Richland Self Storage opened on Aug. 1 at 3809 Richland Ave. in Aiken, S.C. The property includes more than 500 units of varying sizes, with more than half being climate-controlled, according to a company press release.

Brad Brodie, the general contractor for the development, said the storage company is ramping up to be the “premier” place for self-storage in the area. The new facility has several access points including two from Richland Avenue and one at the rear access road. “Trucks and large trailers have easy entry and maneuverability once inside,” Brodie said.

The facility has been designed to incorporate features including digital video monitoring, computerized security, lighted units and background music, according to the release. Customers can access the property 24/7 via automatic gates with electronic keypads.

“Richland Self Storage is by far the most advanced facility of its kind in the area,” Brodie told the source. “Every aspect of the design paid particular attention to the comfort, convenience and safety of customers.”

Brodie and marketing specialist Pete Palmere told the source their research indicated there was a demand for storage in the Aiken market. According to their numbers, the industry has grown by 45 percent since 2007.

In addition to traditional self-storage, the facility will provide records storage for businesses. It will also aim to attract professional tenants such as pharmaceutical reps.

Sparkplug Capital LLC, a Boulder, Colo., company that operates the Red Dot Storage brand, recently acquired Peoria Mini Storage in Mossville, Ill., the company’s eighth self-storage acquisition. The property at 10704 N. Galena Road has more than 350 units in a variety of sizes as well as outdoor storage for boats, RVs and other oversized vehicles.

The company plans to add a 24-hour rental center to assist new and existing customers with unit rentals and payments. Additional planned improvements include a new access-controlled gate, improved lighting and asphalt drives, according to a press release.

 “We are pleased to add the Peoria Mini Storage facility to our Red Dot Storage family,” said Seth Bent, president. "We will continue to pursue acquisitions throughout the region, and look forward to offering our customers more locations in the near future.”

Red Dot Storage owns and operates eight properties in Illinois and Wisconsin. Earlier this year, the company purchased Alternative Storage in Janesville, Wis.; Centerville Storage in Woodstock, Ill.; and Kendall Point Storage in Oswego, Ill.

By Jay MacDonald

Reprinted with permission from "The Storage Facilitator" blog.

Like the durable, dependable inspiration behind his Duct Tape Marketing network for small-business consulting, John Jantsch knows a thing or two about stick-to-itiveness. The popular Kansas City, Mo., marketing guru and author of the bestseller “Duct Tape Marketing” combines old-school customer-service techniques with new-school social media savvy to give the little guys a leg up on their less-nimble corporate competitors.

A frequent public speaker, Jantsch has shared his secrets of brand stickiness with the sales teams at American Express Open, eBay and Microsoft, as well as the American Marketing Association, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. His latest book, “Duct Tape Selling—Think Like a Marketer, Sell Like a Superstar,” hit bookstores on May 15. Here he shares his insight with self-storage operators.

Self-storage is a curious niche, and one many operators find difficult to market effectively. In fact, it’s often said that empty space in general, whether it’s apartments, hotels or storage units, is one of the least sexy products around. What’s the “Duct Tape” secret to selling storage space?

JJ: The first thing you must do is stop thinking about it as space and start thinking about it as a way to make someone’s dream come true. Now, that may seem a little far-fetched at first, but why do people really use space of any type? It’s to get more of something they have now—more room, a good night’s sleep, a place to call home. When you approach it from this point of view first, you can start to differentiate your space from that of everyone else.

It’s just as often said that one storage unit is pretty much the same as the next. What tips would you have to help owners differentiate their facilities from the competition?

JJ: When selling what feels very much like a commodity—three walls and a door—you must focus on the experience, so people want to tell their friends and come back the next time they need storage. To do that, you must find a way to actually be different. This can be through things like your service, your advertising, your business approach, your signage, your customer events or your referral program.

Which successful product or service from a completely different market segment would storage operators be wise to emulate, and why?

JJ: Instead of an actual name of a product or service, I’ll choose an attribute or personality characteristic: convenience. People today want no-hassle buying. If there are long-standing policies in your industry that everyone dislikes, find a way to get rid of them, even if people say you’re crazy.

What’s the one misstep most small businesses make when it comes to marketing?

JJ: Trying to attract all comers. You’ve got to understand who and what makes an ideal customer for your business, and focus on serving and attracting them. This is how some self-storage companies charge a great deal more than others—by demonstrating they cater to the needs of a very narrow target market.

What’s the smartest move a storage facility can make to lift itself to the next level?

JJ: Go to work on building the biggest strategic partner network you can and start referring lots of business to them. When you find and nurture relationships with noncompeting businesses that also serve your ideal customers, you can build a large referral network while serving your customers even better.

