Yard Self Storage, which opened in February in the Aycliffe Business Park of Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, is making plans to expand following support from Premcor Estates, a Barnard Castle, England-based commercial real estate development company that’s making its debut in the storage industry. Premcor will provide funding and help identify possible development sites for the container-storage operator, according to sources.
“We are currently involved in several large planning applications for various sites under our ownership, which is taking up a great deal of our time; but the opportunity to have some involvement in Yard was too good to miss,” said Premcor Director Simon Hawkins. “We have known the managing director of Yard, Nick Bellwood, for many years. He is an experienced operator within the self-storage market, and we are pleased to be investing in his new business venture, which provides self-storage, drive-up container storage, and commercial storage.”
Premcor and Yard plan to open six more facilities. The companies have already purchased a site in Newton Aycliffe and have another under offer in Carlisle. Additional locations under consideration include County Durham, Rossington, and Sheffield, the sources reported.
“Our first site is going well, and it is great to have the Premcor guys in the background providing support. Their advice so far has been excellent, particularly their knowledge of the planning process,” Bellwood said. “I look forward to further developing the business with them in the future.”
Yard offers personal and business storage via the use of 20-foot, ventilated shipping containers.
Premcor was founded in 2018 by Hawkins and Robert Lane. The company develops industrial, office, residential and retail projects.
