Safestore revenues and UK occupancy grow in Q3

Self-storage facilities operator Safestore posted improved quarterly revenues on Thursday, driven by a record third-quarter increase in like-for-like occupancy across its UK operations.

For the three months ended 31 July, Safestore said revenues were up 5% to £40.2m, while like-for-like storage revenues increased 2.2% to £32.0m.

Like-for-like closing occupancy of 4.944m square feet was up 0.2% year-on-year across the whole group, while in the UK it hit 279,000 square feet - compared to 247,000 square feet reported a year prior.

The FTSE 250-listed firm said its Spanish acquisition in Barcelona had performed strongly in the period, growing occupancy from 89% in April to 93.5% at the end of the quarter.

Chief executive Frederic Vecchioli said: "I am pleased to report a solid performance in the third quarter despite strong comparative quarters in both 2018 and 2019.

"I am confident that our leading market positions in the UK and Paris and our resilient business model leaves us well-positioned for the future. The company remains on course to meet the board's full-year expectations."

Safestore also highlighted that the firm's recent openings in Carshalton, Gateshead and Sheffield had all started well and were performing in line or ahead of business plans despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As of 0840 BST, Safestore shares were down 0.51% at 785.50p.