,469,572
Investment property under construction
14
105,951
54,217
Property, plant and equipment
16
2,482
2 ,737
Intangible assets
16
7,657
6,729
Deferred tax assets
10
891
972
Other non-current assets
17
8,977
11,326
Total non-current assets
5,055,777
4,545,553
Current assets:
Trade and other receivables
18
19 ,730
18,671
Other current assets
19
19,722
8,262
Cash and cash equivalents
20
258,118
87,345
Current assets, excluding assets held for sale
297,570
114,278
Assets held for sale
530
-
Total current assets, including assets held for sale
298,100
114,278
Total assets
5,353,877
4,659,831
Equity and liabilities
Equity
Issued share capital
21
69,449
63,610
Share premium
22
831,940
540,08 7
Share-based payment reserve
23
12,798
8,562
Distributable reserves
24
472,835
146,277
Other comprehensive loss
(116,147)
(138,422)
Retained earnings
2,343,342
2,24 0,879
Total equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
3,614,217
2,860, 993
Non-controlling interests
25
7,905
6,815
Total equity
3,622,122
2,867, 808
Non-current liabilities:
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
26,28
698,441
797,980
Deferred tax liabilities
10
698,836
781 ,094
Lease obligations
27,28
106,389
95,665
Total non-current liabilities
1,503,666
1,674,739
Current liabilities:
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
26,28
99,950
-
Lease obligations
27,28
4,427
4,157
Trade and other payables and deferred revenue
30
118,174
1 06,531
Income tax payable
5,538
6,596
Total current liabilities
228,089
1 17,284
Total liabilities
1,731,755
1,792,023
Total equity and liabilities
5,353,877
4,659,831
T
he financial statements on pages 176 to 178 were approved at a meeting of the Board of Directors held on
February 28, 2024 and signed on its behalf by
Ian Marcus Marc Oursin
Chair Director
T
he accompanying notes 1 to 39 form an integral part of the financial statements.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
179
CON
SOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
Total
Other attributable
Share-Compre- to Non-
Issued based Distri-hensive shareholders con-
share Treasury Share payment butable (loss) Retained of the trolling Total
(in € thousands)
Notes
capital
1
shares
premium1
reserve
reserves1 gain2 Earnings1
Company
interests
equity
On January 1, 2022
63,592
(2,209)
539,712
4,691
253,195
(53,033)
1,666, 595
2,472,543
5,498
2,478, 041
Proceeds from issuance of equity
18
-
398
-
-
-
-
416
-
416
Transaction costs incurred in connection with
issuance of equity
-
-
(23)
-
-
-
-
(23)
-
(2 3)
Cash dividends on ordinary shares declared and
paid
-
-
-
-
(106, 918)
-
-
(106,918)
-
(106,918)
Share based compensation expense
3
-
-
-
4,501
-
-
-
4,501
-
4,501
Sale of treasury shares to option holders
-
2,209
-
(630)
-
-
-
1,579
-
1,579
Net profit
-
-
-
-
-
-
574,284
574,284
1,317
575,601
Other comprehensive loss
-
-
-
-
-
(85,389)
-
(85,389)
-
(85,389)
On January 1, 2023
63,610
-
540,087
8,562
146,277
(138,422)
2,240,879
2,860, 993
6,815
2,867, 808
Proceeds from issuance of equity
21,22
5,839
-
294,565
-
-
-
-
300,404
-
300,404
Transaction costs incurred in connection with
issuance of equity
22
-
-
(2,712)
-
-
-
-
(2,712)
-
(2,712)
Allocation to distributable reserves
24
-
-
-
-
430,850
-
(430, 850)
-
-
-
Cash dividends on ordinary shares declared and
paid
24
-
-
-
-
(104,292)
-
-
(104,292)
-
(104,292)
Share based compensation expense
3
23,32
-
-
-
4,236
-
-
-
4,236
-
4,236
Net profit
-
-
-
-
-
-
533,313
533,313
1,090
534,403
Other comprehensive gain
-
-
-
-
-
22,275
-
22,275
-
22,275
On December 31, 2023
69,449
-
831,940
12,798
472,835
(116,147)
2,343,342
3,614,217
7,905
3,622,122
1 On M
ay 10, 2023, the Annual Shareholders Meeting of Shurgard Self Storage Ltd approved the reallocation of €430,850,000 retained profits to distributable reserves.
As per the Companies (Guernsey) law, 2008, dividends can be distributed from any account that is part of equity attributable to shareholders of the Company.
2 Other comprehensive loss as of January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023 consists only of the foreign currency translation reserve except for a net investment hedge reserve amounting to €4.9 million and the accumulated result from remeasurement
on defined benefit plans (comprehensive income of €0.1 million and €0.2 million as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively).
3 Share-based compensation expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 included €4 9,800 deferred tax liabilities (€70,795 in deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2022).
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
180
C
ONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31
(in € thousands)
Notes
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Operating activities
Profit for the period before tax
481,120
761,836
Adjustments to reconcile profit before tax to net cash flows:
Valuation gain on investment property and investment
14
(29 4,350)
(586,181)
property under construction and gain on disposal
Depreciation and amortization expense
16
3,377
2,866
Share-based compensation expense
23,32
4,286
4,4 30
Finance costs, net
9
20,270
20,785
Working capital movements:
Change in trade receivables, other current and non-
current assets
17,18,19
(6,280)
(5,081)
Change in other current and non-current liabilities and
deferred revenue
29,30
11,344
16,7 40
Income tax paid
(32,406)
(28,861)
Cash flows from operating activities
187,361
186 ,534
Investing activities
Capital expenditures on investment property under
construction and completed investment property
14
(111,901)
(111,261)
Capital expenditures on property, plant and equipment
16
(117)
(254)
Acquisition of investment properties and other assets, net
14
(68, 169)
(76,533)
Proceeds from disposal of investment property, property,
plant and equipment and insurance recovery proceeds
-
4,697
Proceeds from the termination of lease agreements
5,11
-
2,000
Acquisition of intangible assets
16
(3,304)
(2,654)
Interest received
3,120
622
Cash flows from investing activities
(180,37 1)
(1 83,383)
Financing activities
Proceeds from the issuance of equity
21,22
300, 402
416
Payment for equity issuance costs
22
(2,712)
(23)
Proceeds from debt issuance
26,28
1 60,000
-
Payment for debt issuance costs
17,26
(2,584)
-
Repayment of loan notes
26,28
(160, 000)
-
Repayment of principal amount of lease obligations
28
(4,341)
(4,591)
Cash dividends on ordinary shares paid to company’s
24
(104,292)
(106,918)
shareholders
Proceeds from the sales of treasury shares
-
1,580
Interest paid
28
(24,096)
(22,466)
Cash flows from financing activities
162,377
(132,002)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
169,367
(128,851)
Effect of exchange rate fluctuation
1,406
(2,974)
Cash and cash equivalents on January 1
87,345
219,170
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
258,118
87 ,345
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2018
181
NOTES TO THE
CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
182
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Corporate information ......................................................................................................................................................... 183
2. Changes in accounting policies and disclosures .......................................................................................................... 185
3. Summary of material accounting policy information .................................................................................................. 187
4. Significant accounting judgements, estimates and assumptions ........................................................................... 197
5. Real estate operating revenue .......................................................................................................................................... 198
6. Real estate operating expense ...........................................................................................................................................199
7. General, administrative and other expenses ..................................................................................................................199
8. Other expenses .......................................................................................................................................................................199
9. Finance costs ......................................................................................................................................................................... 200
10. Income tax .............................................................................................................................................................................. 200
11. Segment information ........................................................................................................................................................... 206
12. Acquisition of properties ..................................................................................................................................................... 209
13. Earnings per share (“EPS”) ................................................................................................................................................. 209
14. Investment property and investment property under construction ........................................................................ 211
15. Fair value measurement investment property .......................................................................................................... 212
16. Property, plant and equipment and intangible assets ................................................................................................ 216
17. Other non-current assets..................................................................................................................................................... 216
18. Trade and other receivables ................................................................................................................................................ 217
19. Other current assets .............................................................................................................................................................. 217
20. Cash and cash equivalents .................................................................................................................................................. 217
21. Issued share capital ...............................................................................................................................................................218
22. Share premium .......................................................................................................................................................................218
23. Share-based payment reserve ...........................................................................................................................................218
24. Distributable reserves and distributions made .............................................................................................................. 219
25. Non-controlling interests ..................................................................................................................................................... 219
26. Interest-bearing loans and borrowings .......................................................................................................................... 220
27. Leases ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 222
28. Analysis of movements in interest-bearing loans and borrowings ........................................................................ 223
29. Other non-current liabilities .............................................................................................................................................. 223
30. Trade and other payables and deferred revenue ......................................................................................................... 224
31. Pensions ................................................................................................................................................................................... 224
32. Share-based compensation expense .............................................................................................................................. 225
33. Related party disclosures .................................................................................................................................................... 227
34. Financial risk management objectives and policies .................................................................................................... 228
35. Capital management ............................................................................................................................................................ 232
36. Insurance and loss exposure .............................................................................................................................................. 233
37. Contingencies and commitments ..................................................................................................................................... 236
38. List of consolidated entities ............................................................................................................................................... 237
39. Events after the reporting period ..................................................................................................................................... 238
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
183
1. CORPORATE INFORMATION
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd. (referred to collectively with its consolidated subsidiaries, as the “Group”, “Company”,
“we”, “our”, or “us”) is incorporated in Guernsey, is resident in the UK for tax purposes and has its registered
office and principal place of business at 1st and 2nd floors, Elizabeth House, Les Ruettes Brayes, Guernsey, GY1,
4LX.
T
he Group has been listed on Euronext Brussels since October 15, 2018 (ticker “SHUR”).
O
ur principal business activities are the acquisition, development and operation of self-storage facilities
providing month-to-month leases for business and personal use. We also provide ancillary services at our
self-storage properties consisting primarily of sales of storage products (merchandise) and protection of
customers’ stored goods.
A
s of December 31, 2023, we operate 276 self-storage stores including one under management contract (267
self-storage facilities as of December 31, 2022) in France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK), Sweden,
Germany, Belgium, and Denmark.
B
ASIS OF PREPARATION
The consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as adopted by the European Union.
The Company’s financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis, except for the following:
Investment property and investment property under construction, which are measured at fair value;
Equity-settled share-based compensations plans, being measured at fair value on the grant date
using the Black-Scholes model, with the cost being recognized over the period in which the service
conditions are fulfilled; and
D
efined benefit pension plans, for which the assets are measured at fair value. Pension plan
liabilities are measured according to the projected unit credit method.
T
he consolidated financial statements are presented in euros and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand,
except where otherwise indicated.
Certain comparative amounts have been reclassified to conform with the current year’s presentation.
IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE
In preparing the consolidated financial statements, we considered the possible impact of climate change (both
physical and transition risks) on our financial statements, in connection with a potential impact on estimates
and assumptions applied. For example:
Climate change, including associated regulations, could impact the useful life, residual value
and/or repair and maintenance expectations relating to our assets, or require additional
investments in connection with climate change adaption or mitigation.
The fair value of our investment properties may at one point be affected by climate events, th
e
c
osts involved by the transition to a low carbon economy or changes to legislation and regulation.
Our customer goods protection contract liabilities include assumptions on the frequency of claims
and loss ratios.
Climate risk, and specifically floods, can affect the frequency or magnitude of insured events an
d
ha
ve in turn an impact on the claim charges or such liabilities.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
184
Go
vernments in the countries we operate may enact climate-related changes to tax legislations
(e.g., restriction on cost deductibility or penalties), which might negatively impact our ability to
generate profits.
Our short-term incentive plans of the management team incorporate sustainability targets, which
might impact strategic decisions taken by the company.
S
hurgard’s ESG strategy and internal processes aim at considering and addressing the impact climate change
might have on our financial statements. Currently, we have not identified any material impact that would require
specific disclosure beyond what has been disclosed in our Sustainability Report or in Note 37 as commitments.
A
s an example, Shurgard targets the replacement of any existing gas heating in 108 stores, with heat-pumps by
2029. In doing so, the Group will incur future capital expenditures. However, currently, these replacements are
expected - for a not insignificant part to be replacements of defective or outdated existing heating systems,
and as such compensate repair and maintenance or replacement cash outflows that would have been incurred
anyway. The Group further intends to roll out comprehensive solar panel strategies by markets, which will result
on the one hand in future capital investments, while on the other hand reducing utility costs. Once firm capital
expenditure commitments have been identified, they will be included in Note 37.
G
OING CONCERN
The directors have assessed the ability of the Group to continue as a going concern for a period of twelve months
from when the financial statements were approved for issuance (the going concern period”). This assessment
is based on a forecast of the Group’s future cash flows and forecast future loan covenant compliance. In making
this assessment, the Group considered changes to the principal risks, as disclosed in the Annual Report 2023,
and considered events and conditions which may warrant the extension of the going concern period beyond
twelve months if they may have an impact on the Groups cash flows, loan covenants and borrowing facilities. In
doing so, the directors referred to the Group’s activities, and the review of the business, which are included in
this Annual Report, as well as the financial position of the Group, discussed in the Financial Review, summarized
below.
T
he assessment included a stress test, which assumed a plausible reduction in future cash flows and the fair
value of investment properties, (“plausible Severe Downside scenario”). The outcome of the stress test showed
that the Group is expected to continue to comply with all of its loan covenants through the going concern period,
it has sufficient liquidity to meet its day-to-day cash flows, and loans that mature during the going concern
period can be repaid with existing committed finance facilities and cash at hand.
T
he Group also performed a reverse stress test, which showed that property values could decrease even more
than considered in the stress test, before our covenants would approach the maximum short-term level that is
within the Group’s financial policy and well below the level permitted under debt covenants.
F
inally, the directors took comfort in the fact that the Group has not granted any assets as security for any
financing.
Based on the above, the directors have not identified any material uncertainties which may cast significant doubt
on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern for the duration of the going concern period. Accordingly,
the directors believe it is appropriate to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these financial statements.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
185
S
IGNIFICANT EVENTS AND TRANSACTIONS
Events and/or transactions significant to an understanding of the changes since December 31, 2022, have been
included in the Notes of these consolidated financial statements and mainly relate to:
On February 17, 2023, Shurgard Self Storage S.A. migrated to Guernsey and was incorporated as
Shurgard Self Storage Limited pursuant to Guernsey law and became a UK REIT on March 1, 2023
.
S
ince then, central management and control of the Group is exercised through the Board of
Directors of Shurgard Self Storage Limited located in the United Kingdom.
The legal migration from Luxembourg to Guernsey had no impact on the Group’s listing at Euronext
in Brussels, nor on its financial reporting, which continues to be done under International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS), as adopted by the European Union, and in euros. This was achieved
through legal continuity of the entity, meaning that all rights and obligations of Shurgard Self
Storage S.A. were maintained.
In connection with the Group becoming a REIT, the Group income tax expense is in principle
reduced as UK REITs are exempt from UK corporation tax on rental profits arising from their UK
property business. In addition, upon REIT conversion, the income tax expense for 2023 is impacted
by an income of €161.2 million, consisting of the reversal of deferred tax liabilities relating to the
investment properties, measured at fair value for IFRS purposes.
On April 28, 2023, the Group entered into a committed 450 million term loan facility agreement
with BNP Paribas Fortis Bank NV/SA (also acting as the agent), Belfius Bank SA/NV, ABN Amro
Bank NV, KBC Bank NV/SA and Banque International à Luxembourg SA, with a maturity of three
years and an option for the Company to extend by an additional period of up to two years (Note
26).
On October 9, 2023, the Group acquired five self-storage properties in Germany adding 17,146 net
rentable sqm of storage space in total to its existing owned portfolio.
On November 14, 2023, the Group issued 8,163,265 new ordinary shares settled in cash at a
subscription price of €36.75 per share
.
2. CHANGES IN ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND DISCLOSURES
The accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the 2023 consolidated financial statements are consistent
with those followed in the preparation of the Company’s annual consolidated financial statements for the year
ended December 31, 2022, except for the adoption of amended standards effective as of January 1, 2023. The
Group has not early adopted any other standard, interpretation or amendment that has been issued but is not
yet effective.
IFRS 17 - INSURANCE CONTRACTS
IFRS 17 - Insurance contracts was issued in May 2017 as replacement for IFRS 4 - Insurance Contracts. It applies
to all insurance and reinsurance contracts which fall into its scope. The standard obliges that insurance contracts
are accounted for separately from reinsurance contracts held.
IF
RS 17 main measurement model requires contracts to be measured using the building blocks of discounted
probability-weighted cash flows, an explicit risk adjustment, and a “contractual service margin” representing the
expected unearned profit of the contract which is recognized as revenue over the coverage period.
A
n optional Premium Allocation Approach (PAA) is permitted for the liability/asset for the (remaining) coverage
of short-duration contracts. A group of (re)insurance contracts is eligible for the PAA if:
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
186
e
ach contract in the group has a coverage period of one year or less;
or
m
easurement of the liability/(asset) for remaining coverage for the group using the premium
allocation approach is reasonably expected to produce a measurement of the liability for remaining
coverage which is not materially different from using the general model.
T
he Group concluded that all its reinsurance contracts are eligible for the simplified PAA method.
Scope
Shurgard, through its captive re-insurance entity, entered into a re-insurance agreement with an external
insurance company. Through this agreement, the external insurance company cedes to our captive certain
insurance risk in lieu for a re-insurance premium.
L
evel of aggregation
The level of aggregation is a key requirement under IFRS 17. The level of aggregation is determined firstly by
dividing the business written into portfolios. Portfolios comprise groups of contracts with similar risks which are
managed together. Portfolios are further divided into groups based on expected profitability at inception. Under
the PAA method, a contract is deemed profitable, unless facts and circumstances indicate otherwise, which was
not the case. The Group has one annual (accepted reinsurance) contract with an external insurance company
and the cohort duration is set to one financial year. Consequently, the one re-insurance contract is the
appropriate level of aggregation for the Group.
M
easurement
Applying the PAA method requires that an interest on the liability for remaining coverage shoul
d
b
e accreted, at the rate determined at inception of the group of (re)insurance contracts if contracts
in the group have a significant financing component. However, accretion of interest is not required
if, at the inception of the group of contracts, it is expected that the time between provision of
services and the related premium due date is not more than a year. As there is no significant
financing component for the (re)insurance contracts of the Group, Shurgard has elected not to
accrete interest on the liability for remaining coverage.
The expected premium is reflected as insurance revenue in profit or loss on the basis of passage
of time, over the duration of the coverage period.
Equally, when measuring the liability for incurred claims under the premium allocation approach,
the Group elected, as permitted by IFRS 17, not to adjust future cash flows for the time value of
money and other financial risks as those cash flows are expected to be paid or received in one year
or less from the date when the claims are incurred.
The Group further noted that no risk adjustment is necessary, due to the expected low volatility in
claims outcome and overall immateriality of the incurred claims as a whole.
The Company has chosen not to recognize insurance acquisition cash flows as an expense whe
n
i
ncurred, but to amortize the cost over the duration of the one-year contract.
Transition to IFRS 17
IFRS 17 has been first applied as of January 1, 2023, with retrospective restatements for the comparative periods.
Based on the above, the Group concluded that implementing IFRS 17 had no material impact on the results of
the Group, given that the requirements of the PAA method under IFRS 17 do not result in a materially different
measurement of the contracts in scope compared to IFRS 4. As such, no restatement of comparative performance
information was necessary.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
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A
MMENDMENTS TO IAS 12 PILLAR TWO MODEL RULES
The amendments to IAS 12 have been introduced in response to the OECD’s BEPS Pillar Two rules and include:
A
mandatory temporary exception to the recognition and disclosure of deferred taxes arising from
the jurisdictional implementation of the Pillar Two model rules; and
Disclosure requirements for affected entities to help users of the financial statements better
understand an entity’s exposure to Pillar Two income taxes arising from that legislation,
particularly before its effective date.
Pillar Two related disclosures have been included in Note 10.
3. SUMMARY OF MATERIAL ACCOUNTING POLICY INFORMATION
BASIS OF CONSOLIDATION
The consolidated financial statements comprise the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries as
of and for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. Specifically, the Group controls an investee if, and only
if, it has:
Power over the investee (i.e., existing rights that give it the current ability to direct the relevan
t
activities of the investee);
Exposure, or rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee; and
The ability to use its power over the investee to affect its returns.
The Company re-assesses whether it controls an investee if facts and circumstances indicate that there are
changes to one or more of the three elements of control. Consolidation of a subsidiary begins when the Company
obtains control over the subsidiary and ceases when the Company loses control of the subsidiary. Assets,
liabilities, income and expenses of a subsidiary acquired or disposed of during the year are included in the
consolidated financial statements from the date the Company gains control until the date the Company ceases
to control the subsidiary.
P
rofit or loss and each component of other comprehensive income (“OCI”) are attributed to the equity holders of
the parent of the Company and to the non-controlling interests. When necessary, adjustments are made to the
financial statements of subsidiaries to bring their accounting policies into line with the Company’s accounting
policies. All intra-company assets and liabilities, equity, income, expenses and cash flows relating to transactions
between members of the Company are eliminated in consolidation.
A
change in the ownership interest of a subsidiary, without a loss of control, is accounted for as an equity
transaction.
If
the Company loses control over a subsidiary, it derecognizes the related assets (including goodwill), liabilities,
non-controlling interest and other components of equity, while any resultant gain or loss is recognized in profit
or loss. Any investment retained is recognized at fair value.
P
ROPERTY ACQUISITIONS
Where property is acquired, via corporate acquisitions or otherwise, management considers the substance of the
assets and activities of the acquired entity in determining whether the acquisition represents the acquisition of
a business.
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188
W
here such acquisitions are not judged to be an acquisition of a business, they are not treated as business
combinations. Rather, the cost to acquire the corporate entity or assets and liabilities, as well as directly
attributable acquisition costs, are allocated between the identifiable assets and liabilities (of the entity) based
on their relative values at the acquisition date.
B
USINESS COMBINATIONS AND GOODWILL
Business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method. The cost of an acquisition is measured
as the aggregate of the consideration transferred measured at acquisition date fair value and the amount of any
non-controlling interests in the acquiree. For each business combination, the Company elects whether to
measure the non-controlling interests in the acquiree at fair value or at the proportionate share of the acquiree’s
identifiable net assets. Acquisition-related costs are expensed as incurred.
