The self-storage market in Spain is undergoing a period of transition characterised by a high degree of fragmentation and growing investor interest. According to data compiled by the property consultancy JLL, the sector comprises more than 650 operators managing around 1,300 facilities and a gross lettable area (GLA) of approximately 1.95 million square metres.
Despite the high number of companies in the market, the business structure remains highly fragmented. The sector’s 25 leading companies account for just 4% of all operators, although they hold 46% of the existing GLA.
This configuration, together with the growing interest from institutional capital, points to a possible increase in corporate activity in the sector. Market fragmentation and investors’ pursuit of scale could encourage mergers and acquisitions in the coming years.
In terms of penetration, the Spanish market still has considerable room for growth. Whilst in the UK—one of the most established markets—supply stands at 0.083 square metres per inhabitant, in Spain it stands at 0.040 sqm, below the European average of 0.044 sqm.
Investor interest in this segment has increased significantly across the EMEA region. JLL’s interactions with investors interested in allocating capital to self-storage increased 10.8-fold between 2022 and 2025. In this context, the report highlights the inflow of capital with value-add strategies into the Spanish market through firms such as BC Partners (CABE), PGIM (Zebrabox) and Crossroads (Boxinfiniti).
David Onrubia, Head of Alternative Assets at JLL Spain, states that “Spain offers a significant opportunity for professionalisation and consolidation for investors seeking double-digit returns in an asset class with strong growth prospects. With a fragmented market and the influx of value-add capital, the coming years could see a phase of consolidation in which larger platforms absorb smaller operators to gain scale”.
The trend in yields also reflects the segment’s growing maturity. In the UK, the spread between self-storage and multi-family residential yields has narrowed from 250 basis points in December 2019 to 75 basis points by the end of 2025, a convergence that indicates a perception of lower risk among institutional investors.
Demand patterns also contribute to this trend. The use of storage space is often linked to situations such as house moves, family changes or limited space in homes – factors that do not depend directly on the economic cycle. Added to this are the growth of e-commerce and the rise in remote working, as well as rising house prices and the reduction in average household size – factors that keep demand for this type of asset stable.
