An additional uplift was provided by the opening of two new stores in Bedford and Peterborough, which the group noted had seen ‘very good’ early trading and took the size of its total estate to 42.”
Lok’nStore Group ended the last financial year on a high after revenue growth in the second half of the period surpassed forecasts.
The warehouse space provider’s total self-storage turnover expanded by 5.3 percent for the 12 months ending July, with sales in the latter six months increasing ‘slightly ahead of expectations at 11.2 percent.
Trading was also boosted by the average price per square foot of occupied space jumping by 6.8 percent.
An additional uplift was provided by the opening of two new stores in Bedford and Peterborough, which the group noted had seen ‘very good’ early trading and took the size of its total estate to 42.
Lok’nStore is building another three outlets in Staines, Basildon and Kettering, which it plans to open within the coming year.
Last month, it raised around £ 20.5 million from shareholders to fund this expansion and capitalize on the boom in the British self-storage sector.
Andrew Jacobs, the chairman of Lok’nStore, said: ‘We continue to deliver on our strategy of opening more new stores in the under-supplied self-storage market.’
He added: ‘These new stores will accelerate our growth in cash flows to fund more dividends to shareholders and more growth of the business.’
In 2022, UK households and companies stockpiled over 2 million additional square feet of items into self-storage units, according to figures from real estate agency Cushman & Wakefield and the Self Storage Association UK.
Growth has been driven in recent years by firms responding to the rise in online shopping, which was turbocharged by Covid-related restrictions in 2020 forcing shops to temporarily close.
Soaring housing costs have also forced many Britons to choose smaller rental properties, resulting in some having to lease storage units to house their excess items.
Analysts at Finncap said: ‘A key attraction of the model and structural conditions of the UK [self-storage] market is the potential for a new store to be valued at double its cost once open and trading is proven.’
Lok’nStore Group shares were 1.9 percent, or 14p, higher at 746p on Monday morning but have still fallen by approximately 24 percent so far this year.