Any contingent consideration to be transferred by the acquirer is recognized at fair value at the acquisition date.
Contingent consideration classified as an asset or liability is measured at fair value with the changes in fair value
recognized in the statement of profit or loss .
Goodwill is initially measured at cost (being the excess of the aggregate of the consideration transferred and the
amount recognized for non-controlling interests), and any previous interest held over the net identifiable assets
acquired and liabilities assumed. If the fair value of the net assets acquired is in excess of the aggregate
consideration transferred, the Company re-assesses whether it has correctly identified all of the assets acquired
and all of the liabilities assumed and reviews the procedures used to measure the amounts to be recognized at
the acquisition date. If the reassessment still results in an excess of the fair value of net assets acquired over
the aggregate consideration transferred, then the gain is recognized in profit or loss.
F
OREIGN CURRENCIES
The Company’s consolidated financial statements are presented in euros, which is also the parent company’s
functional currency. For each entity, the Company determines the functional currency and items included in the
financial statements of each entity are measured using that functional currency. The functional currencies used
by the Company’s main subsidiaries are the euro, UK Pound Sterling, the Swedish krona and the Danish krone.
The Company uses the direct method of consolidation and on disposal of a foreign operation the gain or loss
that is reclassified to profit or loss reflects the amount that arises from using this method.
TRANSACTIONS AND BALANCES
Transactions in foreign currencies are initially recorded by the Company’s entities at their respective functional
currency spot rates at the date the transaction first qualifies for recognition. Monetary assets and liabilities
denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the functional currency spot rates of exchange at the
reporting date.
D
ifferences arising on settlement or translation of monetary items are recognized in finance cost on our
consolidated statement of profit or loss, except for monetary items that are considered to be part of the
Company’s net investment of a foreign operation. These are recognized in OCI until the net investment is disposed
of, at which time, the cumulative amount is reclassified to finance cost. Tax charges and credits attributable to
exchange differences on those monetary items are also recorded in OCI.
No
n-monetary items that are measured in terms of historical cost in a foreign currency by the Company’s entities
are translated using the exchange rates at the dates of the initial transactions. Non-monetary items measured,
by the Company’s entities, at fair value in a foreign currency (e.g. , investment properties) are translated using
the exchange rates at the date when the fair value is determined. The gain or loss arising on translation of such
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
189
n
on-monetary items measured at fair value is treated in line with the recognition of gain or loss on change in
fair value of the item (i.e., translation differences on items whose fair value gain or loss is recognized in OCI or
profit or loss are also recognized in OCI or profit or loss, respectively).
SUBSIDIARIES
On consolidation, the assets and liabilities of foreign operations are translated into euros at the rate of exchange
prevailing at the reporting date and their statements of profit or loss are translated at average exchange rates
prevailing at the dates of the transactions. The exchange differences arising on translation for consolidation are
recognized in OCI. On disposal of a foreign operation, the component of OCI relating to that particular foreign
operation is recognized in profit or loss.
S
EGMENT REPORTING
Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief
operating decision maker (“CODM”). The CODM is the Executive Committee and consists of Chief Executive Officer,
Chief Finance Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Investment Officer and General Counsel (“the Executive
Committee”).
I
NVESTMENT PROPERTY AND INVESTMENT PROPERTY UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Investment property comprises completed property and property under construction or re-development that is
held to earn rentals. Property held under a lease is classified as investment property when it is held to earn
rentals, rather for use in production or administrative functions.
Investment property is recognized as an asset when, and only when, it is probable that future economic benefits
that are associated with the property will flow to the entity, and the cost of the property can be measured
reliably. This is typically the case when the entity has legal ownership and control over the property and can
establish the value of the property through a purchase or contractual agreement.
Investment property is initially measured at cost, including transaction costs. Transaction costs include transfer
taxes, professional fees for legal services and initial leasing commissions to bring the property to the condition
necessary for it to be capable of operating.
Subsequent to initial recognition, investment property is measured at fair value, which reflects market conditions
at the reporting date. Gains or losses arising from changes in the fair values of investment property are included
in valuation gain and loss from investment property and investment property under construction on our
consolidated statement of profit and loss in the period in which they arise.
Transfers are made to (or from) investment property only when there is a change in use which can be evidenced,
for example with the commencement or end of owner-occupation.
In
vestment property is derecognized either when it has been disposed of or when it is permanently withdrawn
from use and no future economic benefit is expected from its disposal. The difference between the net disposal
proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset is recognized in profit or loss in the period of derecognition.
L
EASES
A lease is a contract, or part of a contract, that conveys the right to use an asset (the underlying asset) for a
period of time in exchange for consideration.
T
he determination of whether an arrangement is (or contains) a lease is based on the substance of the
arrangement at the inception of the lease.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
190
C
OMPANY AS A LESSEE
The Company leases various plots of land, self-storage facilities, equipment and company cars. Certain contracts
may contain both lease and non-lease components. The Group elected to apply the practical expedient of IFRS 16
to not separate lease and non-lease components and thus accounts for these as a single lease component.
Leases are recognized as a right-of-use asset, being classified as investment property given the leased land is
held solely for the purposes of holding the underlying asset. A corresponding liability is recognized related to the
obligation to make lease payments at the date at which the leased asset is available for use by the Group.
Assets and liabilities arising from a lease are initially measured at the present value of the lease payments to be
made over the lease term.
Lease liabilities include the net present value of the following lease payments:
Fixed payments (including in-substance fixed payments), less any lease incentives receivable;
Variable lease payments: the Company is exposed in all countries it operates to potential future
increases in variable lease payments based on an index or rate which are not included in the lease
liability until they take effect; when adjustments to lease payments based on an index or rate take
effect, the lease liability is reassessed and adjusted against the right-of-use asset;
Amounts expected to be payable by the Company under residual value guarantees;
The exercise price of a purchase option if the group is reasonably certain to exercise that option;
and
Payments of penalties for terminating the lease, if the lease term reflects the Company exercising
that option.
L
ease payments to be made under reasonably certain extension options are also included in the measurement
of the liability.
The lease payments are discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease. If that rate cannot be readily
determined, which is generally the case, the lessee’s incremental borrowing rate (“IBR”) is used, being the rate
that the individual lessee would have to pay to borrow the funds necessary to obtain an asset of similar value to
the right-of-use asset in a similar economic environment with similar terms, security and conditions. To
determine IBR for leases denominated in the various functional currencies, we are using relevant swap rates
increased by a credit spread to reflect the incremental borrowing rate for such an asset, taking into account the
payment pattern applicable under the leases. This credit spread is based on the credit spreads observed on the
retail mortgage market and is adjusted for LTV and non-commercial character of the underlying asset.
L
ease payments are allocated between principal and finance cost. The finance cost is charged to profit or loss
over the lease period so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability
for each period.
Ri
ght-of-use assets are measured at cost comprising the following:
The amount of the initial measurement of lease liability;
Any lease payments made at or before the commencement date less any lease incentives received;
Any initial direct costs; and
Restoration costs.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
191
E
xcept for investment property held by the Company as a right-of-use asset, right-of-use assets are generally
depreciated over the shorter of the asset's useful life and the lease term on a straight-line basis. If the Company
is reasonably certain to exercise a purchase option, the right-of-use asset is depreciated over the underlying
asset’s useful life.
In determining the carrying amount of investment property under the fair value model, the Group does not double
count assets or liabilities that are recognized as separate assets or liabilities. The fair value of investment
property reflects expected cash flows (including variable lease payments that are expected to become payable)
Accordingly, where a valuation is obtained for a property net of all payments expected to be made, any recognized
lease liability is added back to arrive at the carrying amount of the investment property.
Payments associated with short term leases and all leases of low value assets are recognized on a straight-line
basis as an expense in profit or loss. Short term leases are leases with a lease term of 12 months or less.
COMPANY AS A LESSOR
Leases in which the Company does not transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of an asset
are classified as operating leases. Initial direct costs incurred in negotiating and arranging an operating lease
are added to the carrying amount of the leased asset and recognized over the lease term on the same basis as
rental income. Contingent rents are recognized as revenue in the period in which they are earned. We refer to
the accounting policy on revenue recognition for further information on the accounting policies on rental income.
P
ROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Our property, plant and equipment mainly consist of building improvements and office equipment in use at the
local head offices in the countries in which we operate. Historical cost includes expenditure that is directly
attributable to the acquisition of the items.
S
ubsequent costs are included in the asset’s carrying amount or recognized as a separate asset, as appropriate,
only when it is probable that future economic benefits associated with the item will flow to the Company and
the cost of the item can be measured reliably. The carrying amount of any asset is derecognized when replaced.
All other repairs and maintenance are charged to profit or loss during the reporting period in which they are
incurred.
P
roperty, plant and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over its estimated economic useful life. The
assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at the end of each reporting
period .
W
hen there is an impairment indicator, an asset’s carrying amount is written down immediately to its recoverable
amount if the asset’s carrying amount is greater than its estimated recoverable amount.
G
ains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing proceeds with carrying amount. These are included
in profit or loss.
I
NTANGIBLE ASSETS
The Company’s intangible assets consist of internally developed computer software. Software development costs
that are directly attributable to the design and testing of identifiable and unique software products controlled
by the Company are recognized as intangible assets when the criteria, as defined in IAS 38, are met.
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192
C a
pitalized software development costs are recorded as intangible assets and amortized on a straight-line basis
over their economic useful lives (of three to five years) from the moment at which the asset is ready for use.
Costs associated with maintaining software programs are recognized as an expense as incurred.
R
esearch expenditure and development expenditure that do not meet the criteria for capitalization above are
recognized as an expense as incurred. Development costs previously recognized as an expense are not recognized
as an asset in a subsequent period.
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) arrangements provide the user with the right to access the provider’s application
software in the cloud over the contract period. In response to this, the IFRS Interpretation Committee issued an
agenda decision explaining how IFRS should be applied to these types of arrangements. While the general IAS 38
guidance applies, the Interpretation Committee noted that the license agreements typically limit the ability to
meet the requirements of the standards to capitalize most of the implementation costs of such a SaaS solution.
As such, costs incurred to implement, configure or customize, and the ongoing fees to obtain access to the
application are recognized as expenses when the services are received.
B
ORROWINGS
All borrowings are initially recognized at fair value less directly attributable transaction costs. After initial
recognition, borrowings are subsequently measured at amortized cost using the effective interest method.
Borrowings are derecognized when the obligation specified in the contract is discharged, canceled or expired.
The difference between the carrying amount of a financial liability that has been extinguished or transferred to
another party and the consideration paid, including any non-cash assets transferred or liabilities assumed, is
recognized in profit or loss as other income or finance costs.
B
orrowings are classified as current liabilities unless the Company has an unconditional right to defer settlement
of the liability for at least 12 months after the reporting period.
B
ORROWING COSTS
General borrowing costs attributable to the acquisition or construction of an asset that necessarily takes a
substantial period of time to get ready for its intended use or sale are capitalized as part of the cost of the asset.
All other borrowing costs are expensed in the period in which they occur. Borrowing costs consist of interest and
other costs that an entity incurs in connection with the borrowing of funds.
T
he interest capitalized is calculated using the Group’s weighted average cost of borrowings. Interest is
capitalized as from the commencement of the development work until the date of practical completion, i.e., when
substantially all the development work is completed. The capitalization of finance costs is suspended if there are
prolonged periods when development activity is interrupted. Interest is also capitalized on the purchase cost of
a property acquired specifically for redevelopment, but only where activities necessary to prepare the asset for
redevelopment are in progress .
C
ASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of financial position comprise cash at bank and cash equivalents
with an original maturity of three months or less, which are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value.
F
or the purpose of the consolidated statement of cash flows, cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and cash
equivalents, as defined above, net of outstanding bank overdrafts as they are considered an integral part of the
Company’s cash management.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
193
R
ENT AND OTHER RECEIVABLES
Rent and other receivables are recognized at their original invoiced value except where the time value of money
is material, in which case receivables are recognized at fair value and subsequently measured at amortized cost
and are subject to impairment. For rent and other receivables, the Group applies a simplified approach in
calculating expected credit losses. Therefore, the Company does not track changes in credit risk, but instead
recognizes a loss allowance based on lifetime expected credit losses at each reporting date. The Group has
established a provision matrix that is based on its historical credit loss experience, adjusted for forward-looking
factors specific to the debtors and the economic environment.
T
RADE AND OTHER PAYABLES
These amounts represent liabilities for goods and services provided to the Company prior to the end of the
financial year which are unpaid. The amounts are unsecured and are usually paid within 30 days of recognition.
Trade and other payables are presented as current liabilities unless payment is not due within 12 months after
the reporting period.
R
EVENUE RECOGNITION
Shurgard is in the business of operating self-storage facilities providing month-to-month rental agreements for
business and personal use in scope of IFRS 16. We also provide ancillary services at our self-storage facilities
consisting primarily of sales of storage products (such as storage boxes or locks, included in “Ancillary revenue”)
and protection of customers’ stored goods (referred to as “Fee income from customer goods insurance”).
This fee income from providing coverage for customer goods has been assessed to be outside the scope of
IFRS 17 and inside the scope of IFRS 15 because the contracts between Shurgard and the tenant do not transfer
significant insurance risk between these two parties.
R
evenue from contracts with customers is recognized when control of the goods or services are transferred to
the customer at an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in
exchange for those goods or services. The Group concluded that it is the principal in all of its revenue
arrangements, because it controls the goods or services before transferring them to the customer.
RENTAL INCOME
In the rental agreements with its customers, the Company is acting as the lessor in operating lease agreement.
Rental income arising from such operating leases on investment property is accounted for on a straight-line
basis over the lease terms and is included in revenue in the statement of profit or loss due to its operating nature,
except for contingent rental income which is recognized when it arises. Generally, the Group requires advance
payments from new contracts (customers), and the proceeds received are deferred on the balance sheet under
the caption “Deferred rent”.
Initial direct costs incurred in negotiating and arranging an operating lease are recognized as an expense over
the lease term on the same basis as the lease income.
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194
T
enant lease incentives are recognized as a reduction of rental revenue on a straight-line basis over the term of
the lease. The lease term is the non-cancelable period of the lease together with any further term for which the
tenant has the option to continue the lease, where, at the inception of the lease, management is reasonably
certain that the tenant will exercise that option. Typically, this has been assessed to be one month.
A
mounts received from tenants to terminate leases or to compensate for dilapidations are recognized in the
statement of profit or loss when the right to receive them arises.
FEE INCOME FROM CUSTOMER GOODS COVERAGE
Fee income from providing coverage for customer goods is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period
that a customer occupies its storage unit.
SERVICE CHARGES, MANAGEMENT CHARGES AND OTHER EXPENSES RECOVERABLE FROM TENANTS
Income arising from expenses recharged to tenants is recognized in the period in which the compensation
becomes receivable. Service and management charges and other such receipts are included in real estate
operating revenue gross of the related costs, as management considers that the Company acts as principal in
this respect.
EM
PLOYEE BENEFITS
SHORT TERM EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Liabilities for wages and salaries that are expected to be settled wholly within 12 months after the end of the
period in which the employees render the related service are recognized in respect of employees’ services up to
the end of the reporting period and are measured at the amounts expected to be paid when the liabilities are
settled. The liabilities are presented as current employee benefit obligations in the balance sheet.
B
onuses received by company employees and management are based on pre-defined Company and individual
target achievements. The estimated amount of the bonus is recognized as an expense over the period the bonus
is earned.
PENSION BENEFITS
A defined contribution plan is a post-employment benefit plan under which the Group pays fixed contributions
and has no legal or constructive obligation to pay further contributions regardless of the performance of the
funds held to satisfy future benefit payments. A defined benefit plan is a post-employment benefit plan other
than a defined contribution plan.
The Company has defined contribution plans in various countries in which it operates, whereby contributions by
the Company are charged to real estate operating expense and general, administrative and other expenses in
our consolidated statement of profit and loss in the period in which services are rendered by the covered
employees.
The defined contribution plans in Belgium include a legally guaranteed minimum return, which must be provided
by the Group (based on the so-called “Law Vandenbroucke”). The external insurance company that receives and
manages all plan contributions does also provide a different return guarantee, which may be higher or lower
than the one that must be provided by the Group. Therefore, these plans also have defined benefit plan features,
as the Group is exposed to the investment and funding risk relating to the difference in returns, if any.
For these plans, the projected unit credit method has been used as the actuarial technique to measure the
defined benefit obligation, calculated by independent actuaries .
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195
TER
MINATION BENEFITS
Termination benefits are payable when employment is terminated by the Company before the normal retirement
date, or when an employee accepts voluntary redundancy in exchange for these benefits. The Group recognizes
termination benefits at the earlier of the following dates: (i) when it can no longer withdraw the offer of those
benefits; and (ii) when the entity recognizes costs for a restructuring that is within the scope of IAS 37 and
involves the payment of terminations benefits. In the case of an offer made to encourage voluntary redundancy,
the termination benefits are measured based on the number of employees expected to accept the offer. Benefits
falling due more than 12 months after the end of the reporting period are discounted to present value.
S
HARE-BASED COMPENSATION
The Group operates various equity-settled share-based compensation plans, under which the Company receives
services from employees and senior executives as consideration for equity instruments (options) of the Group.
T
he cost of equity-settled compensation plans is determined by the fair value at the grant date of the awards
using the Black-Scholes model. The cost is recognized, together with a corresponding increase in retained
earnings in equity, over the period in which the service conditions are fulfilled (the vesting period).
The cumulative expense recognized for equity-settled transactions at each reporting date until the vesting date
reflects the extent to which the vesting period has expired and the Group’s best estimate of the number of equity
instruments that will ultimately vest. The expense or credit in the statement of profit or loss for a period
represents the movement in cumulative expense recognized as of the beginning and end of that period and is
recognized in general administrative and other expenses. No expense is recognized for awards that do not
ultimately vest because non-market performance and/or service conditions have not been met .
IN
COME TAX
Income tax expense comprises current and deferred tax. It is recognized in profit or loss except to the extent that
it relates to a business combination, or items recognized directly in equity or in OCI. Interest and penalties related
to income taxes, including uncertain tax treatments, can be accounted for under IAS 12 Income taxes or under
IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets depending on the specific nature of the particular
interest and penalties and whether the relevant law considered these interest and penalties as income taxes.
CURRENT INCOME TAX
The tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from profit as reported in
the consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income because it excludes items of income
or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes items that are not taxable or tax
deductible.
T
he Group’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates (and tax laws) that have been enacted or
substantively enacted by the end of the reporting period.
DEFERRED TAX
Deferred tax is recognized for temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in
the consolidated financial statements and their corresponding tax basis used in the computation of taxable
profit.
D
eferred tax liabilities are generally recognized for all taxable temporary differences and deferred tax assets are
recognized to the extent that it is probable that taxable profit will be available against which deductible
temporary differences and tax losses carried forward can be utilized.
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196
D
eferred tax assets and liabilities are not recognized when the temporary difference arises from the initial
recognition of goodwill or of an asset or liability in a transaction that is not a business combination and, at the
time of the transaction, affects neither accounting profit nor taxable profit or loss.
F
or taxable temporary differences associated with investments in subsidiaries and interests in joint
arrangements:
Deferred tax liabilities are not recognized when the timing of the reversal of the temporary
differences can be controlled and it is probable that the temporary differences will not reverse in
the foreseeable future; and
Deferred tax assets are recognized only to the extent that it is probable that the temporary
differences will reverse in the foreseeable future and taxable profit will be available against which
the temporary differences can be utilized.
T
he measurement of deferred tax reflects the tax consequences that would follow from the manner, in which
the Group expects, at the reporting date, to recover or settle the carrying amount of assets and liabilities, at the
tax rates that are expected to apply in the year when the asset is realized or the liability is settled, based on tax
rates (and tax laws) that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the reporting date.
T
he Group concluded that its investment properties are held with the objective to consume substantially all of
the economic benefits embodied in the investment properties over time, rather than through sale, which is
reflected in the measurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities.
E
ARNINGS PER SHARE
BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing:
T
he profit attributable to equity holders of the Company by;
The weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the financial year, excluding
treasury shares.
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
Diluted earnings per share adjusts the figures used in the determination of basic earnings per share to take into
account:
Th
e after-tax effect of interest and other financing costs associated with dilutive potential ordinary
shares, and
The weighted average number of additional ordinary shares that would have been outstanding
assuming the conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares (including outstanding share
options).
F
AIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The Group measures investment property and investment property under construction at fair value. Fair value
related disclosures for items measured at fair value or where fair values are disclosed, are summarized in
Notes 14 and 15: Investment property and investment property under construction.
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197
F
air value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction
between market participants at the measurement date. The fair value measurement is based on the presumption
that the transaction to sell the asset or transfer, the liability takes place either:
I
n the principal market for the asset or liability, or
In the absence of a principal market, in the most advantageous market for the asset or liability.
The Company must be able to access the principal or the most advantageous market at the measurement date.
T
he fair value of an asset or a liability is measured using the assumptions that market participants would use
when pricing the asset or liability, assuming that market participants act in their economic best interest.
A
fair value measurement of a non-financial asset takes into account a market participant's ability to generate
economic benefits by using the asset in its highest and best use or by selling it to another market participant
that would use the asset in its highest and best use. The Group uses valuation techniques that are appropriate
in the circumstances and for which sufficient data are available to measure fair value, maximizing the use of
relevant observable inputs and minimizing the use of unobservable inputs.
A
ll assets and liabilities, for which fair value is measured or disclosed in the financial statements are categorized
within the fair value hierarchy (described as follows), based on the lowest level input that is significant to the
fair value measurement as a whole:
Level 1 - Quoted (unadjusted) market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
Level 2 - Valuation techniques for which the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value
measurement is directly or indirectly observable;
Level 3 - Valuation techniques for which the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value
measurement is unobservable.
4. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING JUDGEMENTS, ESTIMATES AND
ASSUMPTIONS
The preparation of the Group’s consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires us to make
judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and
liabilities, and the accompanying disclosures, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. Uncertainty about these
assumptions and estimates could result in outcomes that require a material adjustment to the carrying amount
of assets or liabilities affected in future periods .
