Big Yellow Self Storage Partners With Minicabit to Help Customers Move Items

U.K. self-storage operator Big Yellow Group PLC has partnered with Minicabit Ltd., an online price-comparison and booking tool for taxis. Big Yellow customers will be able to use the Minicabit platform to book a cab to and from any Big Yellow facility, including vehicles large enough to accommodate multiple boxes or a large item such as a mattress.

Big Yellow intends to target the service to customers renting its smaller units, who either don’t have their own transportation or don’t need to use a moving van. Students are expected to be heavy users, according to a source.

Minicabit’s booking tool has been integrated into Big Yellow’s website, enabling customers to compares quotes and schedule a taxi. Minicabit also adjusted its “luggage selector” component, which calculates the appropriate size cab needed, allowing customers to enter specific household items such as bicycles, boxes, furniture, golf bags or a television.

The two companies ran a three-month trial and were encouraged by the results. “We work hard to ensure that storing at Big Yellow is easy. We already partner with removal and van-hire companies, so adding the option to book a cab to transport their items to their local Big Yellow store whilst on our website is compelling,” Tom Wilcockson, head of new business development for Big Yellow, told a source. “Partnering with Minicabit instantly gives us U.K.-wide reach across the minicab sector, and avoids the need for us to technically integrate with each minicab firm.”

Minicabit sees the partnership as a natural extension of its evolving business. “With our cab booking having included requests to transport TVs and clothes bags for moving house, rather than just suitcases to an airport, Minicabit is transforming what cabs are booked for online,” Amer Hasan, CEO and founder of Minicabit, told a source. “So we’re delighted to partner with Big Yellow, not only the largest player in the fast-growth U.K. self-storage market but the sector’s leading innovator, too.”

Minicabit compares taxi prices from multiple companies serving more than 30 cities across the United Kingdom. Its service is available online as well as through phone apps for Apple and Android devices.

Big Yellow Group operates 84 self-storage locations in the United Kingdom under the Big Yellow Self Storage and Armadillo Self Storage brand names, with most concentrated in Greater London. Its total portfolio comprises 5.1 million square feet.