U.K. company Lok'nStore Group PLC, which provides self-storage and records-storage services, released pre-close financial results for the first half of its 2018 fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31. Same-store self-storage revenue increased 6.9 percent year over year, with January “delivering the highest-ever-level of new storage inquiries in a single month,” the release stated. Same-store occupancy was up 6 percent for the period, while average price per square foot increased .4 percent compared to the same period last year.
During the six months, Lok’nStore opened a facility in Gillingham, England, and acquired a property in Dorset, England. A new location is scheduled to open in Wellingborough, England, in March. The company has five other projects in its development pipeline that are expected to be complete by July 31, 2019.
"Trading at our new landmark stores in Broadstairs, Bristol, Hemel Hempstead and early trading at our Gillingham store has been excellent,” said CEO Andrew Jacobs. “This underpins our confidence that our strong pipeline of six more landmark stores will add further momentum to sales and earnings growth. All six stores are in prominent locations with large catchment areas that demonstrate the company's ability to source high-quality sites, adding to future sales and earnings growth.”
Founded in 1995, Lok’nStore builds, buys or leases large warehouses or industrial buildings and rents storage units to customers on a weekly basis. It operates 25 self-storage facilities and two records-storage locations in Southern England. The self-storage portfolio is comprised of 12 freehold or long-leasehold properties, seven leasehold sites and six locations under management.
Sources:
Investegate, Pre-Close Trading Update
Interactive Investor, Lok'n Store Makes Progress With Pipeline Within Strong First Half