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Est
imates and assumptions
The key estimates and assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at
the reporting date, that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets
and liabilities within the next financial year, are described below. The Group based its assumptions and estimates
on parameters available when the consolidated financial statements were prepared. Existing circumstances and
assumptions about future developments, however, may change due to market changes or circumstances arising
that are beyond the control of the Group. Such changes are reflected in the assumptions when they occur.
Valuation of Investment Property
The fair value of investment property and investment property under construction is determined
by external real estate valuation experts using recognized valuation techniques and the principles
of IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement. The significant methods and assumptions used by valuers in
estimating the fair value of investment property are set out in Note 15.
Share-based payments
Estimating the fair value of share-based payment transactions requires determination of most
appropriate inputs to the valuation model, including the expected life of the share option, volatility,
etc. The significant assumptions applied are included in Note 23.
Jud
gements
In the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies, management has made the following judgements,
which have the most significant effect on the amounts recognised in the consolidated financial statements:
De
termination regarding accounting treatment of acquisitions
From time to time, the Group acquires entities that own real estate. At the time of acquisition, the Company
considers whether such a transaction represents the acquisition of a business or the acquisition of an asset (a
group of assets) for IFRS purposes. The Company accounts for an acquisition as a business combination when
the integrated set which includes the property contains processes that have the ability to create output (mainly
in the form of rental income). Judgement is required to make this determination and the Group applies the
guidance included in IFRS 3 (as amendment) to supports its judgement. When the acquisition does not represent
a business combination, it is accounted for as an acquisition of assets and liabilities. The cost of the acquisition
is allocated to the assets and liabilities acquired based upon their relative fair values, and no goodwill or deferred
tax (see Note 3) is recognized.
5. REAL ESTATE OPERATING REVENUE
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Rental revenue
1
312,550
289,380
Fee income from customer goods insurance
2
33,683
32,075
Ancillary revenue
3
11,468
11,594
Property operating revenue
357,701
333,049
Other revenue
4
222
2,241
Real estate operating revenue
357,923
335,290
1 There were no contingent rentals with customers recognized during the year.
2 Fee income from providing customer goods coverage is in scope of IFRS 15 (Note 36).
3 Ancillary revenue consists of merchandise sales and other revenue from real estate operations.
4 Other revenue mainly consists of management fee revenue and other, non-recurring, income resulting from operations. For the year ended December 31, 2022,
other revenue includes €2.0 million compensation we received from the landlord of one of our German properties under leasehold that we abandoned .
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
199
6. REAL ESTATE OPERATING EXPENSE
Real estate operating expense of investment property which generates property operating revenue consists of
the following:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Payroll expense
42,138
42,151
Real estate and other taxes
19,313
16,834
Repairs and maintenance
13,280
10,913
Marketing expense
9,887
9,162
Utility expense
3,939
3,574
Doubtful debt expense
1
5,465
5,088
Cost of insurance and merchandise sales
2
4,556
5,289
Other operating expenses
2,3
21,892
20,810
Real estate operating expense
120,470
113,821
1 Doubtful debt expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 includes €4.6 million loss on debtors and €1.0 million collection fees and other expense. For the
year ended December 31, 2022, doubtful debt expense included €4.1 million loss on debtors and €1.0 million collection fees and other expense.
2 For the year ended December 31, 2023, the aggregate of cost of insurance and merchandise sales and other operating expense included €2.8 million captive
re-insurance revenue and €2.0 million captive re-insurance service expense in scope of IFRS 17.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, the aggregate of cost of insurance and merchandise sales and other operating expense included €2.8 million captive
re-insurance revenue and €2.2 million captive re-insurance service expense in scope of IFRS 17.
3 Other operating expenses mainly include travel expenses, legal and consultancy fees, insurance expenses, non-deductible VAT, information system expenses
and property lease expenses.
7. GENERAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND OTHER EXPENSES
General, administrative and other expenses for the periods concerned consists of the following:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Payroll expense
12,211
11,982
Share-based compensation expense
4,183
3,899
Capitalization of internal time spent on development of
investment property
(4,233)
(3,831)
Depreciation and amortization expense
3,377
2,866
Other general and administrative expenses, net
1
10,423
7,599
General, administrative and other expenses
25,961
22,515
1 Other general and administrative expenses, net, mainly include legal, consultancy and audit fees and non-deductible VAT. The year-on-year increase in other
general and administrative expense is mainly attributable to €3.1 million increased consultancy fee expense and €0.6 million increased abandoned project
cost (to 1.6 million in 2023), partially offset by reductions in irrecoverable VAT, office tax and IS expense that on aggregate are a decrease of €0.9 million.
8. OTHER EXPENSES
Other expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 consists of €0.7 million non-recurring implementation
cost for our new ERP system, which in line with recently issued guidance by the IFRS Interpretation Committee
on implementation of SaaS solutions, has been fully expensed, and €0.2 million cost incurred in the November
2023 equity issuance (Note 21).
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
200
9. FINANCE COSTS
Finance costs comprises the following:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Interest on revolving syndicated loan facility
498
500
Interest on term loan facility
2,570
-
Interest on senior guaranteed notes
18,724
18,714
Interest on lease obligations
3,585
2,852
Capitalized borrowing costs
1
(2,157)
(1,316)
Other interest expense
27
569
Interest expense
23,247
21,319
Foreign exchange loss
143
88
Finance costs
23,390
21,407
1 The
capitalization rate of the borrowing costs was on average 2.53% and 2.34% in 2023 and 2022, respectively. We primarily capitalize these borrowing costs
as investment property under construction (Note 14) .
10. INCOME TAX
INCOME TAX EXPENSE
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Current tax expense
29,419
30,311
Deferred tax income
(82,702)
155,924
Income tax (income) / expense
(53,283)
186,235
Profit before tax
481,120
761,836
Effective tax rate
1
N/A
2
24.4%
1 The a
verage effective current income tax rates based on adjusted EPRA earnings before tax are disclosed in the Appendix on Alternative Performance Measures.
2 The effective tax rate is impacted by the Group's entry to the UK REIT regime as per March 1, 2023. Excluding the tax adjustment on entry to the UK REIT
regime, the effective tax rate would have been 22.4%.
Tax e
xpenses have been calculated in accordance with local and international tax laws. The tax expense on the
Group’s consolidated profit (loss) before tax differs from the theoretical amount that would arise using the
domestic rate in each individual jurisdiction (on the pretax profits/losses) of the consolidated companies as
follows:
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
201
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
%
December 31, 2022
%
Profit before tax
481,120
761,836
Expected tax based on local tax rates
124,329
25.8
179,231
23.5
Disallowed expenses
452
0.0
1,255
0.2
Non-taxable income
(17,097)
(3.5)
(84)
0.0
Non recognition of deferred tax assets on current
(4,245)
(0.9)
4,285
0.6
year tax losses
Prior year adjustments and other changes to the
deferred tax balances
4,637
1.0
(10,043)
-1.3
Impact of changes to substantively enacted tax rates
(262)
0.0
11,581
1.5
Other (excluding the tax adjustment on entry to the
UK REIT regime)
54
0.0
10
0.0
Tax expense for the year
107,868
22.4
186,235
24.4
Tax adjustment on entry to the UK REIT regime
(161,151)
0
0.0
Tax expense for the year
(53,283)
186,235
24.4
Prior year adjustments and other changes to the deferred tax balances” relate to events in the current reporting
period and reflects the effect of changes in rules, facts or other factors compared with those used in establishing
the current or deferred tax position in prior periods. For 2023, these adjustments mainly relate to Luxembourg
(€9.1 million), Germany (-€4.7 million), the Netherlands (€1.0 million) and the United Kingdom (-€0.7 million). For
2022, they mainly were located in the United Kingdom (€8.7 million) and France (€1.1 million) .
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
202
DEFE
RRED TAXES
The movement in deferred tax assets and liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2022 is as follows:
(Charged)/ Charged to
credited to the other
statement of comprehensive Credited
(in € thousands)
January 1, 2022
profit or loss income to equity December 31, 2022
Deferred tax assets:
Tax loss carry-forwards
6,760
(2,311)
(40)
-
4,409
Deductible temporary 817
3,029
(10)
-
3,836
differences
Total Deferred tax assets
7,577
718
(50)
-
8,245
Deferred tax liabilities:
Investment property
(647,070)
(155,879)
16,232
-
(786,717)
Other taxable temporary
(958)
(763)
-
71
(1,650)
differences
1
Total Deferred tax liabilities
(648,028)
(156,642)
16,232
71
(788,367)
Total Deferred Tax (640,451)
(155,924)
16,182
71
(780,122)
Asset/(Liabilities)
Reflected in our statement of
financial position as follows:
Deferred tax assets
1,723
-
-
-
972
Deferred tax liabilities
(642,174)
-
-
-
(781,094)
1 The amount recognized in equity relates to the share-based payment transaction which reflects the excess of the tax deductibility above the cumulative
expense recognized in accordance with IFRS 2.
Net d
eferred tax liabilities as of December 31, 2022 amount to €780.1 million, of which €4.4 million relates to
recognized tax losses carried forward and €786.7 million relates to deferred tax liabilities arisen from investment
property.
Main changes impacting the deferred tax liabilities on investment property are a substantial increase of deferred
tax liabilities related to our investment property, due to changes in their fair values (see Notes 14 and 15) .
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
203
Th
e movement in deferred tax assets and liabilities during the period ended December 31, 2023 is as follows:
(Charged)/
credited to
the Charged to
statement other Credited
of profit or comprehensive to
(in € thousands)
January 1, 2023
loss
income
equity
December 31, 2023
Deferred tax assets:
Tax loss carry-forwards
4,409
1,850
2
-
6,261
Deductible temporary
3,836
(1,481)
36
-
2,391
differences
Total Deferred tax assets
8,245
369
38
-
8,652
Deferred tax liabilities:
Investment property
(786,717)
83,484
(513)
-
(703,746)
Other taxable temporary
(1,650)
(1,151)
-
(50)
(2,851)
differences
1
Total Deferred tax liabilities
(788,367)
82,333
(513)
(50)
(706,597)
Total Deferred Tax
(780,122)
82,702
(475)
(50)
(697,945)
Asset/(Liabilities)
Reflected in our statement of
financial position as follows:
Deferred tax assets
972
-
-
-
891
Deferred tax liabilities
(781,094)
-
-
-
(698,836)
1 The amount recognized in equity relates to the share-based payment transaction which reflects the excess of the tax deductibility above the cumulative
expense recognized in accordance with IFRS 2.
Net deferred tax liabilities as of December 31, 2023 amount to €697.9 million, of which €6.3 million relates to
recognized tax losses carried forward and €703.7 million relates to deferred tax liabilities arisen from investment
property.
Main changes impacting the deferred tax liabilities on investment property are:
An increase of deferred tax liabilities related to our investment property, due to changes in their
fair values (see Notes 15 and 16); and
A decrease of deferred tax liabilities related to the UK REIT conversion in March 2023.
Def
erred tax assets and liabilities expressed in euros were also influenced by the exchange rate variations for
the EUR/GBP, EUR/DKK and EUR/SEK conversion rates.
Th
e Group recognized deferred tax assets arising from unused tax losses only to the extent that it is probable
that future taxable profit will be available or there are sufficient amounts of deferred tax liabilities against which
the tax losses can be utilized. The recognized deferred tax assets relating to unused tax losses amounted to
€6.3 million as of December 31, 2023.
For the period ended December 31, 2023, the Group has tax losses carried forward of 253.9 million (prior year:
€276.7 million), of which 42.2 million (prior year: €53.4 million) are subject to recapture rules. In total,
211.7 million (prior year: €212.3 million) tax losses are available indefinitely for offsetting against future taxable
profits of the entities in which the losses arose.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
204
N
o deferred tax assets have been recognized in respect of these losses, as currently it is not probable that
sufficient recurring future taxable profits will be available in the near future against which the Group can utilize
the losses.
If the Group were to recognize all unrecognized deferred tax assets, the profit would increase by €51.3 million
(prior year: €56.4 million).
No deferred tax liability was recognized on the unremitted earnings of subsidiaries. Management had no
intention to pay dividends or repatriate from its subsidiaries, and no tax is expected to be payable on them in
the foreseeable future. If all earnings were remitted, tax of €0.9 million for the period ended December 31, 2023
would be payable (€0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022).
As explained in Note 2, deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured at the tax rates that are expected to apply
to the period when the asset is realized or the liability is settled, based on tax rates (and tax laws) that have
been enacted or substantively enacted by the end of the reporting period.
UK REIT
During the first quarter of 2023, Shurgard Self Storage S.A. migrated to Guernsey and was incorporated as
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd pursuant to Guernsey law and became a UK REIT on March 1, 2023. Since then, central
management and control of the Group is exercised through the Board of Directors of Shurgard Self Storage Ltd
located in the United Kingdom.
UK REITs are exempt from UK corporation tax on rental profits and capital gains arising from their UK property
business. As a result, there are no temporary differences and deferred tax liabilities within the REIT rules
recognized per December 31, 2023.
T
he change to a UK REIT is considered as a change of tax status, in which case IFRS requires that current and
deferred tax consequences are recognized in profit and loss for the period. Consequently, the Group recognized
a tax benefit of €161.2 million during 2023, which significantly impacts the effective tax rate per December 31,
2023. Excluding this impact, the effective tax rate would have been 22.4%.
Th
e directors are closely monitoring the requirements of being a UK REIT and Shurgard has complied with all
requirements to date. As a UK REIT, Shurgard is required to distribute 90% of its tax-exempt UK rental profits
(i.e., rental income from the UK property business). These profits form part of the total dividend the Group intends
to distribute to its shareholders.
Any other income and gains generated in the UK, which are not specifically derived from Shurgard’s UK property
rental activities, are part of the “residual business” and are subject to UK corporation tax rate of 25% (19% up
until April 1, 2023).
INTERNATIONAL TAX REFORM PILLAR TWO MODEL RULES
The OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on “Base Erosion and Profit Shifting” (“BEPS”) aims at addressing the
challenges arising from the digitalization of the global economy. To ensure that profits are taxed where economic
activities take place and value is created, the Inclusive Framework on BEPS proposes two so-called “pillars”:
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
205
P
illar One applies to Multinational enterprises (“MNEs”) with global turnover above €20 billion and
profitability above 10% (i.e., profit before tax/revenue); while
Pillar Two applies to MNEs with revenue in excess of €750 million per their consolidated financial
statements.
T
he Pillar Two “Global anti-Base Erosion” rules (“GloBE Rules”) in substance result in a system of top-up taxes
to ensure that the total amount of taxes paid by a MNE in a jurisdiction on its “Excess Profit” is at a minimum
rate.
D
uring July 2023, the government of the UK, being the country where the parent company of the Group is a tax
resident, enacted the implementation of the provisions of Pillar Two, which would be effective for the Group as
of January 1, 2024. Subsequently, several proposed amendments were published, which are subject to change
while passing through the parliamentary process and there is some uncertainty as to when the current draft bill
will be enacted into law.
B
elgium, Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden have all transposed the Pillar
Two rules in their local legislation per December 31, 2023, being effective for the Group as of January 1, 2024.
T
he Group is closely monitoring the legislative and administrative progress in the countries it is currently present,
to ensure it will be able to comply with the final legislation, with the uncertainties surrounding the Pillar Two
rules such as for example the basis on how revenue is determined in different jurisdictions.
Nonetheless, the Group has performed an assessment as regards (a) the transitional CbCR safe harbor relief rules
and (b) more detailed Pillar Two effective tax rate calculations of its potential exposure to Pillar Two, assuming
that it would surpass the revenue threshold of €750 million. This assessment is based on the most recent
financial information of the Group entities such as the latest available tax filings and the latest IFRS financial
information, determined as part of the preparation of the Group’s consolidated financial statements, for 2023,
considering only adjustments that would have been required or allowed applying the enacted legislation.
B
ased on an impact assessment performed, the following conclusions were drawn:
No Top-Up tax should arise in the UK, because (i) Shurgard Self-Storage Ltd. should qualify as an
excluded entity as it is the ultimate parent of the Shurgard group and is the principal member of a
group UK REIT and (ii) each of Shurgard Self-Storage Ltd.’s UK subsidiaries should be regarded as
an investment entity as each is member of the Group UK REIT.
The transitional CbCR safe harbour relief rules should be available for all jurisdictions outside the
UK.
Furthermore, the Pillar Two effective tax rates in the jurisdictions in which the Group operates,
outside of the UK, are above 15%, where relevant.
Consequently, and based on the current legislator environment, the Group does not expect any material exposure
to Pillar Two top-up taxes. Note that as of December 31, 2023, the Group had unrecognized deferred tax assets,
mainly in connection with tax losses carried forward, for a total amount of approximately €53.8 million.
In
line with the amended IAS 12, Shurgard did not recognize or disclose any deferred tax assets or liabilities
related to Pillar Two.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
206
11. SEGMENT INFORMATION
For earnings from investment property, discrete financial information is provided on an operating segment basis
to the CODM. The individual properties are aggregated into operating segments which are defined as the
individual countries where Shurgard owns or leases properties.
The same store facilities segment for a given year comprises stores in operations since more than three full years
as of January 1 of that year in case of self-developed properties or stores in operations for one full year as of
January 1 of that year in case the properties have been acquired. The non-same store facilities segment
comprises any other self-storage facilities that we operate.
The
operating segments (individual countries where the Group operates properties, split between same store
facilities and non-same store facilities) have been aggregated into two reportable segments which reflect the
significant components of our operations. Therefore, we present our self-storage operations in two reportable
segments: “the same store facilities” and “the non-same store facilities” because we believe that the individual
countries exhibit similar economic characteristics and the operations are similar with respect to their main
elements (e.g.: nature of products and services offered, the class of customers, the distribution method). On an
annual basis, the composition of the ‘same stores’ and ‘non-same stores’ changes based on the reclassification
of the stores from non-same stores to same stores in line with the period of operation. Following the change in
composition of its reportable segments, the Group presents comparative information consistent with the current
year classification as same store” or “non-same” stores.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company operated 276 self-storage properties (267 self-storage facilities as of
December 31, 2022). Based on these criteria, 240 self-storage stores met the same store definition.
The non-same store facilities segment comprises any other self-storage facilities (36) that we have acquired or
self-developed.
Ro
yalty fee expense, valuation gain and loss from investment property and investment property under
construction, depreciation expense, acquisition costs on business combinations, general, administrative and
other expenses, gain/loss on disposal of investment property and assets held for sale, finance costs and income
tax expense are not reported to the CODM on a segment basis.
The CODM does not receive or review assets or liabilities on a segment basis. However, a breakdown of non-
current assets by country is nevertheless presented.
Th
e below table sets forth segment data for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 based on the 2023
same store/non-same store definition:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Same store facilities
329,595
316,574
Non-same store facilities
28,106
16,475
Property operating revenue
357,701
333,049
Same store facilities
222,829
211,512
Non-same store facilities
14,402
7,716
Income from property (NOI)
237,231
219,228
Th
e following table sets forth the reconciliation of income from property (“NOI”) as presented in the above
segment table and Net income from real estate operations presented in consolidated statement of profit and
loss:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Income from property (NOI)
237,231
219,228
Add: Other revenue
1
222
2,241
Net income from real estate operations
237,453
221,469
1 Other revenue comprises management fee revenue from self storage and other income resulting from operations. For the year ended December 31, 2022, other revenue
included a €2.0 million compensation we received from the landlord of one of our German properties under leasehold that we abandoned at the end of November 2022 .
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
207
SEGMENT INFORMATION BY COUNTRY FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023
(in € thousands)
France
The
UK
Sweden
Germany
Belgium
Denmark
Total
Netherlands
Same store facilities
78,241
71,362
64,332
44,642
28,340
26,890
15,788
329,595
Non-same store facilities
7,137
6,040
6,837
1,469
6,623
-
-
28,106
Property operating revenue
85,378
77,402
71,169
46,111
34,963
26,890
15,788
357,701
Same store facilities
50,000
50,858
40,395
31,978
20,062
18,232
11,304
222,829
Non-same store facilities
2,307
4,204
3,953
667
3,271
-
-
14,402
Income from property
52,307
55,062
44,348
32,645
23,333
18,232
11,304
237,231
Investment property
1,107,360
1,020,525
1,092,438
649,847
547,025
292,279
220,345
4,929,819
Investment property under
construction
-
3,673
53,548
-
48,730
-
-
105,951
Property, plant and equipment and
intangible assets
413
127
110
95
149
9,245
-
10,139
Deferred tax assets
-
-
74
2
760
55
-
891
Other non-current assets
1
849
279
122
37
5,082
2,591
17
8,977
Non-current assets
1,108,622
1,024,604
1,146,292
649,981
601,746
304,170
220,362
5,055,777
1 Other non-current assets for Germany as of December 31, 2023 includes €5.0 million that we paid in escrow for an acquisition we plan to finalize in the first half of 2024. The reduction in Other non-current assets for the Netherlands compared to
December 2022 is due to the reclassification during FY 2023 of €9.6 million receivable from the sale of one of our Dutch properties to Other current assets. We will recover the amount when we vacate the building, which is estimated to occur in the
first half of 2024.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
208
SEGMENT INFORMATION BY COUNTRY FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022
(in € thousands) France The
UK
Sweden
Germany
Belgium
Denmark
Total
Netherlands
Same store facilities
75,327
65,820
61,207
48,327
25,471
25,033
15,389
316,574
Non-same store facilities
4,268
2,899
4,686
112
4,510
-
-
16,475
Property operating revenue
79,595
68,719
65,893
48,439
29,981
25,033
15,389
333,049
Same store facilities
47,552
46,149
38,685
34,983
17,167
16,346
10,630
211,512
Non-same store facilities
1,212
2,064
2,525
48
1,867
-
-
7,716
Income from property
48,764
48,213
41,210
35,031
19,034
16,346
10,630
219,228
Non-current assets as of December 31, 2022
Investment property
1,040,689
894,516
980,742
641,609
426,466
277,131
208,419
4,469,572
Investment property under
12,164
8,630
26,104
-
7,319
-
-
54,217
construction
Property, plant and equipment and
intangible assets
480
253
78
162
234
8,251
8
9,466
Deferred tax assets
-
384
-
28
-
560
-
972
Other non-current assets
705
9,819
161
33
8
584
16
11,326
Non-current assets
1,054,038
913,602
1,007,085
641,832
434,027
286,526
208,443
4,545,553
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
209
12. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTIES
2022 ACQUISITIONS
In the first six months of 2022, the Group acquired a self-storage property in the UK.
