Blog
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
Washington UK, and Washington DC – What are the Differences?
Washington is a town in Tyne and Wear in the north-east of England – it was also the ancestral home of the local Washington family, from whom the first president of the US was descended.
But there are now plenty of differences between the two places, as Hamiltons Removals, who can help with removals to Washington, have been finding out.
Washington, UK
Washington in the UK is effectively a series of villages; it was designated a New Town in the 1960s, partly to boost economic growth in the area. The population at the 2001 census was around 67,000.
Historically the area was important for the coal and chemical industries; nowadays electronics, automotive and aerospace industries are major employers (the famous Nissan car assembly plant is in Washington Road, Sunderland), although one of the old pits has been preserved as a museum (pictured).
The town also has its own nature reserve and an arts centre which includes an exhibition gallery, community theatre, artist studios and a recording studio. Washington Old Hall, the family seat, still has a ceremony to celebrate American Independence Day on July 4 every year.
Washington DC, USA
The American capital is a company town – but here the main business is Government. Being the heartland of American politics has also created a number of ancillary industries – notably tourism, entertainment, and financial and health services – on top of those directly employed in the political world. The DC stands for District of Columbia – and Columbia is defined as ‘the female personification if the nation’.
The population of the city is around 700,000, and it has almost 700 parks and green spaces, covering almost 7,500 acres. It also has rather more in the way of iconic buildings than its UK counterpart – the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol building, pictured, plus various national museums are all located in the American capital.
And while Washington in the UK doesn’t even have its own railway station any more (it was closed as a result of the Beeching cuts in the 1960s), around 70,000 people use Washington DC’s Union Station every day – not to mention the underground system which opened in 1976.
Removals to Washington with Hamiltons Removals
There is one other similarity between the two places – we can help you move to either of them. We offer removals to all parts of the UK from our base close to the Norfolk/Suffolk border. For more details about our UK moving service, follow this link.
When it comes to international removals to the USA, we offer a dedicated shipping service where you have sole use of your own container, or a groupage service where your belongings are part of a bigger consignment. Smaller or valuable items can be sent via air freight. If you’d like to know more about our overseas moving service to the USA, click here.
In both cases, we offer additional services which can include packing and unpacking, and insurance, a cleaning service, and foreign money exchange. Whichever Washington you want to move to, you can also call us on 01379 855203.