Acquisitions
We acquired or developed 30 stores in 2020, for total investment from Extra Space of $288 million. The acquisition environment continues to be very competitive and we are committed to only enter transactions that are accretive for our shareholders. In 2020, a greater percentage of our acquisitions were non-stabilized properties, with lease-up opportunity, resulting in stronger long-term returns. The majority of our acquisitions came from off-market transactions or through our third-party management partners, rather than bidding wars in the open market.
Third-Party Management
We had another very busy year on the third-party management front, adding 165 new third-party managed stores to our portfolio in 2020. As the operating environment became more challenging due to COVID-19 as well as due to new supply in many markets, many independent storage owner-operators sought our professional management services. This is an attractive business for Extra Space, since it not only provides management fees and additional tenant reinsurance income, but also enhances our scale and our data set. We also saw a shift from most of the properties added to the platform being newly constructed facilities, to a more balanced mix of stabilized and non-stabilized stores. We view our third-party management customers as partners, and as we build these partnerships it provides the opportunity for bridge loans, future acquisitions, and other benefits of working together with other industry participants.
Store Count Growth
Bridge Loan Program
2020 was the second year of the Extra Space Bridge Loan Program, and one of excellent growth. This program was designed to provide loans to current and prospective third-party management customers on existing properties regardless of their property’s occupancy. This deepens our relationship with these partners, adds management contracts to our platform and allows us to place capital at an attractive risk-adjusted return. It also provides another future acquisition pipeline, as we further solidify relationships with our partners. We close the loans in a senior and subordinated loan structure, and typically sell the senior note to one of our lending partners. This allows us to manage the total loan balances carried on our balance sheet, control our loan concentration, and enhance returns. In 2020, we originated total loan volume of $220 million, approximately 75% of which has been sold to lending partners. We approved over $400 million in loans during the year, resulting in a strong pipeline heading into 2021.
Preferred Equity Investment
In 2020, we expanded our preferred equity investments through two preferred investments totaling $300 million in Jernigan Capital, Inc. (JCAP), in connection with the acquisition of JCAP by affiliates of NexPoint Advisors. The investment has a blended yield of 10.7%, with annual increases in the dividend after year five, and with penalties and make whole provisions if retired early. The investment also provides Extra Space with certain rights with respect to purchasing the properties. The investment resulted in the management of 37 stores being transferred to Extra Space, providing additional management fees and tenant reinsurance income.
We also made an additional $50 million preferred equity investment in SmartStop Self Storage REIT (SmartStop), which is in addition to the $150 million investment we made in SmartStop in 2019. SmartStop pays a preferred dividend of 6.25%, before its common dividend can be paid, and the investment includes an option to convert to common stock. This transaction marks another successful transaction completed between Extra Space and SmartStop, and further strengthens our long-term relationship.
Stores added to platform in 2020
Hover to view locations
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Northwest
11
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California
10
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Hawaii
0
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Texas
13
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Southeast
23
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Northeast
30
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Mid-Atlantic
22
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Florida & P.R.
29
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