Everybody complains that they don’t have the budget to mount an effective marketing effort. What’s the key to making a big splash with a small budget?

JJ: Focus on doing things that get your customers to share and talk. Your greatest bang for your buck comes from delighting your current customers and turning them into advocates for your brand.

Jay MacDonald is a Florida-based freelance writer who contributes regularly to the blogs at SpareFoot.com and SelfStorage.com. His work also appears on websites such as Bankrate.com and CreditCards.com. "The Storage Facilitator" is a self-storage blog managed by SpareFoot and hosted by partners SelfStorage.com.

Value Store It Inc., which operates 12 properties on the East Coast under the Value Store It Self Storage brand, celebrated the grand opening of its facility in Mount Vernon, N.Y., on July 17. The company converted a 108-year-old landmark at 320 Washington St. that has a long history in the community, having served as a manufacturing plant for several industries. The building was fully restored to its former composition, according to a press release.

The five-story building was originally a silver factory and warehouse for the Mauser Manufacturing Co. In 1903, Mauser merged with Hayes & McFarland Co. and Roger Williams Silverware Co., forming Mt. Vernon Co. Silversmiths.

In the 1960s, the building was purchased by APF Master Frame Makers Inc., a manufacturer of mirrors and frames for museums, public and private collections, galleries, and designers. APF was the largest company of its kind in America, employing several generations of local families, according to the release. Once the business moved to a larger, more centralized location, the Mount Vernon building was vacant for about 10 years. Value Store It bought it a few years ago.

“Once we found out about the history of the location, we decided that, along with the conversion, the building should be restored to its original composition,” said Carlos Diaz, vice president and general manager.

The conversion took two years and cost nearly $2 million to complete. The original Chicago-style brick was re-pointed, pressure-cleaned and acid-washed to look brand new. Similar work was done to the marble finishes on the outside window sills and main entranceway. Value Store It replaced the eight roof sections and removed overgrown grass and other foliage from the property. The building interior was covered with lead-based paint, which was sandblasted down to the original natural-wood finish.

The original structure contained several secret passageways and rooms, which were discovered during the renovation. "These came as a surprise to us, and even to people who had been inside the building before,” said Bryan Lekas, vice president of operations.

The building also features a tower clock, similar to the one used in the 1985 movie “Back to the Future.” Value Store It installed a digital drive, and the clock is fully functional, requiring no manual operation.

The conversion created 65,000 square feet of storage space. The building is now equipped with a new retail office, restrooms, elevators, heating and air conditioning, lighting, and plumbing.

Hina Sherwani, first assistant corporation counsel for Mount Vernon City Hall, said the restoration is appreciated by the community’s citizens. “Preserving the architecture and relics from the factory allowed many of our citizens to reflect on their own family’s history. It is a wonderful feeling to experience, learn and feel connected to the people, ideas and events of our great past to see what they saw and touch what they touched.”

Based in Miami, Value Store It is a privately owned company that operates more than 1,000,000 square feet of self-storage space in Connecticut, Florida and New York. Its facilities offer commercial and residential storage, truck rentals, and moving and packing supplies.

 

The customer contact center for Bloomington, Ind.-based Storage Express is now open 24 hours a day. The company, which owns and operates 85 self-storage locations, previously operated the center from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The hours were extended to better assist customers with new rentals, payments, inquiries and more, according to a company press release.

“We’ve always offered 24/7 access to our customers, but we’re really excited about offering 24/7 customer service as well. Our goal is to add a new level of support to current and potential customers across the Midwest,” said John Barlow, rental operations director. “This gives us a leg up on our friendly competitors. We can also monitor overnight activity in real time at our properties, [and] we’re adding more and more camera feeds to our headquarters.”

Storage Express owns and operates storage properties in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. The company buys, builds and renovates self-storage facilities, and has plans for new construction in several markets in 2014 and beyond.

 

The four publicly traded, U.S.-based self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs)—CubeSmart, Extra Space Storage Inc., Public Storage Inc. and Sovran Self Storage Inc.—have released financial statements for the quarter that ended June 30. In general, all four entities showed gains in key areas, particularly funds from operations (FFO) and net operating income (NOI), while also achieving record-high occupancy levels.

“This spring’s leasing season has proven to be a good one, and we’ve been able to achieve strong rate growth across all of our markets,” said David Rogers, CEO of Sovran. “We hit our best-ever earnings level this quarter, and we are on pace to beat our all-time high for occupancy and rental rates later this summer.”