In the second half of 2022, the Group acquired two self-storage properties in the Netherlands, one property in
France, and three properties in Sweden. As part of the transaction the Group acquired other net current assets
for €0.2 million.
These acquisitions have been accounted for as acquisitions of assets, with the acquisition cost (total of
€80.3 million, including €3.8 million of capitalized transaction costs) being allocated to the individual identifiable
assets and liabilities (if any) based on their relative fair values at the date of purchase.
2023 ACQUISITIONS
In the second half of 2023, the Group acquired in Germany five operating self-storage properties, two properties
under development and a parcel of land held for sale. As part of the transaction the Group acquired other net
current assets for €0.3 million.
This acquisition has been accounted for as acquisitions of assets, with the acquisition cost (total of €69.1 million,
including €1.1 million of capitalized transaction costs, €0.5 million assets subsequently classified as held for sale
and €0.3 million other assets and liabilities) being allocated to the individual identifiable assets and liabilities (if
any) based on their relative fair values at the date of purchase.
13. EARNINGS PER SHARE (EPS”)
The table below provides a summarized overview of the Company’s Earnings per share:
(in € thousands, except for earnings per share)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Earnings per share (basic) €
5.91
6.45
Earnings per share (diluted) €
5.89
6.40
The basis of calculation of each of the above measures set out above, are illustrated below.
E
ARNINGS PER SHARE
The following tables reflect the income and share data used in the basic and diluted EPS computations:
(in € thousands, except for shares and earnings per share)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent
533,313
574,284
for basic earnings
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for basic EPS
90,213,362
89,096,132
Earnings per share (basic)
5.91
6.45
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
210
E
ffect of dilution:
(in € thousands, except for shares and earnings per share)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent
533,313
574,284
for dilutive earnings
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for basic EPS
90,213,362
89,096,132
Dilutive effect from share options
317,682
610,056
Weighted average number of ordinary shares adjusted for the
effect of dilution
90,531,043
89,706,188
Earnings per share (diluted) €
5.89
6.40
T
here have been no other transactions involving ordinary shares or potential ordinary shares between the
reporting date and the date of authorization of these financial statements.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
211
14. INVESTMENT PROPERTY AND INVESTMENT PROPERTY UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
The table below sets forth the movement in completed investment property and investment property under
construction.
Investment Total Investment
Completed property completed property Total
investment ROU investment under investment
property assets property construction property
(in € thousands)
Level 3
Level 3
Level 3
Level 3 (
2
)
Level 3
December 31, 2022
As of January 1, 2022
3,734,195
83,040
3,817,235
29,832
3,847,067
Exchange rate differences
(98,947)
(1,726)
(100,673)
(862)
(101,535)
Addition of ROU assets
1
-
12,001
12,001
-
12,001
Remeasurement of ROU assets
1
-
5,455
5,455
-
5,455
Transfers for new development
51,654
-
51,654
(51,654)
-
Capital expenditure
3
37,105
-
37,105
75,472
112,577
Acquisition of investment property
4
76,310
-
76,310
-
76,310
Disposals
(14,267)
-
(14,267)
-
(14,267)
Net gain (loss) of fair value adjustment
588,311
(3,559)
584,752
1,429
586,181
As of December 31, 2022
4,374,361
95,211
4,469,572
54,217
4,523,789
December 31, 2023
As of January 1, 2023
4,374,361
95,211
4,469,572
54,217
4,523,789
Exchange rate differences
21,125
205
21,330
643
21,973
Addition of ROU assets
1
-
833
833
-
833
Remeasurement of ROU assets
1
-
13,671
13,671
-
13,671
Transfers for new development
43,081
-
43,081
(43,081)
-
Capital expenditure
49,888
-
49,888
63,930
113,818
Acquisition of investment property
4
57,900
-
57,900
9,436
67,336
Net gain (loss) of fair value adjustment
277,087
(3,543)
273,544
20,806
294,350(
5
)
As of December 31, 2023
4,823,442
106,377
4,929,819
105,951
5,035,770
1 At initi
al recognition, the Right of Use (ROU) assets are recognized for an equal amount as the related lease liabilities. Remeasurements of ROU assets mainly
consist of the effect of yearly indexations of our lease agreements.
2 The Group measures its investment property under construction at cost where cost is deemed to be a reasonable approximation of fair value.
As of December 31, 2023, investment property under construction includes €89.9 million that are measured at fair value and €16.0 million that are measured
at cost, as a reasonable approximation of fair value.
3 For the year ended December 31, 2023, capital expenditure includes €4.2 million capitalized internal time spent and €2.2 million capitalized interest and €1.1
million capitalized transaction costs we incurred on our acquisition.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, capital expenditure included €3.8 million capitalized internal time spent, €1.3 million capitalized interest and €2.8
million capitalized transaction costs we incurred on our acquisitions.
4 In 2023, we acquired five self-storage facilities and two facilities under development located in Germany, with an IP and IPUC value of €67.1 million. This
acquisition has been accounted for as acquisition of assets, whereby the cost of the acquisition has been allocated to the individual identifiable assets and
liabilities based on their relative fair values at the date of purchase (See Note 1 and Note 12)
In accordance with the agreed terms and conditions, the Company paid in 2023 a €0.2 million supplement on the purchase price it paid for properties that it
acquired in Sweden in the last quarter of 2022.
5 Valuation gain from investment property and investment property under construction and gain on disposal of €294,350 for 2023 presented in our consolidated
statement of profit and loss includes €1 gain on disposal of ROU assets.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
212
Recon
ciliation of completed investment property and investment property under construction values calculated
by our external valuer with value of completed investment property and investment property under construction
disclosed for financial reporting purposes:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Market value of completed investment property and investment
4,910,375
4,353,121
property under construction estimated by the external valuer
Properties acquired valued at their acquisition cost
-
53,726
Projects under pre-development valued at historical cost
16,042
18,642
Addition of lease obligations recognized separately
2,976
3,089
Fair value for financial reporting purposes
1
4,929,393
4,428,578
1 Fair values for financial reporting purposes exclude Investment property ROU assets (€106.4 million in 2023 and €95.2 million in 2022).
Using the Discounted Cash Flows (“DCF”) method, fair value is estimated using assumptions regarding the
benefits and liabilities of ownership over the asset’s life including an exit or terminal value. This method involves
the projection of a series of cash flows on a real estate property interest. To this projected cash flow series, an
appropriate, market derived discount rate is applied to establish the present value of the income stream
associated with the asset. Finally, an exit yield is determined, which differs from the discount rate to determine
any terminal value, if any.
The du
ration of the cash flow and the specific timing of inflows and outflows are determined by events such as
rent reviews, lease renewal and related re-letting, redevelopment, or refurbishment. The appropriate duration is
typically driven by market behavior that is a characteristic of the class of real estate property. Periodic cash flow
is typically estimated as gross income less vacancy, non-recoverable expenses, collection losses, lease incentives,
maintenance cost, agent and commission costs and other operating and management expenses. The series of
periodic net operating income, along with an estimate of the terminal value anticipated at the end of the
projection period, if any, is then discounted.
Except for the valuation of the Investment Property right-of-use asset, the valuations were performed by
Cushman and Wakefield (”C&W”), an accredited independent valuer with a recognized and relevant professional
qualification and with recent experience in the locations and categories of the investment property being valued.
The valuation models in accordance with those recommended by the International Valuation Standards
Committee have been applied and are consistent with the principles in IFRS 13 for the period ended December
31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022.
15. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT INVESTMENT PROPERTY
C&W’s external valuation has been carried out in accordance with the RICS Valuation Global Standards which
incorporate the International Valuation Standards (“IVS”), published by The Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors (“the RICS Red Book”). The valuation of each of the investment properties and the investment
properties under construction has been prepared on the basis of Fair Value as a fully equipped operational entity,
having regard to trading potential (as appropriate).
VALUE
R DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
C&W’s valuation has been provided for reporting purposes and as such, is a Regulated Purpose Valuation as
defined in the Red Book. In compliance with the disclosure requirements of the Red Book, C&W has confirmed
that:
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
213
C&W ha
s carried out bi-annual valuations for this purpose in an independent way since the
financial year ending December 31, 2015;
In relation to the preceding financial year of C&W, the proportion of the total fees payable by the
Group to the total fee income of the firm is less than 5.0%; and
The fee payable to C&W is a fixed amount per property and is not contingent on the appraised
value.
Outs
ide of the subject portfolio, C&W has, and may continue to do so going forward, provided Shurgard with
valuation advice in relation to potential acquisitions.
MARK
ET CONDITIONS AND UNCERTAINTY
Our valuation is not reported as being subject to “material valuation uncertainty” as defined by VPS 3 and VPGA
10 of the RICS Valuation Global Standards.
CURRENCY AND AGGREGATE VALUES REPORTED
C&W’s valuation report confirms that each property has been valued individually in local currency. C&W’s
valuation report then converts each property valuation to a euro amount at the spot exchange rates provided by
the Company. The total value reported in euro is the aggregate amount for each individual value reported in euro.
VALUA
TION METHODOLOGY AND ASSUMPTIONS
C&W has adopted different approaches for the valuation of the leasehold and freehold assets as follows:
FREEHOLD AND LONG LEASEHOLD
The valuation is based on a discounted cash flow of the net operating income over a 10-year period and a
notional sale of the asset at the end of the tenth year.
Assump
tions:
The following assumptions have been applied by C&W for the valuation of our investment properties for the
periods concerned:
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Stabilized occupancy
1
91.39%
91.14%
Average time to stabilization
1
(months)
6.41
4.77
Weighted average exit capitalization rate
2
5.22%
5.19%
Weighted average annual discount rate
3
8.27%
8.21%
Average rental growth rate year 1
4
2.57%
2.57%
1 Stab
ilized occupancy is the projected occupancy level once stores reach maturity, weighted by rentable sqm and excluding IPUC.
2 The exit capitalization rate comprises prime cap rates based on observed market transactions, adjusted for property specific elements such as tenure, location,
condition of building, etc. The exit capitalization rate is applied to year 10 cash flows in determining the terminal value of each property.
3 Pre-tax discount rate used to discount the future cash flows of each property.
4 Average rental growth rate year 1 is the average projected rental growth of all properties for the year following the reporting period.
On December 31, 2023, the increase in fair value of investment properties was mainly driven by an increase of
our operating cash flows, combined with capital expenditures during the year of €113.8 million.
Purchaser’s costs in the range of approximately 6% to 12.5% have been assumed initially, reflecting the stamp
duty levels anticipated in each local market, and sales plus purchaser’s costs totaling approximately 6% to 12.5%
are assumed on the notional sales in the tenth year in relation to freehold and long leasehold stores. Both
assumptions are unchanged compared to December 31, 2022.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
214
S
HORT LEASEHOLDS
The same methodology has been used as for freeholds, except that no sale of the assets in the tenth year is
assumed but the discounted cash flow continues until the expiry of the lease.
T
he Group operates a number of short leases where there is an assumption that the Group has the sole discretion
and will extend the current agreements for a significant number of years. These have been valued on the same
basis as the freehold and long leasehold assets due to their security of tenure arrangements and the potential
compensation provisions in the event of the landlord wishing to take possession at expiry. The capitalization
rates on these properties reflect the risk not extending the lease at expiration date.
I
NVESTMENT PROPERTIES UNDER CONSTRUCTION
C&W has valued the properties in development using the same methodology as set out above but based on the
cash flow projection expected for the property at opening and allowing for the outstanding costs to take each
property from its current state to completion and full fit out. C&W has allowed for carry costs and construction
contingency, as appropriate.
C
HANGES IN VALUATION TECHNIQUES
There were no other changes in valuation techniques during the periods concerned.
H
IGHEST AND BEST USE
For all investment property that is measured at fair value, the current use of the property is considered the
highest and best use.
FAIR VALUE HIERARCHY
Based on the significant unobservable inputs to the DCF method used for determining the fair value of all our
investment property and investment property under construction that we recognized in our statement of
financial position as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, our investment property is a Level 3 fair market value
measurement, and for the periods concerned, there have been no transfers to or from Level 3.
T
he geographical split of our investment property and investment property under construction is set forth in
Note 11.
Unrealized gains and (losses) for recurring fair value measurements relating to investment property and
investment property under construction held at the end of the reporting period categorized within Level 3 of the
fair value hierarchy amount to €294.4 million in 2023 and €586.2 million in 2022 and are presented in the
consolidated statement of profit and loss in the line-item “Valuation (loss) gain from investment property and
investment property under construction”.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
215
S
ENSITIVITY OF THE VALUATION TO ASSUMPTIONS
All other factors being equal, higher net operating income would lead to an increase in the valuation of a property
and an increase in the capitalization rate or discount rate would result in a lower valuation, and vice versa. Higher
assumptions for stabilized occupancy, absorption rate, rental rate and other revenue, and a lower assumption
for operating costs, would result in an increase in projected net operating income, and thus an increase in
valuation.
F
or the year ended December 31, 2023, all other factors being equal, the effect of changes in the following key
variables on the valuation of our property portfolio is as follows:
(in € thousands) Amount increase % change
(decrease) valuation
One hundred basis points increase in occupancy rates
80,556
1.6%
One hundred basis points decrease in occupancy rates
(72,228)
-1.5%
Twenty- five basis points increase (real) in both discount and capitalization rate
(213,052)
-4.3%
Twenty-five basis points decrease (real) in both discount and capitalization rate
236,095
4.8%
One hundred basis points increase in average rental growth rates
91,683
1.9%
One hundred basis points decrease in average rental growth rates
(125,774)
-2.6%
For the year ended December 31, 2022, all other factors being equal, the effect of changes in the following key
variables on the valuation of our property portfolio is as follows:
Amount increase % change
(in € thousands) (decrease) valuation
One hundred basis points increase in occupancy rates
51,194
1.2%
One hundred basis points decrease in occupancy rates
(51,360)
-1.2%
Twenty- five basis points increase (real) in both discount and capitalization rate
(254,330)
-5.8%
Twenty-five basis points decrease (real) in both discount and capitalization rate
265,540
6.1%
One hundred basis points increase in average rental growth rates
103,940
2.4%
One hundred basis points decrease in average rental growth rates
(113,450)
-2.6%
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
216
16. PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Property, plant and equipment mainly consists of building improvements and office machinery and equipment
in use in the local head offices located in the countries in which we operate.
Total
property,
ROU plant and Intangible
(in € thousands)
Building
1
Equipment
1
assets
2
equipment
assets
3
Historical cost
As of January 1, 2023
1,578
5,663
3,613
10,854
17,953
Additions
-
117
623
740
3,304
Remeasurements
-
-
22
22
-
Disposals
-
-
(206)
(206)
(3,385)
Exchange rate differences
-
1
2
3
-
As of December 31, 2023
1,578
5,781
4,054
11,413
17,872
Depreciation and impairment
As of January 1, 2023
(724)
(5,238)
(2,155)
(8,117)
(11,224)
Depreciation and amortization charge of the
period
(57)
(257)
(687)
(1,001)
(2,376)
Disposals
-
-
190
190
3,385
Exchange rate differences
(1)
(1)
(1)
(3)
-
As of December 31, 2023
(782)
(5,496)
(2,653)
(8,931)
(10,215)
Net book value
As of December 31, 2023
796
285
1,401
2,482
7,657
As of January 1, 2023
854
425
1,458
2,737
6,729
1 Building and equipment mainly consists of building improvements and office machinery and equipment in use in the local head offices located in the countries in which
we operate.
2 Right-of-use assets mainly relates to company cars and offices we lease. These assets were recognized in exchange for an equal amount of additional lease liabilities.
3 Intangible assets consists of capitalized computer software .
17. OTHER NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Other non-current assets mainly consists of deposits paid to vendors, capitalized pre-acquisition expense and
the unamortized non-current portion of capitalized debt financing cost incurred in connection with the revolving
syndicated loan facility and the term loan facility (see Note 26).
As
of December 31, 2022, other non-current assets included a €9.6 million receivable resulting from the sale in
the first half of 2022 of one of our Dutch properties. During 2023, the receivable has been reclassified to other
current assets due to its maturity in the first half of 2024.
As
of December 31, 2023, other non-current assets includes €5.0 million we paid in escrow for an acquisition we
will complete in the first half of 2024 and €1.8 million of debt financing cost we incurred in connection with the
term loan facility we entered into in April 2023.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
217
18. TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Gross amount
26,215
23,895
Provision for doubtful debt
(6,485)
(5,224)
Trade and other receivables
19,730
18,671
Rent and service charge receivables are non-interest-bearing and are typically due within thirty days (Note 34).
The receivables are due from local retail and business tenants.
Th
e following table sets forth the movement of our provision for doubtful debt:
(in € thousands)
FY 2023
FY 2022
As of January 1
5,224
7,783
Movement provision in P&L
4,571
4,121
Write-off doubtful debt
(3,438)
(6,547)
Other
106
(3)
Exchange gain (loss)
22
(130)
As of December 31
6,485
5,224
19. OTHER CURRENT ASSETS
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Prepayments
1
4,616
3,997
Receivables from tax authorities other than VAT
3,164
1,321
Other current assets
2
11,942
2,944
Other current assets
19,722
8,262
1 As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, Receivables from tax authorities other than VAT consists of prepaid income taxes for 2023 and 2022, respectively.
2 Other current assets includes inventories, recoverable VAT and other. The increase during the year ended December 31, 2023 is mainly attributable to the
reclassification of a €9.6 million receivable resulting from the sale of one of our Dutch properties formerly presented as other non-current assets (Note 17).
20. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
Cash and cash equivalents primarily consist of cash and cash on deposit. Short-term deposits are made for
varying periods of between one week and three months, depending on immediate cash requirements of the
Group, and earn interest at the respective short-term deposit rates.
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Cash at banks and on hand
64,292
77,629
Short-term deposits
193,826
9,716
Cash and cash equivalents
258,118
87,345
Th
ere are no cash and cash equivalents which are restricted from withdrawal or general corporate use as of
December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
218
21. ISSUED SHARE CAPITAL
As of December 31, 2022, the share capital of the Company as presented in the statement of financial position
of €63,610,156 was represented by 89,131,131 ordinary shares of no par value that all have been fully paid up.
On November 14, 2023, the Group issued 8,163,265 new ordinary shares settled in cash at a subscription price
per share of €36,75. Of the €299,999,989 subscription price, €5,825,872 has been allocated to share capital and
the remainder has been allocated to share premium.
During 2023, the Group issued 17,500 new shares to satisfy the exercise of stock options under the Group’s 2018
stock option plan. Of the €402,500 subscription price, €12,490 has been allocated to share capital and the
remainder has been allocated to share premium.
As of December 31, 2023, the share capital of the Company as presented in the statement of financial position
of €69,448,518 is represented by 97,311,896 ordinary shares that all have been fully paid up.
22. SHARE PREMIUM
As of December 31, 2022, the share premium of the Company amounts to €540,087,442.
On November 14, 2023, in connection with the issuance of 8,163,265 new ordinary shares, the share premium
was increased by €294,174,117, representing the part of the subscription price of the issuance of new shares that
has not been allocated to share capital and reduced by €2,709,648 for equity issuance costs incurred. In addition,
on the transaction we incurred €213,637 cost for listing the new shares that has been expensed.
During 2023, in connection with the issuance of 17,500 new ordinary shares, the share premium was increased
by €390,010, representing the part of the subscription price of the issuance of new shares that has not been
allocated to share capital and reduced by €2,403 for equity issuance costs incurred.
As of December 31, 2023, the share premium of the Company amounts to €831,939,518.
The share capital account and the share premium account taken together constitute the "share capital account"
under section 294 of the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008.
23. SHARE-BASED PAYMENT RESERVE
As of December 31, 2022, the share-based payment reserve of the Company amounts to €8,561,867.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized a share-based compensation expense of €4,286,359
for our 2021 equity-settled share-based compensation plan in share-based payment reserve, and we allocated
€49,800 in deferred income tax liabilities to our share-based payment reserve.
As of December 31, 2023, the share-based payment reserve of the Company amounts to €12,798,426.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
219
24. DISTRIBUTABLE RESERVES AND DISTRIBUTIONS MADE
As of December 31, 2022, the Company’s distributable reserves are 146,277,202.
On May 10, 2023, the Annual Shareholders Meeting of Shurgard Self Storage Ltd allocated €430,850,000 retained
profits to the distributable reserves.
On May 24, 2023, the Company paid 52,58 7,368 dividend in connection with the distribution of a final dividend
of 2022 of €0.59 per outstanding share.
On October 5, 2023, the Company paid51,705,04 6 dividend in connection with the distribution of a half-year
dividend of 2023 of €0.58 per outstanding share.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company’s distributable reserves are 472,834,788.
25. NON-CONTROLLING INTERESTS
Non-controlling interests represent 5.2% ownership interests in our German subsidiaries First Shurgard
Deutschland GmbH and Second Shurgard Deutschland GmbH, which own in total 13 properties (13 properties at
the end of 2022) in Germany. We allocated €1.1 million and €1.3 million of net income to non-controlling interests
during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, based upon their respective interests in the
net income of the subsidiaries.
D
uring the period starting January 1, 2022 and ending December 31, 2023, there were no transactions with non-
controlling interests.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
220
26. INTEREST-BEARING LOANS AND BORROWINGS
(in € thousands) Effective Maturity
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
i
nterest rate
Non-current
Senior guaranteed notes issued July 2014
3.24%
July 24, 2024
100,000
100,000
Senior guaranteed notes issued July 2014
3.38%
July 24, 2026
100,000
100,000
Senior guaranteed notes issued June 2015
2.67%
June 25, 2025
130,000
130,000
Senior guaranteed notes issued June 2015
2.86%
June 25, 2027
110,000
110,000
Senior guaranteed notes issued June 2015
3.03%
June 25, 2030
60,000
60,000
Senior notes issued July 2021
1.28%
July 23, 2031
300,000
300,000
Nominal values
800,000
800,000
Less:
Unamortized balance of debt issuance cost on
notes issued
(1,609)
(2,020)
Borrowings as reported on statement of
financial position
798,391
797,980
The reported borrowings are presented as follows in our statement of financial position:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Borrowings as reported on statement of financial position
798,391
797,980
Non-current portion
698,441
797,980
Current portion
99,950
-
Weighted average cost of debt
2.36%
2.36%
N
OTES ISSUED
On July 24, 2014, the Group, via its financing entity Shurgard Luxembourg S.à.r.l., issued to certain European and
U.S. investors three tranches of senior guaranteed notes. The Company paid €2.3 million of placement and legal
fees and other expenses that are being amortized as interest expense using the effective interest method. As of
December 31, 2023, and 2022, the unamortized balances of the debt financing costs on the 2014 Issuance were
€0.2 million and €0.4 million, respectively.
