Post reporting period, Big Yellow opened new stores in King’s Cross in London and began work on new stores in Leicester and Slough, bringing the number of stores in the group’s pipeline to 11.”
Self-storage company Big Yellow Group PLC (LSE:BYG)’s first-quarter trading statement detailed positive near-term growth and a strong pipeline of store openings on the horizon.
Total revenues for the quarter hit £48.1mln, a 6.7% increase compared to the first quarter of 2022.
Revenues increased 5.4% on a like-for-like basis when stripping out the impact of new store openings. Year-on-year occupancy rates dropped to 81.9% from 86.5%, or to 85.2% from 86.7% like for like.
However, occupancy rates actually increased from the previous quarter, indicating a near-term return to growth across the business.
In terms of raw numbers, occupancy across all 109 stores increased by 167,000 square feet compared to a gain of 174,000 square feet in the same quarter last year.
The average net rent per square foot was £32.88, an increase of 8% from the same time last year.
Post reporting period, Big Yellow opened new stores in King’s Cross in London and began work on new stores in Leicester and Slough, bringing the number of stores in the group’s pipeline to 11.
Chief executive Jim Gibson commented: “We have had a solid start to the year with a return to occupancy growth this quarter, broadly in line with last year.
“We are continuing to manage yield, offsetting the adverse impact of inflation on our cost base, with average rents growing by 9% over the quarter.
“In addition, our prospect numbers are back at pre-Covid levels, and encouragingly we are achieving higher conversion rates to move-in, which is perhaps indicative of a higher proportion of needs-driven serious enquiries.”
