Big Yellow Storage In Slough Could Be An ‘Eyesore’ For Town

A Self-storage company is set to move into a closed-down supermarket building in Slough. Owners of Slough Trading Estate SEGRO confirmed on July 7 that Big Yellow storage will be taking over the former Sainsbury’s site on Farnham Road. And supermarket chain Aldi also announced it will be moving into the current Pets at Home building in spring 2023. The pet shop will then be taking over the former Staples store next door. In a statement to the Observer last week, a spokesperson for SEGRO said: “We have been in…

Swindon Debenhams Building Could Be Transformed Into Storage Space Under Plans

Swindon’s former Debenhams store could be turned into a 200,000 sq ft of storage place under new plans. A proposal has been submitted in a joint application by current owners Meadow Partners and inner-city self-storage operator StoreAway to repurpose the building. Under the plans, the now-closed department store would be replaced with 900 lockers inside the building. The building has been vacant since 2020. According to StoreAway, the acquisition would be part of a UK drive to transform more than a quarter of a million sq ft of redundant retail…

Plans For 100 Self-Storage Containers In Bangor

The city centre site could accommodate 67 of the larger containers and 33 of the small ones. One of the UK’s biggest container storage companies is hoping to develop a new site in the centre of Bangor. Lock Stock Self Storage has applied for full planning permission to place around 100 containers on land behind the West End, just off Euston Road. Applicant Stuart Bowker, operations manager of the firm, says in his application to Gwynedd Council, received on June 27, that the units would be for use by local…

Big Yellow To Acquire Slough Site From Segro

Self-storage facilities operator Big Yellow has exchanged contracts to acquire a prime site on Farnham Road in Slough from Segro. Big Yellow said on Wednesday that the site falls within the Slough Trading Estate Simplified Planning Zone scheme, which sets out a series of conditions and, provided that a development fully complies with said conditions, it does not need to secure full planning permission to develop a proposed 62,000 square foot store on the site. The FTSE 250-listed group stated that as part of the transaction, it has also agreed…

Cheltenham Welcomes New Storage Concept StoreAway To Town’s Former Lidl

New self-storage operator StoreAway is transforming 34,000 sq. ft of redundant retail space in Cheltenham’s former Lidl supermarket on Grosvenor Terrace into a thriving storage hub. The site, which was originally built in the late 1970s, has been vacant for almost two years since the supermarket giant relocated to Swindon Road in September 2020. It has now been transformed to play host to 325 lockers and will open to the public on Monday, July 4th. The announcement comes as part of StoreAway’s disruptive plans to repurpose more than a quarter…

Storage Extension Approved For York Firm

Planners have approved the extension of a York storage company. Go Store, which began operations on Monks Cross two years ago, can extend its recently completed main warehouse by a further 163.5m2. It can also erect ten individual storage units in the northwest of its car park. A report by council planning staff said the extension would look similar to the existing 1,452m2 building, with the units ‘ garage-like’ in appearance, forming an l-shape in the car park. Their report said: “The proposal would make more efficient use of the…

Safestore Boosts Profits Amid Flurry Of Acquisitions

Profits have spiked at self-storage giant Safestore – powered by a strong trading performance and increased earnings from investment properties. In its latest half-year results, profit before income tax jumped from £167.3m to £285.2m, with a 25.3 percent increase in the interim dividend to 9.4p reflecting growing profitability. Meanwhile, group revenues are up 14.6 percent, with like-for-like storage sales rising 16.4 percent. Storage rates were also up across key markets such as UK, Spain, and France – up 13 percent on average, with the UK market enjoying a 15.9 percent…

Europe/UK Self-Storage Operator Safestore Releases Half-Year Fiscal 2022 Results

Self-storage operator Safestore Holdings PLC, which has locations in Europe and the United Kingdom, has released its interim financial statement for the first half of its 2022 fiscal year, which ended April 30. The company experienced growth in revenue and occupancy for most of its operating portfolio, according to the official report. Total revenue for the period was up 15.9% to £101 million, with “like-for-like” growth for the group also up 14.5%, using the constant exchange rate (CER). Same-store revenue grew 16.4% using CER. Profit before income tax was £285.2…

Big Yellow Buys Aberdeen Self-Storage Building For £10 Million

Big Yellow said it had bought a 53,000 sq ft self-storage centre in Aberdeen for £10m. Currently branded as Simply Self Storage, the building is the only purpose-built self-storage centre in the city, and will be rebranded as Big Yellow, the company said on Thursday. It added that the purchase price represented a starting 6% net initial year one yield which should grow to 9% within two years as the store benefits from being added to its digital platform. The deal was expected to be earnings enhancing. “This is an…

Century Old Removals Firm Opens New Hub In Somerset

A long-standing family removals firm has opened a new purpose-built £2.8 million storage facility in Weston-super-Mare. Yeates Removals and Self Storage, which has been trading for 100 years, welcomed its first customers to the new four-four facility at Weston Gateway Business Park this week. The new premises serves both domestic and business customers and offers more than 300 self-storage units for short and long-term rental. The facility has been built to high environmental standards, has 24-hour access 365 days a year, the latest security systems, a business lounge, and plenty…