On June 25, 2015, the Group, via its financing entity Shurgard Luxembourg S.à.r.l., issued to certain European and
U.S. investors three tranches of senior guaranteed notes. The Company paid €1.4 million of placement and legal
fees and other expenses that are being amortized as interest expense using the effective interest method. As of
December 31, 2023, and December 31, 2022, the unamortized balances of the debt financing costs on the 2015
Issuance were €0.4 million and €0.6 million, respectively.
On July 23, 2021, the Group, via its financing entity Shurgard Luxembourg S.à.r.l., issued new ten years Green
Notes for €300.0 million bearing fixed interest of 1.24% per annum (effective interest rate of 1.28% per annum).
The Company paid €1.2 million of placement and legal fees and other expenses that are being amortized as
interest expense using the effective interest method.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
221
As of December 31, 2023, and December 31, 2022, the unamortized balances of the debt financing costs on the
2021 Senior Notes Issuance was €1.0 million and €1.1 million, respectively.
T
he senior guaranteed notes (both principal amount and interest payments) are denominated in euro.
REVOLVING SYNDICATED LOAN FACILITY
As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company has access to a €250 million syndicated revolving
loan facility with BNP Paribas Fortis bank, Société Générale bank and Belfius bank (with BNP Paribas Fortis bank
as agent) with maturity of October 16, 2025, bearing interest of Euribor plus a margin varying between 0.45%
and 0.95% per annum dependent on the most recent loan-to-value ratio (the “RCF”). There are no mandatory
repayments of principal debt due for this facility before its maturity and a commitment fee of 35% of the
applicable margin (or 0.16% per annum for the period ended December 31, 2023 and the year ended December
31, 2022) applies to undrawn amounts.
As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had no outstanding borrowings under this facility.
During the period ended December 31, 2023, the Company incurred commitment fees of €398,125 on the
revolving syndicated loan facility (€400,313 in the year ended December 31, 2022). See Note 9.
SHELF NOTES FACILITY
On February 23, 2021, the Group entered into an uncommitted Shelf Note Facility for an amount of up to €250
million, which can be drawn during a three-year period. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the
Company had no outstanding borrowings under this facility.
TERM LOAN FACILITY
On April 28, 2023 and effective the same date, the Company, through its subsidiary Shurgard Luxembourg S.à.r.l.
entered into a committed €450 million term loan facility agreement with BNP Paribas Fortis Bank NV/SA (acting
also as agent), Belfius Bank SA/NV, ABN Amro Bank NV, KBC Bank NV/SA and Banque International à
Luxembourg SA with a maturity of three years, which can be extended at the option of the Company by an
additional period of up to two years (resulting in a maximum tenor of five years) subject to certain conditions
being met (including agreement of the lenders).
The Term Loan Facility is bearing interest of Euribor plus a margin varying between 1.20% and 1.75% per annum
dependent on the most recent loan-to-value ratio, or external rating, if any.
The term loan facility under the Facility Agreement is available for drawing by the Company for a period of 12
months as from signing.
T
he terms and conditions of the Facility Agreement are substantially based on the existing revolving facility
agreement entered into by the Company on September 26, 2018 (as amended from time to time) and otherwise
contain terms and conditions which are consistent with market practice.
The financial covenants and baskets are substantially aligned with the financial covenants and baskets included
in the note purchase agreement entered into by the Company on February 23, 2021 in connection with the US
private placement of senior notes due July 23, 2031.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
222
On October 2, 2023, the Company has drawn €160 million on the facility. The loan has been repaid on December
18, 2023 with the proceeds of the equity issuance (Note 21). As of December 31, 2023, our borrowing capacity
under the term loan facility is €290 million. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we incurred €2.6 million
interest on the borrowed amount.
As of December 31, 2023, we had no outstanding borrowings under this facility, and the commitment fee on the
undrawn amount was equal to 35% of the applicable margin, or 0.42%.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company incurred €2.6 million arrangement, commitment and
legal fees of which €0.8 million has been expensed in connection with the €160 million loan we early repaid, and
€1.8 million have been recorded as other non-current assets (Note 17), as the Group expects drawing on the
remainder of the facility in the foreseeable future.
P
ARENT GUARANTOR AND COVENANTS
The full and prompt performance and observance by Shurgard Luxembourg S.à.r.l. of all its obligations under the
2014, 2015 and 2021 note purchase agreements, the revolving syndicated loan facility and the term loan facility
is unconditionally guaranteed by Shurgard Self Storage Ltd as Parent Guarantor pursuant to the terms and
conditions provided for under the respective note purchase agreements.
The 2014, 2015 and 2021 Issuances, the revolving credit facility and the term loan facility are subject to certain
customary covenants, including senior leverage, fixed charge cover or fixed interest cover and unencumbered
asset value to total unsecured liabilities (2014 and 2015 Notes Issuances only) that we test for compliance on a
quarterly basis. As of December 31, 2023, and December 31, 2022, we are in compliance with all such covenants.
27. LEASES
Shurgard leases various investment properties with an aggregate fair value of €825.4 million as of December 31,
2023 (€703.2 million as of December 31, 2022).
The Company repaid in 2023 €4.3 million in lease liabilities, paid €3.6 million in interest expense on lease
liabilities and €0.4 million in lease amounts for contracts with maturity of less than one year and low-value
leases, representing a total cash outflow of 8.3 million (a total cash outflow of €7.8 million in 2022). The expense
relating to short-term leases, low value leases and variable lease payments not included in the measurement of
the lease liabilities is not material for 2023 or any future years for us. There are no material lease commitments
for leases not commenced at year-end.
T
he lease contracts where Shurgard is acting as lessor consist of month-to-month rental agreements that are
classified as operating leases. Rental revenues do not include material contingent rental income.
F
or the other relevant information regarding our leases, we refer to Notes 14 (for right-of-use assets classified
as investment property), 16 (for right-of-use assets classified as property, plant and equipment) and 27
(movement schedule of the lease liability).
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
223
28. ANALYSIS OF MOVEMENTS IN INTEREST-BEARING LOANS
AND BORROWINGS
The below tables provide an analysis of financial debt and movements in financial debt for each of the periods
presented.
Interest-bearing loans and
(in € thousands)
borrowings
Lease obligations
Total financial debt
January 1, 2022
797,579
88,368
885,947
Repayments of debt
-
(4,591)
(4,591)
Interest payments
(18,757)
(2,852)
(21,609)
Addition of lease obligations (net)
-
17,778
17,778
Non-cash movements
1
19,158
1,119
20,277
December 31, 2022
797,980
99,822
897,802
Interest-bearing loans and
(in € thousands)
borrowings
Lease obligations
Total financial debt
January 1, 2023
797,980
99,822
897,802
Draw down on term loan facility
160,000
-
160,000
Repayments of debt
(160,000)
(4,341)
(164,341)
Interest payments
(20,511)
(3,585)
(24,096)
Addition of lease obligations (net)
-
15,132
15,132
Non-cash movements
1
20,922
3,788
24,710
December 31, 2023
798,391
110,816
909,207
1 Non-cash movements for the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 mainly consist of accrued interest.
29. OTHER NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
Other non-current liabilities consist of VAT due after more than one year.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
224
30. TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES AND DEFERRED REVENUE
Trade and other payables and deferred revenue:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Accrued compensation and employee benefits
10,461
9,955
Accrued share-based compensation expense
1
411
510
Accounts payable (including accrued expenses)
61,730
56,072
Payables to affiliated companies
1,122
1,144
Deferred revenue contract liabilities
34,832
32,456
Accrued interest on notes issued and other external
2,033
1,820
borrowings
Other payables
2
7,585
4,574
Trade and other payables and deferred revenue
118,174
106,531
1 See Note 32.
2 Other payables consist of VAT payable and deposits received from customers.
31. PENSIONS
DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS
For each of the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Group incurred €1.2 million pension
plan expense. These amounts are included in property operating expenses or general, administrative and other
expenses in our consolidated statements of profit and loss.
The
Company operates a Belgian pension plan that while structured as a defined contribution plan requires to
be accounted for as a defined benefit plan in accordance with IAS 19.
Du
ring the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, we contributed €0.6 million and €0.5 million,
respectively, to a third-party insurance company. We expect to contribute in 2024 the same amount as in 2023.
The insurance company invests the majority of its funds in sovereign and corporate bonds and provides a
guaranteed investment return on these funds. Investment decisions are based on strategic asset allocation
studies and risk management best practices.
As of December 31, 2023, the defined benefit obligation amounted to €8.5 million (€6.8 million as of
December 31, 2022), offset by plan assets of €8.8 million as of December 31, 2023 (€7.0 million as of December
31, 2022).
For former plan participants with deferred pension rights, the defined benefit obligation equals plan assets. The
weighted average assumptions used to determine net benefit obligations for our pension plans were as follows :
(in € thousands) December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022
Discount rate 3.20% 3.70%
Inflation 2.20% 2.20%
Rate of salary increases 3.20% 3.20%
Mortality tables MR-5/FR-5 MR-5/FR-5
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
225
32. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE
Under various share option plans, the Group granted to a number of employees stock options of the parent entity.
The exercise prices equal the fair values of the share at the respective grant dates. The terms of these grants
were established by our Board of Directors:
U
nder the 2017 long-term incentive plan, the stock options vested ratably over a four-year period
and expire ten years after the grant date.
Stock options granted under the 2018 equity compensation plan had a three-year cliff vesting
period and expire ten years after the grant date.
Stock options granted under the 2021 equity compensation plan have a two-stage vesting period
with (i) 60% of the stock options vesting after three years after the date they are being offered;
and (ii) the remaining 40% of the stock options will vest after a period of five years after the date
they are being offered. They expire ten years after the grant date.
N
one of the share-based compensation plans have performance conditions and all plans are accounted for as
equity-settled awards and do not contain any cash settlement alternatives. Further details are described in the
Remuneration Report on page 154 and following.
The following weighted average assumptions were used to determine the fair value of the options that are
outstanding as of December 31, 2023 for the options granted under the 2017 and 2018 plans:
2017 grants
2018 grants
Estimated fair value of Shurgard shares
€23.00
€26.50
Expected volatility
20.00%
20.00%
Risk free interest rate
-0.08%
0.11%
Expected remaining term (in years)
6.0
7.0
Dividend yield
-
3.68%
Expected forfeiture rate per annum
5.00%
5.00%
Fair value per option
€2.35
€3.45
The following weighted average assumptions were used to determine the fair value of the options that are
outstanding as of December 31, 2023 for the options granted under the 2021 plan in August and September 2021:
August 2021 August 2021 Sept. 2021 Sept. 2021
3-yr vesting
5-yr vesting
3-yr vesting
5-yr vesting
Estimated fair value of Shurgard Europe shares
€50.80
€50.80
€53.00
€53.00
Expected volatility
20.00%
20.00%
20.00%
20.00%
Risk free interest rate
-0.58%
-0.05%
-0.23%
-0.02%
Expected remaining term (in years)
7.0
8.0
7.0
8.0
Dividend yield
2.30%
2.30%
2.21%
2.21%
Expected forfeiture rate per annum
5.00%
5.00%
5.00%
5.00%
Fair value per option
€8.42
9.05
€8.33
€8.67
On July 18, 2022, the Company granted 19,000 options under the 2021 equity compensation plan at an exercise
price of €46.81 (the ‘’2022 option grants’’).
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
226
W
e used the following weighted average assumptions to determine the fair value of the 2022 option grants as
of December 31, 2023:
July 2022 July 2022
3-yr vesting 5-yr vesting
Estimated fair value of Shurgard Europe shares
€42.90
€42.90
Expected volatility
20.00%
20.00%
Risk free interest rate
1.77%
1.79%
Expected remaining term (in years)
7.0
8.0
Dividend yield
2.73%
2.73%
Expected forfeiture rate per annum
5.00%
5.00%
Fair value per option
€5.39
€5.65
For all plans, we incurred €4.2 million and €3.9 million in share-based compensation expense, including social
security charges in the periods ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The year-on year increase is explained by €0.4 increased employers’ social security cost due to the increase of
the intrinsic value of the share options, partially offset by €0.1 million decreased gross share option expense.
The €0.4 million and €0.5 million liabilities, respectively, for share-based compensation as of December 31, 2023
and December 31, 2022 consists of an accrual for employers’ share in social security.
As of December 31, 2023, and December 31, 2022, we had €4.4 million, and €8.1 million, respectively, of
unrecognized share-based compensation expense, net of estimated pre-vesting forfeitures, related to unvested
option awards. For the periods ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the weighted average
remaining vesting period of our share options was 1.1 and 2.3 years, respectively.
T
he following table sets forth the number of share options granted, forfeited, exercised and outstanding at
December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022:
2023 2022
Number of
Weighted
Number of Weighted
options
average exercise
options average exercise
price price (a)
Outstanding, January 1 2,641,800 €37.44
2,727,500
36.81
Granted (a)
-
-
19,000
46.81
Forfeited (b)
(29,000)
€43.05
(9,000)
€43.05
Exercised (c)
(17,500)
€23.00
(95,700)
€22.26
Outstanding, December 31
2,595,300
€37.48
2,641,800
€37.44
Exercisable, December 31
763,300
€22.78
780,800
€22.79
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
227
T
he following table summarizes information about our share options outstanding as of December 31, 2023 under
the 2017, 2018 and 2021 plans:
As of December 31, 2023
Options outstanding
Options exercisable
Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted
Fair value Number of average average Number average average
Year of grant per option at Options exercise remaining of exercise remaining
grant date price contractual Options price contractual
life life
2017
€2.35
112,300
€21.51
3.5 years
112,300
€21.51
3.5 years
2018
€3.45
651,000
23.00
4.9 years
651,000
€23.00
4.9 years
2021-August-3 yr.
€8.42
967,800
€43.05
7.6 years
-
-
-
2021-August-5 yr.
€9.05
645,200
€43.05
7.6 years
-
-
-
2021-September-3 yr.
€8.33
120,000
€47.75
7.7 years
-
-
-
2021-September-5 yr.
€8.67
80,000
€47.75
7.7 years
-
-
-
2022-July-3 yr.
€5.39
11,400
€46.81
8.6 years
-
-
-
2022-July-5 yr.
€5.65
7,600
€46.81
8.6 years
-
-
-
2,595,300
€37.48
6.7 years
763,300
€22.78
4.7 years
33. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
SUBSIDIARIES
Interests in subsidiaries are set out in Note 38.
K
EY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL COMPENSATION
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Short term employee benefits
3,484
3,273
Post-employment benefits
105
116
Share-based payments
2,825
2,833
Total
6,414
6,222
Key management personnel consists of the members of the Executive Committee.
In addition, the Company incurred in the year ended December 31, 2023 €0.8 million expense for the provision
of services by non-executive board members that were provided by separate management entities (€0.8 million
in the year ended December 31, 2022).
TRANSACTIONS WITH OTHER RELATED PARTIES
As of December 31, 2023, the Group had two significant shareholders: Public Storage (“PS”), which owned directly
and indirectly in total 35.1% of the interest in Shurgard and the New York State Common Retirement Fund
(“NYSCRF”), which held directly and indirectly 33.4%.
We pay PS a royalty fee equal to 1.0% of our pro rata equity share of revenues in exchange for the rights to use
the “Shurgard” trade name and other services. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31,
2022, we incurred royalty fees of €3.5 million and €3.3 million, respectively.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
228
D
uring the years ending December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 there were no transactions with NYSCRF.
W
e also refer to Note 25 in respect of the non-controlling interest held by the two main shareholders in certain
subsidiaries in Germany.
O
UTSTANDING BALANCES ARISING FROM TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PARTIES
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, trade and other payables and deferred revenue include short-term cash
advances payable to Public Storage totaling €0.9 million and €0.9 million, respectively, comprised primarily of
royalty fees incurred during each of the three months ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.
W
e also refer to Note 25 in respect of the non-controlling interest held by the two main shareholders in certain
subsidiaries in Germany.
S
everal of the Group’s subsidiaries provide post-employment benefit plans for the benefit of employees of the
Group. Payments made to these plans and receivables from and payables to these plans have been disclosed, if
any, in Note 31.
34. FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES
This note explains the Company’s exposure to financial risks and how these risks could affect the Company’s
future financial performance.
T
he Company has tenant and other receivables, trade and other payables, deferred revenue and cash and cash
equivalents that arise directly from its operations. The Company’s principal financial liabilities consist of loans
and borrowings, as well as trade and other payables. The main purpose of the Company’s loans and borrowings
is to finance the acquisition and development of the Company’s property portfolio.
T
he Group is exposed to market risk, credit risk and liquidity risks:
M
arket risk is the risk that the fair value or future cash flows of a financial instrument fluctuates
due to change in market prices and can be broken down into interest rate, currency and other price
(e.g., equity or commodity) risks; Not all these risks are relevant to the Group, which is mainly
exposed to foreign currency risks. The Group is currently not exposed to significant interest rate
risk, as it does not have any long-term debt with variable interest rates;
Credit risk is the risk that one party to an agreement will cause a financial loss to another party
by failing to discharge its obligation. For Shurgard, credit risk mainly covers its tenant receivables
and financing activities, which include cash and cash equivalents with banks and financial
institutions;
Liquidity risks include the risk that the Group will encounter difficulties in raising financing and in
meeting payment obligations when they come due.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
229
The
Company’s risk management is carried out by senior management, under policies approved by the Board of
Directors. The Board of Directors provides written principles for overall risk management, as well as policies
covering specific areas, such as foreign exchange risk, real estate risk and credit risk, the use of derivative and
non-derivative financial instruments and investment of excess liquidity. The Board of Directors reviews and
agrees policies for managing each of these risks which are summarized below.
FORE
IGN EXCHANGE RISK
We publish our financial statements in euros, however, we record revenue, expenses, assets and liabilities in
several different currencies other than the euro, more specifically, the UK Pound Sterling (GBP), the Swedish
Krona (SEK) and the Danish Krone (DKK). Assets and liabilities denominated in local currencies are translated
into euros at exchange rates prevailing at the balance sheet date and revenues and expenses are translated at
average exchange rates over the relevant period. Consequently, variations in the exchange rate of the euro versus
these other currencies will affect the amount of these items in our consolidated financial statements, even if
their value remains unchanged in their original currency. We implement policies to protect against exchange rate
risk only when required to do so by covenants contained in our debt agreements. These translations have resulted
in the past and could result in the future in changes to our results of operations, balance sheet and cash flows
from period to period.
A breakdown of the foreign exchange related amounts recognized in profit or loss and comprehensive income
can be found in Note 9 and in the Consolidated statements of changes in equity, respectively.
The main statement of financial position items exposed to foreign exchange risk are cash and cash equivalents,
trade and other receivables, other current and non-current assets, trade and other payables and deferred
revenue, lease obligations and other non-current liabilities.
As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the net assets (liabilities) exposure on our consolidated
statement of financial position is as follows:
(in € thousands)
EUR
GBP
SEK
DKK
Total
As of December 31, 2023
193,900
(65,488)
6,588
41,012
176,012
As of December 31, 2022
173,616
(57,122)
(342)
25,116
141,268
The following table presents the sensitivity analysis of the year end statement of financial position balances in
EUR in case the euro would weaken by 10% versus the GBP, SEK and DKK, respectively:
(in € thousands)
FY 2023
FY 2022
GBP denominated
Changes in carrying amount of monetary assets and liabilities
1
6,549
5712
SEK denominated
Changes in carrying amount of monetary assets and liabilities
1
(659)
34
DKK denominated
Changes in carrying amount of monetary assets and liabilities
1
(4,101)
(2,512)
1 These are increases in net liabilities.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
230
C
REDIT RISK
Credit risk from balances with banks and financial institutions is managed by the Company’s senior management
in accordance with the Company’s policy. Investments of surplus funds are made only with approved
counterparties with a minimum investment grade credit rating. The Company’s maximum exposure to credit risk
for the balances with banks and financial institutions as of December 31, 2023 is the carrying value of the cash
and cash equivalents.
Cr
edit risk is managed by requiring tenants to pay rentals in advance. The maximum exposure to credit risk at
the reporting date is the carrying value of each class of financial asset. There are no significant concentrations
of credit risk, whether through exposure to individual customers or regions.
The Group applies the IFRS 9 simplified approach to measure its expected credit losses, which uses a lifetime
expected loss allowance for all lease receivables.
Loss allowances are recognized in profit or loss within real estate operating expense. Subsequent recoveries of
amounts previously provided for are offset against the previously recognized loss on debtors within real estate
operating expense.
S
et out below is the information about the credit risk exposure on our trade receivables using a provision matrix:
December 31, 2022
(in € thousands)
Outstanding < 60 days
Past due > 60 days
Total
Expected credit loss rate
6.0%
73.2%
21.9%
Carrying amount
18,256
5,639
23,895
Expected credit loss
(1,095)
(4,129)
(5,224)
Net amount
17,161
1,510
18,671
December 31, 2023
(in € thousands)
Outstanding < 60 days
Past due > 60 days
Total
Expected credit loss rate
6.0%
76.8%
24.7%
Carrying amount
19,274
6,941
26,215
Expected credit loss
(1,156)
(5,329)
(6,485)
Net amount
18,118
1,612
19,730
L
ease receivables are written off when there is no reasonable expectation of recovery. Indicators that there is no
reasonable expectation of recovery include among others:
Significant financial difficulties of the debtor; and
Probability that the debtor will enter bankruptcy or financial reorganization.
T
he other classes within trade and other receivables and other current assets do not contain impaired assets
and are not past due. It is expected that these amounts will be received when due. The Company does not hold
any collateral in relation to these receivables.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
231
LIQU
IDITY RISK
Prudent liquidity risk management implies maintaining sufficient cash and marketable securities and the
availability of funding through an adequate amount of committed credit facilities to meet obligations when due.
