Clutter Expands Into Self-Storage With Acquisition Of The Storage Fox

Clutter, an on-demand storage company that has been backed by the likes of SoftBank, has acquired The Storage Fox, a storage startup with locations much closer to urban areas, according to a report.

The acquisition cost Clutter around $152 million. Ari Mir, Clutter’s co-founder and CEO, said Clutter did not need to raise funding for the takeover, but will eventually look for more financing to handle growth.

So far, Clutter has raised around $310 million (including a $200 million round this year, led by SoftBank) and it has a valuation of around $600 million. The company is active in 1,000 areas across the United States and is focused on growing domestically, but has an eye for international growth in the future.

“Expanding into self-storage is something we have been discussing since Clutter’s Series A pitch to Sequoia and we are excited to see it come to fruition,” said Omar Hamoui, partner at Sequoia Capital, in a statement. “The acquisition reinforces Clutter’s market leadership and expands Clutter services by offering a better experience for customers who need self-storage or on-demand storage.”

Eliav Dan, head of West Coast real estate finance at Barclays, said the acquisition would help Clutter grow its business in a positive way.

“Portfolios like that of The Storage Fox are extremely rare, and this acquisition signals that Clutter is uniquely positioned to take on and succeed in the self-storage industry,” Dan said. “Clutter competed with multiple self-storage REITs throughout the bidding process to win the deal – a testament to the strength of the company’s management team and its ability to execute on an innovative business model.”

Clutter’s biggest challenge has been trying to apply the on-demand model to the business of people moving or storing their belongings, as the company makes its money by charging service fees to customers.