Rafter Group Announces Key Changes to Support Growth Drive

As Rafter Group continues its rapid expansion across Europe, it now the natural time to announce an evolution of our group leadership team with two internal appointments.

Jose Pombo is stepping into the newly created role of Group COO.  Jose co-founded Storemore Spain and brings over 15 years of experience in self-storage.  In his new role, Jose will lead the alignment of group and local strategies and the implementation of key group initiatives across sales, marketing and operations.  He will also support our regional boards and serve on the investment committee. 

Joaquin Castillo Escoriaza will be moving into the role of Managing Director of Storemore Spain.  Having co-founded the business with Jose, he is the natural successor to lead the Spanish business forwards.  Jose Pombo will continue to actively support Joaquin and the Storemore Spain team in several areas in the role of Chairman of Storemore Spain. 

Simon Loveridge, who joined the business in early 2024 as Group CFO, steps into the position of Rafter Group CEO.  Simon will leverage his wealth of experience in operational real estate to drive the business forwards with the rest of the management team to deliver its objective to be the largest independent provider of premium self-storage in Europe.

Simon Loveridge commented:

“I have enjoyed my time in the business and really proud of what the team has achieved in such a short period of time.

Since the start of 2024 we have opened 14 new stores and have another 16 in our growing pipeline due to open in the next 18 months. We have also raised around €300m in funding and our brands have been nominated for 11 industry awards – winning 5 of them.

I am delighted to move into the role of Group CEO to help continue to build on progress we have been making on bringing together the business and delivering more synergies across the group. I would also like to congratulate Jose and Joaquin on their new roles. I look forward to working with both of them and the rest of the Rafter team on this next exciting phase of our journey together.”

Jose Pombo commented:

“As I step down as CEO of Storemore, I do so with immense pride in the extraordinary team we’ve built and the solid, customer-centric business we’ve created together. It’s been a remarkable journey, and I’m deeply grateful to every person who has contributed to shaping what Storemore is today.

 I have full confidence in Joaquín and the senior leadership team to take the company to new heights—continuing to scale with ambition, focus, and heart.

 At the same time, I’m incredibly excited to be joining Rafter as the new COO to help drive our vision across Europe. The possibilities ahead are vast, and I’m energized by the opportunity to help build a best-in-class self-storage platform that leads through innovation, operational excellence, and an unwavering commitment to our customers and teams.”