The Company maintains flexibility in funding by maintaining availability under committed credit lines.
The o
perating activities of our subsidiaries and the resulting cash inflows are the main source of liquidity. Our
cash pooling system enables us to benefit from surplus funds of certain subsidiaries to cover the financial
requirements of other subsidiaries. We invest surplus cash in current accounts and short-term cash equivalents,
selecting instruments with appropriate maturities or sufficient liquidity.
Man
agement monitors rolling forecasts of the Company’s liquidity reserve (comprising the undrawn credit
facilities listed below) and cash and cash equivalents (see Note 20) on the basis of expected cash flows.
The Company has access to the following undrawn borrowing facilities at the end of the reporting period:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Expiring within one year (floating rate)
540,000
(
1
)
-
Expiring beyond one year (floating rate)
250,000
(
2
)
500,000 (
Total
790,000
500,000
3
)
1 The amount consists of the undrawn amount on the TLF (€290 million) and the uncommitted Shelf Note Facility for an amount of up to €250 million.
2 The amount consists of the RCF.
3 The amount consists of the RCF (€250 million) and the uncommitted Shelf Note Facility for the same amount.
CON
TRACTUAL MATURITIES OF FINANCIAL LIABILITIES ON DECEMBER 31, 2022
The tables below analyze the Company’s financial liabilities based on their contractual maturities.
Total
(in € thousands)
Less than one
Between one contractual
year
and five years
Over five years
cash flows
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
18,707
488,892
380,190
887,789
Lease liabilities
7,203
27,086
740,574
774,863
(
1
)
Trade and other payables
106,531
-
-
106,531
Total
132,441
515,978
1,120,764
1,769,183
1 The
material variances between the lease liabilities the Company carries in its consolidated statement of financial position and the contractual maturities
presented in the above table are explained by the perpetual character of certain of our Dutch and Swedish real estate leases.
CON
TRACTUAL MATURITIES OF FINANCIAL LIABILITIES ON DECEMBER 31, 2023
Total
(in € thousands)
Less than one
Between one contractual
year
and five years
Over five years
cash flows
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
115,930
382,193
366,703
864,826
Lease liabilities
7,692
28,646
775,377
811,715
(
1
)
Trade and other payables
118,174
-
-
118,174
Total
241,796
410,839
1,142,080
1,794,715
1 The
material variances between the lease liabilities the Company carries in its consolidated statement of financial position and the contractual maturities
presented in the above table are explained by the perpetual character of certain of our Dutch and Swedish real estate leases.
The
amounts disclosed in the table are the contractual undiscounted cash flows (including interest payments) .
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
232
FA
IR VALUES
Management has assessed that the fair values of cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables, trade
and other payables approximate their carrying amounts largely due to the short-term maturities of these
instruments.
Se
t out below is a comparison of the carrying amounts and fair value of the Company’s guaranteed notes, which
have a fixed interest rate:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Carrying value
798,391
797,980
Fair values
744,677
684,878
The following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair values:
The fair values of our senior guaranteed notes (level 2) consist of the discounted value of principal
amounts and any future interest payments;
The discount rates used take into account the various maturities of the notes issued and are based
on risk-free interest rates plus spreads that are in line with market spreads for private placements
as of the respective reporting dates.
35. CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
The Group’s Executive Committee reviews the capital structure on an ongoing basis. The primary objective of the
Group’s capital management is to ensure that it complies with its covenants. The Group targets a loan-to-value
ratio of around 25% with the flexibility to go up to a short- to mid-term maximum amount up to 35%. The
Company reviews each reporting period the appropriateness of the loan-to-value ratio. The Company is currently
satisfied with its current loan-to-value ratio and the applicable covenants. For all periods disclosed, we are in
compliance with the covenants.
Th
e table below provides an overview of the evolution of the loan-to-value ratio as of December 31, 2023 and
December 31, 2022.
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Net financial debt
652,698
812,477
Investment property and investment property under construction (Note
5,035,770
4,523,789
14)
Loan-to-value ratio
13.0%
18.0%
Net financial debt is composed as follows:
(in € thousands)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Carrying value of interest-bearing loans and borrowings (Note 26)
798,391
797,980
Unamortized portion of debt financing cost (Note 26)
1,609
2,020
Carrying value of lease obligations (Note 28)
110,816
99,822
Cash and cash equivalents (Note 20)
(258,118)
(87,345)
Net financial debt
652,698
812,477
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
233
36. INSURANCE AND LOSS EXPOSURE
We have historically obtained third-party insurance coverage for property/business interruption and general
liability, through internationally recognized insurance carriers, subject to deductibles. Additionally, we bind
coverage for our cyber and terrorism risk, as well as any local compulsory insurances, such as workers
compensation or strict liability in Belgium.
E
xcept for the local insurance policies, coverage was searched for by means of international programs, insuring
all affiliates of the Company. When acquiring a new location, our aim is to integrate the cover as soon as possible
and economically justified in our insurance programs.
B
esides insurance policies covering our own risks, we carry coverage for the risk of our tenants, via a tenant
insurance program. This program provides insurance to certificate holders (tenants) against claims for property
losses due to perils to goods stored by tenants at our self-storage facilities. Any advice and claims regarding
customer insurance are handled directly by our insurance broker/insurer.
T
he Group manages its insurable risks relating to property damage, business interruption (“PDBI”) and customer
goods-related claims through a combination of self-insurance and commercial insurance coverage. For this, the
Group uses a reinsurance undertaking.
I
n line with this assumption, no division for profitability is necessary. Where required, Shurgard registered as an
insurance intermediary for regulatory purposes.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company paid €0.2 million (€0.2 million during the year ended
December 31, 2022) insurance acquisition expense to a third-party insurance company in connection with its re-
insurance undertaking.
G
ENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE
Our insurance deductible for general liability insurance is €2,500 per occurrence. Insurance carriers’ limit is
€5.0 million. In case claims exceed the policy limit, we benefit from excess coverage up to US$100.0 million, or
approximately €85.6 million at the December 31, 2023 exchange rate, under the Public Storage general liability
program. As such, our insurance limit is higher than estimates of maximum probable losses that could occur
from individual catastrophic events determined in recent engineering and actuarial studies; however, in case of
multiple catastrophic events, these limits could be exceeded.
C
USTOMER GOODS
The income Shurgard earns for extending to its tenants the insurance coverage of the umbrella agreement with
an external insurance company qualifies as revenue in the scope of IFRS 15. This is due to the fact that the
contracts between Shurgard and the tenant do not transfer significant insurance risk between these two parties,
rather the insurance risk is transferred from the tenant to the external insurance company.
For this, the Group has entered into an insurance contract with an external insurance company that provides full
insurance coverage for goods stored to our customers, except for a deductible of €250 for certain perils, which
are at charge of the tenant, and a deductible of €5.0 million per year at charge of Shurgard that is re-insured by
Shurgard’s captive entity. The remaining risks reside with the external insurer (with an annual limit of €7.5 million
in excess of the €5.0 million deductible).
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
234
For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, fee income earned from customer goods insurance was €33. 7
million and €32.1 million, respectively.
Simultaneously, Shurgard, through its captive re-insurance entity, entered into a re-insurance agreement wit h
the external insurance company. This arrangement is in the scope of IFRS 17.
Through this agreement, the external insurance company cedes to our captive certain insurance risk in lieu for a
re-insurance premium of €2.8 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. For the yea r
ended December 31, 2023, the Group accounted for re-insurance service expense of €2.0 million (€2.2 million fo r
the year ended December 31, 2022), consisting of claim charges of €1.6 million (€1.9 million for the year ende d
December 31, 2022), as well as fronting and handling fees of €0.4 million (€0.3 million for the year ende d
December 31, 2022).
Captive re-insurance revenue and captive insurance service expense are included in other operating expenses i n
real estate operating expense.
Relevant quantitative disclosures for our re-insurance activities are as follows for the year ende d
December 31, 2022:
(in € thousands)
Liabilities remaining
Liabilities for
coverage
incurred claims
Total
-
-
-
Opening liabilities
-
644
644
Net opening balance
-
644
644
Changes in the statement of profit or loss and
Insurance revenue
1
(2,836)
-
(2,836)
Insurance service expenses
Incurred claims and other insurance service -
2,125
2,125
Amortization of insurance acquisition cash flows
105
-
105
Insurance service result
(2,731)
2,125
(606)
Total changes in the statement of profit and
Cash flows
(2,731)
2,125
(606)
Premiums received
2,836
2,836
Insurance acquisition cash flows
(105)
(105)
Claims and other insurance service expenses paid
-
(1,207)
(1,207)
Total cash flows
2,731
(1,207)
1,524
Closing assets
-
-
-
Closing liabilities
-
1,562
1,562
Net closing balance
-
1,562
1,562
1 In
surance revenue relates revenue from accepted reinsurance contracts.
The expense we incurred during the year ended December 31, 2022 in connection with our reinsuranc e
undertaking consists of the following:
(in € thousands) December 31, 2022
Incurred claims customer goods
1,911
Insurance service expenses
214
Amortization of insurance acquisition cash flow
105
Total expense
2,230
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
235
Relevant quantitative disclosures for our re-insurance activities are as follows for the period ended December
31, 2023:
(in € thousands)
Liabilities remaining
Liabilities for
coverage
incurred claims
Total
Opening assets
-
-
-
Opening liabilities
-
1,562
1,562
Net opening balance
-
1,562
1,562
Changes in the statement of profit or loss and
OCI
Insurance revenue
1
(2,836)
-
(2,836)
Insurance service expenses
Incurred claims and other insurance service
-
1,889
1,889
Amortization of insurance acquisition cash flows
105
-
105
Insurance service result
(2,731)
1,889
(842)
Total changes in the statement of profit and
Cash flows
(2,731)
1,889
(842)
Premiums received
2,836
-
2,836
Insurance acquisition cash flows
(105)
-
(105)
Claims and other insurance service expenses paid
-
(1,647)
(1,647)
Total cash flows
2,731
(1,647)
1,084
Closing assets
-
-
-
Closing liabilities
-
1,804
1,804
Net closing balance
-
1,804
1,804
1 In
surance revenue relates revenue from accepted reinsurance contracts.
The expense we incurred during the year ended December 31, 2023 in connection with our reinsurance
undertaking consists of the following:
(in € thousands) December 31, 2023
Incurred claims customer goods
1,566
Insurance service expenses
323
Amortization of insurance acquisition cash flow
105
Total expense
1,994
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
236
P
ROPERTY DAMAGE AND BUSINESS INTERRUPTION
The Property Damage and Business Interruption (“PDBI”) insurance program consists of a combination of
reinsurance activities through the Company’s captive and insurance through a third-party insurer.
T
hrough our captive, we cover the damages to our properties up to €3.5 million per occurrence and €7.0 million
in annual aggregate. In the event of Dutch Flood we cover the damages to our properties located in the
Netherlands up to €5.0 million per occurrence and €5.0 million in annual aggregate. All claims exceeding these
amounts are covered by the external insurance provider up to € 25 million per occurrence. The deductible is
€100,000 per occurrence.
T
he ceding of property and business Interruption risk between Shurgard and its re-insurance captive qualifies as
self-insurance, hence it is not in scope of IFRS 17.
37. CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE COMMITMENTS
As of December 31, 2023, we had €18.2 million (€18.6 million as of December 31, 2022) of outstanding capital
expenditure commitments under contract in regard to certain self-storage facilities under construction.
CONTINGENT LOSSES
We are a party to various legal proceedings and subject to various claims and complaints; however, we believe
that the likelihood of these contingencies resulting in a material loss to the Company, either individually or in
the aggregate, is remote.
IN
COME TAX
The Group operates in multiple jurisdictions with often complex legal and tax regulatory environments. Shurgard
considers the income tax positions to be supportable and are intended to withstand challenge from tax
authorities. However, the Group continues to be subject to tax audits in the various jurisdictions it conducts
business and the outcome of these audits and the conclusions drawn by the tax authorities are not certain and
therefore it is inherent that some of the positions taken by the Group are uncertain and include interpretations
of complex tax laws which could be disputed by tax authorities.
Shurgard regularly assesses these positions individually on their technical merits with no offset or aggregation
between positions, using all the information available (legislation, case law, regulations, established practice and
authoritative tax guidance). The Group has established tax liabilities that it believes are adequate for the
exposures identified. These liabilities have been estimated by the Group as the best estimate of the current tax
it expects to pay using its best estimate of the likely outcomes of such examinations. These estimates are based
on facts and circumstances existing at the end of the reporting period and assume full access of the tax
authorities to all relevant facts and circumstances.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
38. LIST OF CONSOLIDATED ENTITIES
As of December 31, 2023
As of December 31, 2022
Country of % %
incorporation Consolidated Ownership Consolidated Ownership
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd
1
Luxembourg
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Luxembourg S.à.r.l.
1
Luxembourg
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Holding Luxembourg S.à.r.l.
1
Luxembourg
Yes
100
Yes
100
Eirene RE S.A.
2
Luxembourg
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Belgium NV
Belgium
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Europe VOF
Belgium
Yes
100
Yes
100
Second Shurgard Belgium BV
Belgium
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard France SAS
France
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Nederland B.V.
The Netherlands
Yes
100
Yes
100
VMK5 BV
The Netherlands
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Germany GmbH
Germany
Yes
100
Yes
100
First Shurgard Deutschland GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
94.8
Yes
94.8
Second Shurgard Deutschland GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
94.8
Yes
94.8
Shurgard Germany ZL MU GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Germany ZL LH GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Germany ZL FER GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Denmark ApS
Denmark
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard UK Ltd
UK
Yes
100
Yes
100
Second Shurgard UK Ltd
UK
Yes
100
Yes
100
Second Shurgard UK Camberley Ltd
UK
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard UK West-London Ltd
UK
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Sweden AB
Sweden
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Storage Centers Sweden KB
Sweden
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Sweden Årstaberg KB
Sweden
Yes
100
Yes
100
First Shurgard Sweden Invest KB
Sweden
Yes
100
Yes
100
Second Shurgard Sweden Invest KB
Sweden
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Sweden Stockholm Invest AB
Sweden
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Sweden RE FUB AB
3
Sweden
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Sweden RE TF AB
3
Sweden
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Sweden RE LH AB
3
Sweden
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Sweden GC AB
3
Sweden
Yes
100
Yes
100
Shurgard Germany TBIH GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
No
-
Shurgard Germany SSMH GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
No
-
Shurgard Germany TBW GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
No
-
Shurgard Germany TBD GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
No
-
Shurgard Germany TBM GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
No
-
Shurgard Germany TBK GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
No
-
Shurgard Germany TBE GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
No
-
Shurgard Germany TBL GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
No
-
Shurgard Germany TB8F GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
No
-
Shurgard Germany TB7K GmbH
3
Germany
Yes
100
No
-
1 Holding an
d/or financing company with no operating activities.
2 Re-insurance entity incorporated in December 2020.
3 These German and Swedish entities make use of an exemption that is based on company size and ownership criteria, and consequently do not file stand-
alone annual accounts.
237
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
238
39. EVENTS AFTER THE REPORTING PERIOD
We have evaluated subsequent events through February 28, 2024, which is the date the financial statements
were available for issuance.
O
n February 6, 2024, the Company announced the extension of its existing German portfolio with the acquisition
of Pickens Self-storage for a total cash consideration of €120.0 million. The transaction consists of three freehold
properties located in Berlin, representing 17,600 net Sqm, and three freehold properties in Hamburg representing
13,700 net Sqm (a total of 31,300 Sqm) and improves Shurgard’s position in Germany to second, both in footprint
and number of properties.
S
hurgard signed this transaction at the end of December 2023, conditional to customary receipt of pre-emption
waivers for each of the properties. The Group expects to obtain all waivers by April 2024 at the latest.
239
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
REPORT
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
240
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF SHURGARD
SELF STORAGE LIMITED
REPORT ON THE AUDIT OF THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
OPINION
We have audited the consolidated financial statements of Shurgard Self Storage Limited and its subsidiaries (the
Group), which comprise the consolidated statement of financial position as at December 31, 2023, and the
consolidated statement of profit and loss, consolidated statement of comprehensive income, consolidated
statement of changes in equity and consolidated statement of cash flows for the year then ended, and notes to
the consolidated financial statements, including material accounting policy information.
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated financial statements:
give a true and fair view of the consolidated financial position of the Group as at December 31,
2023, and of its consolidated financial performance and its consolidated cash flows for the year
then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)
as adopted by the European Union;
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008.
BASIS FOR OPINION
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and applicable law. Our
responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the
Consolidated Financial Statements section of our report. We are independent of the Group in accordance with the
ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements as required by the Crown
Dependencies’ Audit Rules and Guidance, as applied to Guernsey incorporated Market Traded Companies, and we
have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit
evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
KEY AUDIT MATTERS
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of
the consolidated financial statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of our
audit of the consolidated financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not
provide a separate opinion on these matters.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
241
Risk
How the matter was addressed in the audit
Valuation of investment property and
investment property under
construction
(Investment property: 2023: €4,930
million, 2022: €4,470 million. Investment
property under construction: 2023: €106
million, 2022: €54 million.)
Refer to material accounting policy
information (note 3), significant
judgements and estimates (note 4) and
notes 14 and 15 of the consolidated
financial statements.
The valuation is assessed at each
balance sheet date by an independent
external valuation firm using a
discounted cash flow model for each
property. The valuer makes use of inputs
on each property provided by
management such as store occupancy,
net rent and operating expenses per
square metre based on historical data.
The valuation process requires
significant judgement and use of
estimates by the external valuer and
management. Any input inaccuracies or
unreasonable bases used in these
judgements could result in a material
misstatement of the valuation of
investment property and investment
property under construction.
• We obtained an understanding of the Group’s processes and
controls over property valuations by performing walkthrough
procedures and evaluating the implementation and design
effectiveness of controls;
• We evaluated the competence of the Group’s external valuers,
Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) which included consideration of
their qualifications and expertise;
• We met with C&W to challenge their valuation approach and the
judgements made in assessing the property valuations;
• We selected a sample of 27 properties (16% of the portfolio by
value) based on factors including value, risks, representation
across geographies and random selection. For this sample, EY
valuation specialists considered the property valuation to assess
whether the valuation was within a reasonable range relative to
available market evidence. The audit team tested the data (such
as rents and occupancy by property) provided by management to
the external valuers for consistency with other information gained
during the audit;
• We assessed and challenged how C&W determined the impact
of climate related factors on the underlying valuations and
compared this to management’s climate impact assessments and
commitments;
• We conducted analytical procedures with support from EY
valuation specialists on the remainder of the portfolio by
assessing the reasonableness of valuation movements by
reference to market data and other information gained during the
audit;
• We assessed the adequacy of the disclosures of estimates and
valuation assumptions in notes 14 and 15 in order to determine
that they were made in accordance with IFRS 13 Fair Value
Measurement.
• We performed audit procedures specifically designed to address
the risk of management influence and the override of controls in
the valuation of investment property. This included making
inquiries of the external valuer, assessing the data used in the
valuation for consistency with other evidence gained during the
audit and performing journal entry testing on entries which
impact the valuation of investment property and investment
property under construction.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
242
Risk of management override of
controls in revenue recognition:
(Rental revenue of €312m (2022:
€289m) included within real estate
operating revenue 2023: €358 million,
2022: €335 million)
Refer to material accounting policy
information (note 3) and note 5 of the
consolidated financial statements.
Auditing Standards include a
presumption that there will be a risk of
fraud in revenue recognition on all
audits. Market expectations and profit
based targets may place pressure on
management to distort revenue
recognition. This may result in
overstatement of revenues to assist in
meeting current or future targets or
expectations.
Given the extent to which IT supports
the flow of transactions, we have
assessed that the risk is focused on the
manual intervention/override by
management with respect to data input
and price changes impacting the correct
recognition of revenue at year-end.
• We obtained an understanding of the Group’s revenue
recognition processes and performed testing of controls linked to
rental income recognition including IT automated controls. We
evaluated the implementation and design effectiveness of these
controls;
• We selected a sample of customers’ rental contracts, agreeing
the key terms to the revenue recognised for the customer during
the year;
• We performed analytical procedures on 100% of rental income
recognised during the year, setting expectations based on number
of square metres rented out and average rental rate per square
metre;
• We selected a sample of revenue transactions to ensure that
revenue transactions are recorded in the correct accounting
period;
• We performed correlation analysis and cash anchor testing to
follow the flow of transactions between revenue being recognised
and cash being collected;
• We performed audit procedures specifically designed to address
the risk of management override of controls including journal
entry testing, which included a particular focus on journal entries
which impact revenue.
OTHER INFORMATION
The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included
in the annual report but does not include the consolidated financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon.
Our opinion on the consolidated financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express
any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the consolidated financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other
information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the
consolidated financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially
misstated. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this
other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTORS AND OF THOSE CHARGED WITH GOVERNANCE FOR THE CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The directors are responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements
in accordance with IFRSs, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the
preparation of consolidated financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud
or error.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
243
In preparing the consolidated financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the Group’s ability
to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going
concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or
has no realistic alternative but to do so.
AUDITOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE AUDIT OF THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements as a
whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that
includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit
conducted in accordance with ISAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can
arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be
expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated financial
statements.
As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional
skepticism throughout the audit. We also:
Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements,
whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and
obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk
of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from
error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the
override of internal control.
Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures
that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the
effectiveness of the Group’s internal control.
Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting
estimates and related disclosures made by the directors.
Conclude on the appropriateness of director’s use of the going concern basis of accounting and,
based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or
conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern. If
we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s
report to the related disclosures in the consolidated financial statements or, if such disclosures are
inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to
the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the Group to cease
to continue as a going concern.
Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the consolidated financial statements,
including the disclosures, and whether the consolidated financial statements represent the
underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or
business activities within the Group to express an opinion on the consolidated financial statements.
We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the group audit. We remain
solely responsible for our audit opinion.
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and
timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we
identify during our audit.
We also provide those charged with governance with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical
requirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
244
may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, actions taken to eliminate threats
or safeguards applied.
We are also responsible for directing, supervising and performing the audits of the subsidiaries. In this respect
we have determined the nature and extent of the audit procedures to be carried out for group entities.
