Safestore, the self-storage specialist that has a portfolio in the UK and Paris, reported a 5.5% increase in revenues in a fourth quarter trading update.
The company’s revenues for the full year to the end of October increased to £151.8m, from £143.9m last year.
Occupancy across its portfolio, which comprises 122 sites in the UK and 28 in the Paris region, increased 3.4 percentage points to 77% over the year, while its average storage rate nudged up slightly by 0.7% to £26.09.
The company said performance was particularly strong in regional UK stores with like-for-like revenue up 5.0% while London and the South East grew by 2.9%.
Over the year, the business added occupancy of 173,000 sq ft on a like-for-like basis. Total revenue in the UK grew by 5.2% for the full year, including a newly acquired store in Heathrow, management revenue from its Dutch joint venture business and the annualisation of 2018 new store openings in Mitcham and Paddington Marble Arch offset by 2018 closures in Deptford, Merton, Leeds and Paddington.
Revenue at Safestore’s Paris portfolio grew by 6.9% in the year, driven by average occupancy growth of 6.6% for the year.
Frederic Vecchioli, chief executive, said: “Further to our successful openings this year, we plan to open new stores in London-Carshalton, Gateshead, Sheffield and Paris-Magenta (subject to planning) during the 2019/2020 financial year, adding 175,000 sq ft of capacity to our estate.
“The company is in a very strong position and, as ever, our top priority remains the significant organic growth opportunity represented by the 1.5m sq ft of currently unlet space in our existing fully invested estate. Our leading market positions in the UK and Paris combined with our resilient business model enable us to look forward to the future with confidence.”
Safestore will announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 October 2019 on Tuesday, 7 January 2020.
SAFE : Safestore reports growth in revenue of 5.5% in a year