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The UK’s Self Storage Sector Continues to Grow
While the property and removals markets continue to be affected by external factors – such as interest rates, stamp duty holidays and other political decisions – there is one associated industry which seems to be largely unaffected and continues to go from strength to strength.
The self-storage sector has seen steady growth in the UK for several years, and SSAUK’s latest annual report, which has just been released, shows that this trend is continuing. Hamiltons Removals, who have storage units for rent near Diss, take a look at some of the key takeaways.
The Headline Figures
The UK’s self-storage industry now has a £1.2 billion a year turnover, which represents a rise of more than £100 million over the previous 12 months. There is now more than 64.3 million square feet of self-storage across the country, or 0.94 square feet per person, up from 0.89 in 2023.
Almost three-quarters of this space (73%) is used by domestic customers, with 40% using storage when they are on the move. The remaining renters are businesses, mostly smaller companies. A quarter of whom operate solely from their unit.
Occupancy rate (the amount of space actually being used as a percentage of the total) fell by 1% to just over 75%. However, the churn rate – the rate at which customers who leave are replaced by new ones – is just under 100%, so from that perspective the demand is still there.
The amount of automisation in the industry is also increasing, with online bookings in particular on the rise.
Key Trends Among Domestic Customers…
One of the most noticeable trends identified in the report is the percentage of people using self-storage as somewhere to store belongings during renovations. This almost doubled from 13% to 24% and reflects the trend for needing space while home improvements are carried out.
The usual reasons for needing storage space were given as well. An important life event such as a birth or death in the family, a marriage or a divorce was cited the reason for using it among 11% of customers, while the upheaval caused by a house move accounted for 17% of users.
…and Commercial Customers
Businesses as well as householders also said the need to create more space was the reason for using self-storage (12%). In some cases, the space was being used either as a distribution centre, or a holding area for stock; it was also seen as somewhere to store records and archives. And many businesses which are expanding used storage space as a temporary home or overspill area while they searched for bigger permanent premises.
Self-storage was also being used by an increasing number of online retailers, who tend to sign long-term agreements, which helps reduce the churn rate and provide the industry with some stability.
Storage Units for Rent near Diss with Hamiltons Removals
At Hamiltons Removals, we have two Safe N Stored sites, at Harleston and Aldeby, both close to the Norfolk/Suffolk border. The former offers self-storage rooms for as little as £65 a month. Harleston is also the location of our online shop, where you can buy a variety of high-quality packing supplies – convenient for customers in Norfolk and Suffolk.
Aldeby offers self-storage containers which are ideal for larger items such as vehicles, bikes, caravans and boats, and costs as little as £52 per month.
Both sites are highly secure and are covered by CCTV cameras. We also offer a collection and delivery service, a forklift truck service and insurance. To learn more about either of our two sites, follow this link.
- The SSAUK report included answers from 70 facility operators in 76 locations. More than 1,200 consumers from 19 self-storage companies were also surveyed. The survey was commissioned by SSAUK and carried out by the Cushman and Wakefield commercial real estate firm
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