From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were of
most significance in the audit of the consolidated financial statements of the current period and are therefore
the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor’s report unless law or regulation precludes public
disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter should not be
communicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to
outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.
REPORT ON OTHER LEGAL AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
European single electronic format (“ESEF”)
The Board of Directors is responsible for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements in the form of
an electronic file in ESEF format (“the digital consolidated financial statements”), with the regulatory technical
standards set by the European Delegated Regulation 2019/815 (“Delegated Regulation”), included in the annual
financial report.
It is our responsibility to obtain sufficient and appropriate supporting evidence to conclude that the format and
markup language of the digital consolidated financial statements comply in all material respects with the
Delegated Regulation.
We have checked the compliance of the digital consolidated financial statements of the Group as at 31 December
2023 with the regulatory technical standards set out in the Delegated Regulation that are applicable to the
consolidated financial statements.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements of the Group as at 31 December 2023, have been prepared,
in all material respects, in compliance with the ESEF requirements under the Delegated Regulation.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Section 262 of The Companies
(Guernsey) Law 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members
those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest
extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the
company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Daniel Saunders
For and behalf of Ernst & Young LLP
Guernsey, Channel Islands
28 February 2024
SHURGARD T 2018
245
STAND-ALONE ACCOUNTS OF
SHURGARD SELF STORAGE
LTD AND AUDITOR’S REPORT
The below annual accounts have been prepared in thousands euros.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
246
The summarized annual accounts of Shurgard Self Storage Ltd. (the “Company”) presented below are prepared
in accordance with the accounting principles as approved by the Board of Directors.
The Independent Auditor has expressed an unqualified opinion on these annual accounts.
SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES
FORMATION EXPENSES
Formation expenses related to the creation of the share capital are capitalized and amortized on a straight-line
basis over a period of five years.
FINANCIAL FIXED ASSETS
Shares in affiliated entities are valued at acquisition cost including the expenses incidental thereto. Impairment
loss is recorded to reflect long-term impairment of value. Impairment loss is reversed when it is no longer
justified due to a recovery in the asset value.
Loans to affiliated entities are valued at nominal value. At the end of each financial year, a value adjustment is
made for any durable decrease in value, which is considered to be an impairment in value, based on an evaluation
of each individual loan. These value adjustments are not continued if the reasons for which they were made have
ceased to apply.
RECEIVABLES AND PAYABLES
Amounts receivable and payable are recorded at their nominal value, less allowance for any amount receivable
whose value is considered to be impaired on a long-term basis. Amounts receivable and payable in a currency,
other than the currency of the Company, that are not hedged by a derivative instrument, are valued at the
exchange rate prevailing on the closing date. The resulting translation difference is written off if it is a loss and
deferred if it is a gain.
Amounts receivable and payable in a currency other than the currency of the Company, and hedged by a
derivative instrument, are valued at the exchange rate fixed within the financial instrument with a consequence
that there is no resulting translation difference in the exchange rate.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
On February 17, 2023, Shurgard Self Storage S.A. migrated to Guernsey and was incorporated as Shurgard Self
Storage Limited pursuant to Guernsey law. This allowed legal continuity of the entity, meaning that all rights and
obligations of Shurgard Self Storage S.A. are maintained.
On the same day, the UK tax residence was established, with central management and control of the Company
being exercised through the Board of Directors of Shurgard Self Storage Limited, located in the United Kingdom.
On March 1, 2023, Shurgard Self Storage Limited elected to become a UK REIT.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
247
BALANCE SHEET
(in € thousands)
ASSETS
Codes December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Formation expenses
20
2,640
3,221
Fixed assets
21/28
1,203,803
1,203,803
Financial fixed assets
28
1,203,803
1,203,803
Affiliated Companies
280/1
1,203,803
1,203,803
Participating interests
280
1,203,803
1,203,803
Current assets
29/58
190,777
849
Amounts receivable within one year
40/41
190,520
94
Cash at bank and in hand
54/58
257
755
Accruals and deferred charges
490/1
64
53
TOTAL ASSETS
20/58
1,397,284
1,207,926
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Codes December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Equity
10/15
1,396,187
1,207,126
Capital
10
69,449
63,610
Share premium account
1100/10
854,548
559,985
Reserves
13
479,196
146,277
Available reserves
133
479,196
146,277
Accumulated profits (losses)
14
(7,006)
437,254
Amounts payable within one year
42/48
1,097
800
Trade debts
44
1,092
588
Taxes, remuneration and social security
45
5
212
Taxes
450/3
-
9
Remuneration and social security
454/9
5
203
TOTAL LIABILITIES
10/49
1,397,284
1,207,926
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
248
INCOME STATEMENT
(in € thousands)
Codes December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Operating income and operating charges
159
22
Gross margin
9900
159
22
Remuneration, social security and
pensions
62
(755)
(1,706)
Amortization of formation expenses,
Intangible and tangible fixed assets
630
(3,293)
(5,364)
Other operating charges
640/8
(3,884)
(2,871)
Operating profit (loss)
9901
(7,773)
(9,919)
Financial income
75/76B
-
483,913
Non-recurring financial income
76B
-
483,913
Financial charges
65/66B
(112)
(731)
Recurring financial charges
65
(112)
(101)
Non-recurring financial charges
66B
-
(630)
Profit (loss) of the period before taxes
9903
(7,885)
473,263
Income taxes on the result
67/77
836
(14)
Profit (loss) for the period
9904
(7,049)
473,249
Transfer (-) to/release (+) from tax-
exempt reserves
-
-
Profit (Loss) of the period available for
appropriation
9905
(7,049)
473,249
APPROPRIATION OF RESULT
Codes December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Profit (Loss) to be appropriated.
9906
(7,006)
437,254
Profit (Loss) of the period available for
appropriation
(9905)
(7,049)
473,249
Profit (Loss) of the preceding period brought
forward
14P
43
(35,995)
Appropriations to equity
691/2
-
437,211
to legal reserve
6920
- -
to other reserves
6921
- 437,211
Profit (loss) to be carried forward
(14)
(7,006)
43
Profit to be distributed
694/7
-
-
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
249
NOTES ON THE ACCOUNTS
20 FORMATION EXPENSE
Formation expense consists of cost incurred with the Company’s capital increases.
The additions for the year consist of equity issuance cost incurred in connection with the November 14, 2023
issuance of 8,163,265 new ordinary shares issued at a subscription price of €36.75.
(in € thousands) December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022
Cost of capital increase
At the beginning of the year
19,898
19,875
Additions 2,712 23
At the end of the period 22,610 19,898
Accumulated amortization
At the beginning of the year 16,677 12,699
Amortization for the period 3,293 3,978
At the end of the period 19,970 16,677
Net book value
At the beginning of the year 3,221 7,176
At the end of the period
2,640
3,221
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
250
280 PARTICIPATING INTEREST
The Company holds participating interest as follows in affiliated entities:
(in € thousands)
Shares
Country
Portion of capital held
as of December 31,
2023
Net book value as
of December 31,
2022
Increases /
(decreases)
during the year
Net book value as
of December 31,
2023
Shareholders’
equity as of
December 31,
2023
Profit / (loss) for
the year ended
December 31,
2023
Shurgard Luxembourg S.à.r.l. Luxembourg 100% 345,816 -
345,816 338,743 (6,085)
Shurgard UK Ltd
1
UK 100% 857,987 -
857,987 905,457 115,573
1,203,803 -
1,203,803 1,244,200 109,488
1 Shareholders’ equity and profit and loss of Shurgard UK Ltd are derived from the 2022 annual accounts.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
251
10 CAPITAL
December 31, 2023 (in thousands of €) Number of shares
Share capital
Shares in issue
At the end of the previous year 63,610 89,131,131
Issue of new shares - November 14, 2023 5,826 8,163,265
Issue of new shares - share option exercises of the year 13 17,500
At the end of the financial year 69,449 97,311,896
Analysis of share capital
Class of shares
Ordinary shares of no-par value.
97,311,896
40/41 AMOUNTS RECEIVABLE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Accounts receivable within one year of €190,520 thousands as of December 31, 2023 consists of a cash advance granted by
the Company to its affiliate Shurgard Luxembourg S.à.r.l. of €189,670 thousands and a receivable from the UK affiliates of
€837 thousands and a €13 thousands receivable from Shurgard Europe SNC. The receivables do not bear interest and have
no maturity date.
Accounts receivable within one year of €94 thousands as of December 31, 2022 consisted of a €88 thousands receivable
from Shurgard Europe SNC and trade receivables of €6 thousands.
44 TRADE DEBTS PAYABLE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade debt within one year consists of the following:
(in € thousands) December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022
Accrued consultancy fees 688 185
Accounts payable and invoices to receive 404 403
1,092 588
62 REMUNERATION, SOCIAL SECURITY AND PENSIONS
Up to February 16, 2023, the Company employed one full time employee (one full time employees in 2022) and five part-
time employees (five part-time employees in 2022) for whom it incurred the following staff costs:
(in € thousands) December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022
Gross payroll 59 337
Director's fees
1
826 840
External staff 31 150
Employers‘ social security (18) 41
Bonus expense (156) 279
Other staff costs
2
13 59
755 1,706
1 Gross directors’ fees paid to the non-executive members of the Company’s Board.
2
Other staff costs consist mainly of pension plan expenses and other social benefits.
After February 16, 2023, the Company no longer employed employees.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
252
640/8 OTHER OPERATING CHARGES
Other operating charges consists of the following:
(in € thousands) December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022
Lawyers, tax and other consultancy fees 1,052 553
Travel expense, irrecoverable VAT and other expenses 415 680
Centralized support. service charges recharged by
affiliated undertakings
1,578 1,212
Auditor’s fees 264 71
Insurance expense D&O 165 181
Public relations 20 24
Membership (association) fees 176 150
Cost incurred in connection with the equity issuance 214 -
3,884 2,871
67/77 INCOME TAXES ON THE RESULT
Until February 16, 2023, the Company was subject to the general tax regulations applicable to all commercial companies in
Luxembourg.
As from February 17, 2023, the Company is subject to the UK standard (main) corporation tax rate of 19%. UK REITs are
exempt from UK corporation tax on rental profits and capital gains arising from their UK property business. However, any
other income and gains generated in the UK, which are not specifically derived from Shurgard UK property rental activities,
are part of the “residual business” and are subject to the UK corporate tax rate of 25% (19% until April 1, 2023).
During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company surrendered current year tax losses to other members of the UK
REIT Group and received payment for those tax losses at the rate of tax prevailing in the year, which resulted in income tax
benefit of €836 thousands.
253
EY Bedrijfsrevisoren
EY Réviseurs d’Entreprises
Kouterveldstraat 7B 001
B - 1831 Diegem
Tel: +32 (0) 2 774 91 11
ey.com
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd
1st and 2nd Floors, Elizabeth House
Les Ruettes Brayes
St Peters Port
Guernsey, GY1 1EW
Independent auditor’s report
Unqualified opinion
We have audited the special purpose stand-alone financial
statements of Shurgard Self Storage Limited (the “Company”),
which comprise the balance sheet as at 31 December 2023, the
income statement for the year then ended, and notes to the
special purpose stand-alone, including a summary of significant
accounting policies.
In our opinion, the accompanying special purpose stand-alone
financial statements of Shurgard Self Storage Limited for the
year ended 31 December 2023 are prepared, in all material
respects, in accordance with the accounting principles as
approved by the board of directors in order to meet the
reporting requirements of the Financial Services and Markets
Authority (the “FSMA”).
Basis for the unqualified opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International
Standards on Auditing (“ISA’s”). Our responsibilities under those
standards are further described in the “Our responsibilities for
the audit of the special purpose stand-alone financial
statements” section of our report.
We have complied with all ethical requirements that are
relevant to our audit of the special purpose stand-alone
financial statements in Belgium, including those with respect to
independence.
We have obtained from the Audit Committee within the Board
of Directors and the officials of the Company the explanations
and information necessary for the performance our audit and
we believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is
sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Emphasis of matter
We draw attention to the Summary of Accounting Principles to
the special purpose stand-alone financial statements which
describes the basis of accounting. The special purpose stand-
alone financial statements are prepared to assist the Company
in complying with the financial reporting provisions as required
by the FSMA. As a result, the special purpose stand-alone
financial statements may not be suitable for another purpose.
Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.
Responsibilities of the the Audit Committee within the Board
of Directors for the preparation of the special purpose
stand-alone financial statements
The Audit Committee within the Board of Directors is
responsible for the preparation of the special purpose stand-
alone financial statements in accordance with the accounting
principles as approved by the board of directors, and for such
internal control as the Audit Committee within the Board of
Directors determines is necessary to enable the preparation of
special purpose stand-alone financial statements that are free
from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the special purpose stand-alone financial
statements, the Audit Committee within the Board of Directors
is responsible for assessing the Company’s ability to continue as
a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters relating to
going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting
unless the Board of Directors either intends to liquidate the
Company or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative
but to do so.
Our responsibilities for the audit of the special purpose
stand-alone financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance whether the
special purpose stand-alone financial statements as a whole are
free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error,
and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a
guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with the ISA’s
will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.
Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and considered
material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could
reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of
users taken on the basis of these special purpose stand-alone
financial statements.
Independent Auditors report dated 28 February 2024
on the special purpose stand-alone financial statements of Shurgard
Self Storage Limited as of and for the year ended 31 December 2023
(continued)
254
As part of an audit in accordance with ISA’s, we exercise
professional judgment and we maintain professional skepticism
throughout the audit. We also perform the following tasks:
Identification and assessment of the risks of material
misstatement of the special purpose stand-alone financial
statements, whether due to fraud or error, the planning
and execution of audit procedures to respond to these
risks and obtain audit evidence which is sufficient and
appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of
not detecting material misstatements resulting from fraud
is higher than when such misstatements result from errors,
since fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional
omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal
control;
Obtaining insight in the system of internal controls that
are relevant for the audit and with the objective to design
audit procedures that are appropriate in the
circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an
opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal
control;
Evaluating the selected and applied accounting policies,
and evaluating the reasonability of the accounting
estimates and related disclosures made by the Board of
Directors as well as the underlying information given by
the Board of Directors;
Conclude on the appropriateness of the Board of Director’s
use of the going-concern basis of accounting and, based
on the audit evidence obtained, whether or not a material
uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may
cast significant doubt on the Company’s ability to continue
as a going concern. If we conclude that a material
uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our
auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the special
purpose stand-alone financial statements or, if such
disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our
conclusions are based on audit evidence obtained up to
the date of the auditor’s report. However, future events or
conditions may cause the Company to cease to continue as
a going-concern;
We communicate with the Audit Committee within the Board of
Directors regarding, among other matters, the planned scope
and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including
any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify
during our audit.
We provide the Audit Committee within the Board of Directors
with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical
requirements regarding independence, and to communicate
with them all relationships and other matters that may
reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where
applicable, related safeguards.
From the matters communicated with the Audit Committee
within the Board of Directors, we determine those matters that
were of most significance in the audit of the special purpose
stand-alone financial statements of the current period.
Diegem, 28 February 2024
EY Bedrijfsrevisoren BV
Independent auditor
Represented by
Ömer Turna*
Partner
*Acting on behalf of a BV/SRL
24OT0169
254
APPENDIX:
ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE
MEASURES (APM)
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
256
ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES (APM)
APM are defined by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) as a financial measure of historical
or future financial performance, financial position, or cash flows, other than a financial measure defined or
specified by IFRS, as adopted by the EU.
SAME STORE AND NON-SAME STORE
The Group’s most important APM, as also apparent from the segment reporting, relates to same stores and non-
same stores. Shurgard classifies as ‘same stores’ (i) all developed stores that have been in operation for at least
three full years, and (ii) all acquired stores that we have owned for at least one full year, each measured as of
January 1 of the relevant year. Any stores that are not classified as same stores for a given year are presented
as non-same stores, comprising (i) all developed stores that have been in operation for less than three full
years (new stores) and (ii) acquired stores that we have owned for less than one full year (acquired stores),
each measured as of January 1 of the relevant year.
As a result, on a year-to-year basis, the size of our same store network changes based on the reclassification of
stores from non-same stores to same stores following the time periods described in the prior paragraph. Under
some circumstances, for purposes of these full-year metrics, this results in significant changes in financial and
operational metrics presented on a segmental basis from year to year.
In line with common practice in self-storage and other industries (e.g., retail), same store information is a crucial
factor to assess the performance of the organic business, while providing at the same time information on the
expansion activities of the Group. For this reason, the Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) reviews the
performance of the Group based on this distinction (see Note 12 of the 2023 FY report) and same store
information represents part of the remuneration for Senior Management.
INCOME FROM PROPERTY (“NOI”)
NOI is calculated as ‘Property operating revenue’ (A) less ‘Real estate operating expenses’ (B) for the relevant
period and can be reconciled to the closest line item in the financial statements as follow:
Income statement line item
Reference to 2023
FY report
FY 2023 FY 2022
Rental revenue
Note 5
312,550
289,380
Fee income from customer goods insurance
Note 5
33,683
32,075
Ancillary revenue
Note 5
11,468
11,594
Property operating revenue (A)
357,701
333,049
Other revenue
Note 6
222
2,241
Real estate operating revenue
Statement of
Profit and Loss
357,923
335,290
Income statement line item
Reference to 2023
FY report
FY 2023 FY 2022
Payroll expense Note 6 42,138 42,151
Real estate and other taxes Note 6 19,313 16,834
Repairs and maintenance Note 6 13,280 10,913
Marketing expense Note 6 9,887 9,162
Utility expense Note 6 3,939 3,574
Doubtful debt expense Note 6 5,465 5,088
Cost of insurance and merchandise sales Note 6 4,556 5,289
Other operating expenses Note 6 21,892 20,810
Real estate operating expenses (B)
Statement of
Profit and Loss
120,470
113,821
Income from property (NOI)
(A) - (B)
237,231
219,228
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
257
NOI measures the financial performance of our properties. It focusses on property operating revenue (generated
through the lease of storage units and related activities, including insurance referrals and the sale of storage
products and packaging) less real estate operating expense. As such it is a key performance indicator of the
performance of the Group’s core operating activity.
The Group’s CODM periodically receives and reviews NOI when making capital allocation and operating decisions.
Further, NOI represents a crucial input in the valuation of the Group’s investment property, as described in Note
15 to our 2023 financial statements.
NOI MARGIN
The NOI margin is calculated as Income from property (NOI) divided by Property operating revenue for the
relevant period and measures the operational performance and efficiencies of our properties as it shows in
percentage how much property operating revenue remains after deduction of the real estate operating expense.
As with all ratios, it also allows easier comparison within our industry, as it eliminates the need for size or
currency adjustments.
Item Operator FY 2023 FY 2022
Income from property (NOI) 237,231 219,228
Property operating revenue ÷ 357,701 333,049
NOI Margin % = 66.3% 65.8%
OPERATING PROFIT BEFORE PROPERTY RELATED ADJUSTMENTS
This is a commonly reported KPI by real estate companies. We believe that this subtotal provides improved
structure to the profit and loss information and enables investors to better analyze and compare our earnings
with those of other companies.
UNDERLYING EARNINGS BEFORE INTEREST, TAX, DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION (UNDERLYING EBITDA)
Underlying EBITDA is calculated as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, excluding (i)
valuation gain from investment property and investment property under construction and gain on disposal, (ii)
acquisition and dead deals costs (iii) cease-use lease expense and (iv) other non-recurring items (such as cost
of equity raise or significant SaaS implementation costs).
(in € thousands) Q4 2023 Q4 2022 +/- FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Operating profit before property related
adjustments
54,134 54,212 -0.1% 207,040 196,440 5.4%
Depreciation and amortization expense 893 763 17.0% 3,377 2,866 17.8%
Other
1
1,141 362 214.9% 2,552 459 455.7%
Underlying EBITDA (AER) 56,168 55,337 1.5% 212,969 199,765 6.6%
1 Other includes (i) acquisition and dead deals costs (€1.6 million) (ii) cease-use lease expense (€0.0 million) and (iv) ERP implementation fees and costs of
capital raise (€0.9 million).
CONSTANT EXCHANGE RATE (CER”)
Certain of the above-mentioned non-GAAP measures, such as underlying EBITDA, are also presented at constant
exchange rate (CER) versus actual exchange rate (AER), in order to highlight the underlying operating
performance versus the impact of changes in exchange rate on the particular KPI.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
258
NET (FINANCIAL) DEBT
Net debt represents our long-term and short-term interest-bearing loans and borrowings, including lease
obligations and excluding debt issuance costs, less cash and cash equivalents. This liquidity metric is used to
evaluate the Group’s capability of repaying all its debts, were they due immediately.
(in € thousands) December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022
Carrying value of interest-bearing loans and borrowings 798,391 797,980
Unamortized portion of debt financing cost 1,609 2,020
Carrying value of lease obligations 110,816 99,822
Less Cash and cash equivalents -258,118 -87,345
Net financial debt 652,698 812,477
LOAN-TO-VALUE (“LTV”)
LTV, which stands for loan-to-value, represents the Group’s Net Debt divided by the fair value of investment
properties and investment properties under construction, expressed as a percentage and is a commonly used
leverage KPI in the real estate industry. The Group reviews its capital structure based on this metric with the
primary objective to ensure that it complies with its debt covenants and to maintain a target loan-to-value ratio
at c. 25%, short- to mid-term maximum of 35%.
(in € thousands) December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022
Net financial debt 652,698 812,477
Investment property and investment property under construction
(Note 14)
5,035,770 4,523,789
Loan-to-value ratio 13.0% 18.0%
NET DEBT TO UNDERLYING EBITDA RATIO
Net debt to underlying EBITDA ratio represents the Group’s net financial debt divided by trailing 12 months
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (TTM EBITDA).
(in € thousands) FY 2023 FY 2022
Net financial debt 652,698 812,477
TTM Underlying EBITDA 212,969 199,765
Net debt/Underlying EBITDA 3.1x 4.1x
INTEREST COVERAGE RATIO (”ICR”)
ICR, which stands for interest coverage ratio, represents the Group’s underlying earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortization (underlying EBITDA) divided by the total net finance costs, expressed as a ratio.
The ICR of 10.6x demonstrates Shurgard’s capacity to meet its outstanding debt obligations on time.
