OrangeSpace self-storage officially launches in Portugal

Self-storage firm OrangeSpace has officially launched in Portugal following a multi-million-euro investment involving major international backers.

The project is being managed by South African based Self Storage company StoreSmart with more than 10 years’ experience in the self-storage industry with the investment group and local support being led by Allan Fisher and Hans Koster, founders of Holmes Place in Portugal.
The 8000 m2 storage sites are located in Alfragide and Rio de Mouro. Both contain several hundred storage boxes from lockers and rooms from 1 m2 up to 150 m2, to parking spaces for motorcycles, cars and boats.
OrangeSpace Managing Director Mike Sweidan said the company has ambitious expansion plans involving up to four sites in the Greater Lisbon area with additional facilities in Porto and the Algarve.
“We are thrilled to officially launch OrangeSpace in Portugal,” he said. “We worked closely with our local partners to carry out extensive due diligence before committing to the expansion. However, from the outset Lisbon presented many key ingredients being densely populated with a growing profile and thriving start-up business scene.
“OrangeSpace is essentially designed to help residents and businesses who require more space. We provide safe, convenient and low-cost storage solutions for all sorts of objects including furniture, business products and documents to vehicles and boats. Companies such as coffee shops or restaurants can use our storage space for stock to purchase in bulk, while e-commerce businesses can create a physical flexible distribution centres. Professionals who need to store legal documents use our facilities to reduce their office overheads. Expensive office space should only be taken up by people.”
30 years ago, Allan Fisher and Hans Koster teamed up to bring Holmes place to Portugal as the first premium health club offering. The pair has joined forces again with South African firm StoreSmart to bring a premium self-storage operation to the Portuguese.
Mr Koster, President of Holmes Place Portugal, said the recent investment comes as a major boon to the local marketplace driving both services and employment.
“OrangeSpace is not only bringing high-level international expertise to Lisbon, it is providing a much-needed service which is in great demand,” he said. “The firm has created four full-time jobs along with dozens more construction, marketing, accounting and legal services roles. We are pleased to have been of assistance by sharing our knowledge of the local market and look forward to supporting OrangeSpace’s broader growth plans as it prepares for nationwide expansion.”
Mr Sweidan said OrangeSpace’s core values centre around safety, convenience, flexibility and simplicity. “Our experience of running a large self-storage company in South Africa has given us a strong competitive edge in security,” he said. “The security of our clients’ belongings is of paramount importance and we include free insurance in every policy. Our sites possess 24/7 CCTV security systems, fire and smoke alarms and motion detector systems all supported by a response team — which are not common across most storage garages.”
Andre Pinto, OrangeSpace Site Manager said the firm also aims to provide as much variety and flexibility as possible for clients, to cater for evolving storage requirements. “We understand that relocating in particular can often be a stressful and time-consuming experience,” he said. “We like to ease the strain for customers by helping plan from start to finish with recommended removal firms and structured contracts, making the entire process as quick and easy as possible. We are now on the cusp of introducing a new online reservation system making the process even easier.”