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Goldman Sachs Backs RecNation's $500M Expansion for Recreational Vehicle Storage

Where do you put your recreational vehicle, boat, classic car, jet ski, or ATV when you’re not using it? Gary Wojtaszek, former chief executive officer of data center giant CyrusOne, hopes you’ll give his new venture, RecNation, a try.

Goldman Sachs Group is acting as a financial advisor to the company to raise $500 million for a joint venture, according to a Bloomberg report. Wojtaszek will use the capital with debt to acquire properties, ultimately looking at a potential initial public offering.

The JV includes Centerbridge Partners, with Wojtaszek using the money to expand RecNation to its current size.

The new company provides specialized storage for vehicles in 66 locations across eight states. According to a press release from last October, Goldman Sachs named Wojtaszek as an exceptional entrepreneur of 2024 at its Builders and Innovators Summit.

He conceived the idea after a camping trip during the pandemic, which caused him and his wife to cancel a European vacation. Instead, the two bought a trailer, eventually realizing the difficulty in finding storage space.

This type of storage has some things in common with industrial outdoor storage, and that's sites zoned for industrial use where the tenant can store something outside, such as vehicles, construction equipment, building materials, or containers. They can be difficult to build because they have minimal tax contributions, and they are frequently unattractive.

According to Bloomberg, an attractive part of RV storage is that family businesses dominate an industry with an estimated 11 million households that own RVs, which doesn’t account for the other types of vehicles. RecNation’s strategy is to acquire locations and improve their management and operation.

The storage aspect requires a number of features, such as fencing to people out. RecNation said that many of its sites offer keypad entry and around-the-clock video recording.

The company has also added complementary lines of business, including RV rentals, vehicle repairs, and used vehicle sales. All of that will require more than just space — systems, equipment, and trained personnel.

Reprinted with permission from the Tuesday, 04 February 2025 06:22:52 EST online edition of GlobeSt © 2025 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-256-2472 or reprints@alm.com.