(in € thousands) FY 2023 FY 2022
Underlying EBITDA 212,969 199,765
Interest expense net
1
20,127 20,696
Interest coverage ratio 10.6x 9.7x
1 Excluding foreign exchange (gain)/loss
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
259
EUROPEAN PUBLIC REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION (EPRA) APM
In addition to the above, the Group mainly uses alternative performance measures that are issued and defined
by EPRA with the aim to align the various accounting and reporting methodologies for the public real estate
sector in Europe in order to increase the overall transparency of the sector by providing performance measures
that result meaningful information for the readers of the financial statements.
The EPRA KPIs used by Shurgard are based on the EPRA best practice guidelines dated August 2022.
The table below provides a summarized overview of certain of the Company’s key earnings related APM,
consisting of (Adjusted) EPRA earnings and (Adjusted) EPRA earnings per share:
SUMMARY OF EPRA EARNINGS METRICS
(in € thousands, except for earnings per share for the year ended December 31)
2023 2022
EPRA earnings 156,186 144,225
EPRA earnings per share (basic - €) 1.73 1.62
EPRA earnings per share (diluted - €) 1.73 1.61
Adjusted EPRA earnings 158,401 143,556
Adjusted EPRA earnings per share (basic - €) 1.76 1.61
Adjusted EPRA earnings per share (diluted - €) 1.75 1.60
The bases of calculation of each of the measures set out above, are illustrated below:
EPRA EARNINGS AND EPRA EARNINGS PER SHARE
(in € thousands, except for earnings per share for year ended December 31)
2023 2022
Profit attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent for basic
earnings
533,313 574,284
Adjustments:
Changes in value of investment properties, development properties held for
investment and other interests
(294,350) (586,181)
Profits or losses on disposal of investment properties, development
properties held for investment, right of use assets and other interests
- -
Profits or losses on sales of trading properties including impairment charges
in respect of trading properties.
- -
Tax on profits or losses on disposals - -
Negative goodwill / goodwill impairment - -
Changes in fair value of financial instruments and associated close-out costs - -
Acquisition benefit of business combinations and non-controlling joint
venture interests and other
(5) (775)
Current and deferred tax in respect of EPRA adjustments (83,484) 155,878
Adjustments (i) to (viii) above in respect of joint ventures (unless already
included under proportional consolidation)
-
-
Non-controlling interest in respect to the above
1
712 1,019
EPRA earnings 156,186 144,225
EPRA earnings per share (basic - €) 1.73 1.62
EPRA earnings per share (diluted - €) 1.73 1.61
1 Non-controlling interests are presented net of deferred income taxes.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
260
ADJUSTED EPRA EARNINGS AND ADJUSTED EPRA EARNINGS PER SHARE
(in € thousands, except for earnings per share for the year ended December 31) 2023 2022
EPRA earnings 156,186 144,225
Company specific adjustments:
Deferred tax (benefit) expense on items other than the revaluation of investment
property
782 45
Cost incurred in connection with capital raise and ERP implementation 926 -
Compensation received for termination lease agreement -
(2,000)
Net impact of tax assessments and non-recurring expenses 541 822
Current income tax adjustments in respect of the above (34) 464
Non-controlling interest in respect to the above -
-
Adjusted EPRA Earnings 158,401 143,556
Adjusted EPRA earnings per share (basic) € 1.76 1.61
Adjusted EPRA earnings per share (diluted) € 1.75 1.60
ADJUSTED EPRA EARNINGS EFFECTIVE TAX RATE
(in € thousands, for the year ended December 31)
2023 2022
Adjusted EPRA earnings 158,401 143,556
Current Tax Expense 29,419 30,311
Adjusted EPRA earnings before Current Tax Expense 187,821 173,867
Adjusted EPRA Earnings Effective Tax Rate 15.7% 17.4%
ADJUSTED EPRA EARNINGS AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATE RISK
The following table presents the sensitivity analysis of our adjusted EPRA earnings in EUR in case the euro would
weaken by 10% versus the GBP, SEK and DKK, respectively:
(in € thousands) FY 2023 FY 2022
GBP/EUR exchange rate increase 10% 3,626 2,852
SEK/EUR exchange rate increase 10% 2,385 2,607
DKK/EUR exchange rate increase 10% 997 887
Positive amounts represent an increase in adjusted EPRA earnings.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
261
SUMMARY OF EPRA NAV METRICS
The table below provides a summarized overview of the Company’s key APM that are NAV related, consisting of
NAV, EPRA NRV, EPRA NTA, EPRA NDV and EPRA LTV:
(in € thousands, except for NAV per share)
December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022
NAV 3,614,217 2,860,993
NAV per share (basic) € 37.14 32.10
NAV per share (diluted) € 36.98 31.98
EPRA NRV 4,708,381 3,989,647
EPRA NRV per share (diluted) € 48.17 44.59
EPRA NTA (diluted) 4,307,807 3,638,892
EPRA NTA per share (diluted) € 44.07 40.67
EPRA NDV (diluted) 3,667,931 2,974,095
EPRA NDV per share (diluted) € 37.53 33.24
EPRA Group LTV % 12.5% 17.7%
EPRA Combined LTV % 12.5% 17.8%
The bases of calculation of each of the above measures set out above, are illustrated below.
NAV (BASIC AND DILUTED)
Basic NAV per share amounts are calculated by dividing net assets in the statement of financial position
attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent by the number of ordinary shares outstanding at the
reporting date.
The following reflects the net asset and share data used in the basic and diluted NAV per share computations:
(in € thousands, except for number of shares and NAV per share)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Equity attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent 3,614,217 2,860,993
Number of ordinary shares at the reporting date 97,311,896 89,131,131
Number of diluted shares at the reporting date 427,052 333,315
NAV per share (basic) € 37.14 32.10
NAV per share (diluted) € 36.98 31.98
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
262
EPRA NRV (DILUTED)
The EPRA NRV scenario aims to represent the value required to rebuild the properties and assumes that no
selling of assets takes place.
(in € thousands, except for NRV per share)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Equity attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent (diluted) 3,614,217 2,860,993
Include / Exclude:
Hybrid instruments - -
Diluted NAV 3,614,217 2,860,993
Include:
Revaluation of investment properties - -
Revaluation of investment properties under construction - -
Revaluation of other non-current investments - -
Revaluation of tenant leases held as finance leases - -
Revaluation of trading properties - -
Diluted NAV at fair value 3,614,217 2,860,993
Exclude:
Deferred taxes on fair value adjustments of investment property 701,247 784,628
Fair value of financial instruments - -
Goodwill as a result of deferred tax - -
Include:
Real estate transfer tax
1
392,917
344,026
EPRA NRV 4,708,381 3,989,647
EPRA NRV per share (diluted) € 48.17 44.59
In the above EPRA NRV calculation, the fair value adjustment of our notes issued and deferred tax expense other
than on the fair value adjustment of investment property are not considered, and real estate transfer tax has
been considered.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
263
EPRA NTA (DILUTED)
The EPRA NTA scenario is focused on reflecting a company’s tangible assets and assumes that companies buy
and sell assets, thereby crystallizing certain levels of unavoidable deferred tax liability.
(in € thousands, except for NTA per share)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Equity attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent (diluted) 3,614,217 2,860,993
Include / Exclude:
Hybrid instruments - -
Diluted NAV 3,614,217 2,860,993
Include:
Revaluation of investment properties - -
Revaluation of investment properties under construction - -
Revaluation of other non-current investments - -
Revaluation of tenant leases held as finance leases - -
Revaluation of trading properties - -
Diluted NAV at fair value 3,614,217 2,860,993
Exclude:
Deferred taxes on fair value adjustments of investment property 701,247 784,628
Fair value of financial instruments - -
Goodwill as a result of deferred tax - -
Goodwill recognized in the statement of financial position - -
Intangible assets recognized in the statement of financial position (7,657) (6,729)
Include:
Real estate transfer tax
1
-
-
EPRA NTA 4,307,807 3,638,892
EPRA NTA per share (diluted) € 44.07 40.67
1 The Company did not opt for the “optimized net property value” approach, as we do not have a history that would indicate that we can achieve lower taxes
when buying and selling and as we have a buy and hold strategy, which would indicate limited relevance of the optimized EPRA NTA.
In the above EPRA NTA calculation, the fair value adjustment of our notes issued and deferred tax expense other
than on the fair value adjustment of investment property are not considered.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
264
EPRA NDV (DILUTED)
The EPRA NDV scenario aims to represent the shareholder’s value under an ordinary sale of business, where
deferred tax, financial instruments and certain other adjustments are calculated to the full extent of their liability,
net of any resulting tax.
(in € thousands, except for NDV per share)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Equity attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent (diluted) 3,614,217 2,860,993
Include / Exclude:
Hybrid instruments - -
Diluted NAV 3,614,217 2,860,993
Include:
Revaluation of investment properties - -
Revaluation of investment properties under construction - -
Revaluation of other non-current investments - -
Revaluation of tenant leases held as finance leases - -
Revaluation of trading properties - -
Diluted NAV at fair value 3,614,217 2,860,993
Exclude:
Goodwill as a result of deferred tax - -
Goodwill recognized in the statement of financial position - -
Include:
Fair value of fixed interest rate debt: Carrying value senior guaranteed
notes lower (higher) than fair value (Note 26)
53,714 113,102
EPRA NDV 3,667,931 2,974,095
EPRA NDV per share (diluted) € 37.53 33.24
In the above EPRA NDV calculation, all our cumulative deferred tax expense is not considered.
EPRA LTV
The EPRA LTV’s aim is to assess the gearing of the shareholder equity within a real estate company. To achieve
that result, the EPRA LTV provides adjustments to IFRS reporting which are described in more details in this
document.
The main overarching concepts that are introduced by the EPRA LTV are:
In case of doubt, and unless otherwise defined below, any capital which is not equity (i.e., which
value accrues to the shareholders of the company) is considered as debt irrespective of its IFRS
classification;
The EPRA LTV is calculated based on proportional consolidation. This implies that the EPRA LTV
include the Group’s share in the net debt and net assets of joint venture or material associates;
Assets are included at fair value, net debt at nominal value.
No adjustment related to IFRS 16 is proposed for the purposes of calculating the EPRA LTV as, for most real
estate entities, these balances typically gross up both sides of the LTV calculation and generally do not have a
commercial impact on the leverage of the business.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
265
As of December 31, 2023, EPRA LTV is as follows:
Proportionate Consolidation
EPRA LTV Metric
(in € thousands)
Group as
reported
Share of
joint-
ventures
Share of
Material
Associates
Non-
controlling
Interests
Combined
Include:
Borrowings from Financial Institutions -
-
-
-
-
Commercial paper -
-
-
-
-
Hybrids (including convertibles,
preference shares, debt, options,
perpetuals)
-
-
-
-
-
Bond loans 798,391 -
-
-
798,391
Foreign currency derivatives (futures,
swaps, options and forwards)
-
-
-
-
-
Net payables 75,283 -
-
1,611 76,894
Owner occupied property (debt) -
-
-
-
-
Current accounts (equity characteristic) -
-
-
-
-
Exclude:
Cash and cash equivalents (258,118) -
-
30 (258,088)
Net Debt (a) 615,556 -
-
1,641 617,197
Include:
Owner occupied property -
-
-
-
-
Investment properties at fair value 4,823,442 -
-
(10,676) 4,812,766
Properties held for sale 530 -
-
-
530
Properties under development 105,951 -
-
- 105,951
Intangibles 7,657 -
-
-
7,657
Net receivables -
-
-
-
-
Financial assets -
-
-
-
-
Total Property Value (b) 4,937,580 -
-
(10,676) 4,926,904
LTV (a/b) 12.5% N/A 12.5%
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
266
RECONCILIATION OF CERTAIN EPRA LTV COMPONENTS
Proportionate Consolidation
EPRA LTV Metric
(in € thousands)
Group as
reported
Share of
joint-
ventures
Share of
Material
Associates
Non-
controlling
Interests
Combined
Investment property
Investment property presented in IFRS FS 4,929,819 -
-
(10,676)
4,919,143
Less ROU IP (IFRS 16) (106,377) -
-
-
(106,377)
Investment property for EPRA LTV
calculation
4,823,442 -
-
(10,676)
4,812,766
Payables, net
Trade and other receivables (19,730) -
-
29 (19,701)
Other current assets (19,722) -
-
12 (19,710)
Other non-current assets (8,977) -
-
-
(8,977)
Other non-current liabilities -
-
-
-
-
Trade and other payables 83,342 -
-
1,694 85,036
Deferred revenue 34,832 -
-
(81) 34,751
Income tax payable 5,538 -
-
(43) 5,495
Net Payables 75,283 -
-
1,611 76,894
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
267
As of December 31, 2022, EPRA LTV is as follows:
Proportionate Consolidation
EPRA LTV Metric
(in € thousands)
Group as
reported
Share of
joint-
ventures
Share of
Material
Associates
Non-
controlling
Interests
Combined
Include:
Borrowings from Financial Institutions -
-
-
-
-
Commercial paper -
-
-
-
-
Hybrids (including convertibles,
preference shares, debt, options,
perpetuals)
-
-
-
-
-
Bond loans 797,980 -
-
-
797,980
Foreign currency derivatives (futures,
swaps, options and forwards)
-
-
-
-
-
Net payables 74,868 -
-
704 75,572
Owner occupied property (debt) -
-
-
-
-
Current accounts (equity characteristic) -
-
-
-
-
Exclude:
Cash and cash equivalents (87,345) -
-
75 (87,270)
Net Debt (a) 785,503 -
-
779 786,282
Include:
Owner occupied property -
-
-
-
-
Investment properties at fair value 4,374,361 -
-
(9,521) 4,364,840
Properties held for sale -
-
-
-
-
Properties under development 54,217 -
-
- 54,217
Intangibles 6,729 -
-
-
6,729
Net receivables -
-
-
-
-
Financial assets -
-
-
-
-
Total Property Value (b) 4,435,307 -
-
(9,521) 4,425,786
LTV (a/b)
17.7%
-
-
N/A
17.8%
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
268
RECONCILIATION OF CERTAIN EPRA LTV COMPONENTS
Proportionate Consolidation
EPRA LTV Metric
(in € thousands)
Group as
reported
Share of
joint-
ventures
Share of
Material
Associates
Non-
controlling
Interests
Combined
Investment property
Investment property presented in IFRS FS 4,469,572 -
-
(9,521) 4,460,051
Less ROU IP (IFRS 16) (95,211) -
-
-
(95,211)
Investment property for EPRA LTV
calculation
4,374,361 -
-
(9,521) 4,364,840
Payables, net
Trade and other receivables (18,671) -
-
21 (18,650)
Other current assets (8,262) -
-
20 (8,242)
Other non-current assets (11,326) -
-
-
(11,326)
Other non-current liabilities -
-
-
-
-
Trade and other payables 74,075 -
-
737 74,812
Deferred revenue 32,456 -
-
(73) 32,383
Income tax payable 6,596 -
-
(1) 6,595
Net Payables 74,868 -
-
704 75,572
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
(in € thousands) FY 2023 FY 2022 +/-
Acquisitions / Additions 67,336 76,310 -24.1%
Development 63,930 75,472 -15.3%
Other: completed properties 49,888 37,105 34.4%
Like-for-like portfolio - - N/A
Capital Expenditure 181,154 188,887 -4.1%
The Group currently holds no investments in joint ventures.
Capital expenditures disclosed in the table are categorized according to the EPRA recommendations and consist
of the items “Acquisition of investment property” and “Capital expenditure” presented in Note 14 Investment
property and investment property under construction.
Acquisitions/Additions in 2023 relate to five stores acquired in Germany.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
269
EPRA VACANCY RATE
(in € thousands, at CER, except where indicated) 2023 2022 +/-
Estimated rental revenue of vacant space 47,664 42,872 11.2%
Estimated rental revenue of the whole portfolio 360,214 327,995 9.8%
EPRA Vacancy Rate 13.2% 13.1% 0.2pp
The EPRA vacancy rate shows how much of the full potential rental revenue is not received because of vacancy.
The EPRA vacancy rate is calculated by dividing the estimated rental revenue of vacant space by the estimated
rental revenue of the whole property portfolio if all properties were fully rented, both based on the rental revenue
of the year and the occupancy rate at period end. The EPRA vacancy rate came to 13.2% at the end of 2023
slightly up compared to 13.1% in 2022. A part of the vacancy rate is attributable to new stores opened and major
redevelopments that are still ramping up.
EPRA LIKE-FOR-LIKE RENTAL GROWTH
LFL net rental growth compares the growth of the net rental income of the portfolio that has been consistently
in operation, and not under development, during the two full preceding periods that are described. Information
on the growth in net rental income, other than from acquisitions and disposals, allows stakeholders to arrive at
an estimate of organic growth. This can be used to measure whether the reversions feed through as anticipated,
and whether the vacancy rates are changing. This is presented on a segmented basis by geography. All properties
are stores, therefore a segment spread by business type is not included.
Shurgard classifies as “LFL” (i) all developed stores that have been in operation for at least three full years; and
(ii) all acquired stores that we have owned for at least one full year, each measured as of January 1 of the relevant
year.
FY 2023 Whole
portfolio
FY 2023 LFL portfolio
(in € thousands, at
CER, except where
indicated)
Total
market
value
Rental
revenue
2023
Total
market
value
Rental
revenue
2023
Rental
revenue
2022
Growth in LFL rental
revenue
%
France 1,092,900 73,260 958,050 67,293 64,505 2,788 4.3%
The Netherlands 964,860 67,492 837,070 62,347 56,944 5,403 9.5%
The United Kingdom 1,108,342 62,753 955,206 56,929 52,655 4,274 8.1%
Sweden 635,915 41,036 602,647 39,746 39,758 -12 0.0%
Germany 533,600 30,456 361,800 25,274 22,647 2,627 11.6%
Belgium 292,130 23,501 292,130 23,501 21,625 1,875 8.7%
Denmark 220,275 14,054 220,275 14,054 13,622 432 3.2%
Total portfolio 4,848,022 312,551 4,227,177 289,143 271,755 17,388 6.4%
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
270
2022 Whole portfolio
2022 LFL portfolio
(in € thousands, at
CER, except where
indicated)
Total
market
value
Rental
revenue
2022
Total
market
value
Rental
revenue
2022
Rental
revenue
2021
Growth in LFL rental
revenue
%
France 1,037,030 68,030 945,990 66,378 61,884 4,494 7.3%
The Netherlands 832,027 59,420 781,700 57,813 52,369 5,444 10.4%
The United Kingdom 971,121 57,514 766,135 48,415 43,140 5,275 12.2%
Sweden 627,835 43,018 594,377 42,914 39,995 2,919 7.3%
Germany 414,300 26,130 319,000 22,647 20,249 2,398 11.8%
Belgium 276,980 21,625 276,980 21,625 19,660 1,966 10.0%
Denmark 208,388 13,643 208,388 13,643 12,513 1,130 9.0%
Total portfolio 4,367,682 289,380 3,892,570 273,435 249,810 23,626 9.5%
EPRA COST RATIOS
The EPRA cost ratios are aimed at providing a meaningful measurement and comparison of the changes in a
company’s operating costs.
(in € thousands, except where indicated) FY 2023 FY 2022 %
Administrative/operating expense line per IFRS income
statement
(146,431) (136,336) 7.4%
Net service charge costs/fees - - N/A
Management fees less actual/estimated profit element - - N/A
Other operating income/recharges intended to cover
overhead expenses less any related profits
- - N/A
Share of Joint Ventures expenses - - N/A
Exclude (if part of the above):
Investment Property depreciation - - N/A
Ground rent costs (728) (923) -21.1%
Service charge costs recovered through rents but not
separately invoiced
- - N/A
EPRA costs (including direct vacancy costs) (145,703) (135,413) 7.6%
Direct vacancy costs - - N/A
EPRA costs (excluding direct vacancy costs) (145,703) (135,413) 7.6%
Gross Rental Income less ground rent costs - per IFRS 313,279 290,302 7.9%
Less: service fee and service charge costs components of
Gross Rental Income (if relevant)
- - N/A
Add: share of Joint Ventures (Gross Rental Income less
ground rent costs)
- - N/A
Gross Rental Income 313,279 290,302 7.9%
EPRA Cost ratio (including direct vacancy costs) 46.5% 46.6% -0.1pp
EPRA Cost ratio (excluding direct vacancy costs) 46.5% 46.6% -0.1pp
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
271
EPRA NET INITIAL YIELD (NIY) AND TOPPED-UP NIY
EPRA NIY is calculated as the annualized rental income based on the cash rents passing at the balance sheet
date, less non-recoverable property operating expenses, divided by the gross market value of the property.
(in € thousands, except where indicated)
FY 2023
FY 2022
1
%
Investment property
wholly owned
4,910,375
4,353,121
12.8%
Investment property
share of JVs/Funds
-
-
N/A
Trading property (including share of JVs)
-
-
N/A
Less: developments
89,909
72,907
23.3%
Completed property portfolio
4,820,466
4,280,214
12.6%
Allowance for estimated purchasers’ costs
286,995
259,64
4
10.5%
Gross up completed property portfolio valuation
5,107,461
4,539,858
12.5%
Annualized
cash passing rental income
312,551
289,379
8.0%
Property outgoings
(38,119)
(34,265)
11.2%
Annualized
net rents
274,431
255,114
7.6%
Add:
notional rent expiration of rent-
free periods or other
lease incentives
2
-
-
N/A
Topped
-up net annualized rent
274,431
255,114
7.6%
EPRA Net Initial Yield (NIY)
5.4%
5.6%
-
0.2pp
EPRA 'topped
-up' NIY
5.4%
5.6%
-
0.2pp
1 2022 restated to include real estate tax and cost of management rather than only leasehold expense in property outgoings.
2 No unexpired lease incentives such as rent-free periods, discounted rent periods and step rents applicable.
SHURGARD ANNUAL REPORT 2023
272
PUBLISHER
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd
1st and 2nd Floors, Elizabeth House
Les Ruettes Brayes
St Peters Port
Guernsey, GY1 1EW
www.shurgard.com
COPYWRITING AND DESIGN
Instinctif Partners
Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich,
London
https://instinctif.com/
www.creative.instinctif.com
PHOTOS
Shurgard Self Storage Ltd