Christopher P. Marr, president and CEO of CubeSmart, expressed similar optimism. "During the second quarter, our property portfolio achieved all-time high occupancy levels and solid net effective rent growth resulting in FFO performance above expectations,” he said. “We remain disciplined and focused on pursuing external growth opportunities that enhance our portfolio quality and generate long-term value for shareholders."

The four self-storage REITs have performed particularly well recently when compared to other REIT sectors and alternative investments. Led by Extra Space, the storage REIT topped the second-annual ranking of best alternative investments published by “Bloomberg Markets” magazine. Three of the top five REITs identified in the 141-company Bloomberg REIT Index for the three-year period that ended on March 31 are self-storage operators. The complete list will be published in the publication’s September 2014 issue.

"We continue to see strong demand, resulting in solid operational performance,” said Spencer F. Kirk, CEO of Extra Space. “We are achieving record-high occupancies, while successfully increasing street rates. Our Internet presence and operational proficiencies are propelling outstanding results."

CubeSmart

CubeSmart reported FFO per share of $0.27, a 17.4 percent year-over-year increase. Same-store NOI at its 346 facilities grew 9.7 percent year over year. The company attributed this to 7.6 percent growth in revenue and a 3.2 percent increase in property operating expenses.

The operation gained 310 basis points in physical occupancy compared with the same quarter the previous year. The same-store physical occupancy was 92.4 percent as of June 30. The company’s total-owned portfolio, representing 387 facilities comprising 26.1 million square feet of rentable space, had a physical occupancy of 92 percent at the end of the second quarter.

CubeSmart acquired nine self-storage properties during the quarter for $127.4 million including four in Florida, two in New York and single assets in Indiana, Massachusetts and Texas. The company also invested $23.5 million in four joint-venture development properties under construction. Officials anticipate they will invest a total of $79.9 million related to these projects.

On May 28, the company declared a dividend of 13 cents per common share. The dividend was paid on July 15 to common shareholders of record on July 1. The board of trustees also declared a dividend of $0.48 for the 7.75 percent Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares that was paid on July 15 to holders of record on July 1.

CubeSmart owns or manages 559 self-storage facilities across the United States and operates the CubeSmart Network, which consists of more than 800 additional self-storage facilities.

Extra Space Storage Inc.

Same-store revenue increased 7.9 percent and NOI rose 9.9 percent compared to the same period in 2013. FFO was 63 cents per diluted share, resulting in 25.5 percent growth compared to the second quarter the previous year.

Same-store occupancy grew by 160 basis points to 92.4 percent as of June 30, compared to 90.8 percent at the same time in 2013.

The company purchased eight properties during the quarter for approximately $91.2 million. The assets are in California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Washington. Extra Space has five additional properties under contract for a total purchase price of approximately $41.4 million. The acquisition of these properties is expected to occur by the end of September.

The company paid a quarterly dividend of 47 cents per common share on June 30 to common shareholders of record on June 13.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Extra Space owns or operates 1,071 self-storage properties in 35 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico. The company’s properties comprise approximately 715,000 units and 79 million square feet of rentable space.

Public Storage Inc.

Revenue for same-store facilities increased 5.3 percent, or $22.6 million, in the quarter, as compared to the same period in 2013, primarily because of higher realized annual rent per occupied square foot and higher average occupancy. Cost of operations for the same-store facilities increased by 1.2 percent, or $1.5 million, in the quarter as compared to the same period in 2013.

FFO was $1.99 per diluted common share, compared to $1.83 for the same period the previous year. NOI increased $38.9 million during the quarter compared to the same period in 2013, including $21.2 million for same-store facilities.

During the first six months of the year, the company acquired six self-storage facilities for approximately $37 million. Five of the properties are in North Carolina and one is in Texas. On July 1, Public Storage purchased 25 storage properties in five states for $240 million. Nineteen of the assets are in Florida. The REIT has four additional facilities under contract for $40 million. The acquisition of these properties is expected to close by the end of December.

The company reported a regular common quarterly dividend of $1.40 per common share. It also declared dividends with respect to various series of preferred shares. All the dividends are payable on Sept. 30 to shareholders of record as of Sept 15.

Based in Glendale, Calif., Public Storage has interests in 2,208 self-storage facilities in 38 states, with approximately 142 million net rentable square feet. Operating under the Shurgard brand name, the company also has 188 facilities in seven European countries, with approximately 10 million net rentable square feet.

Sovran Self Storage Inc. (Uncle Bob's Self Storage)

Total revenue increased 19.9 percent over the previous year's second quarter, while operating costs increased 16.9 percent, resulting in an NOI increase of 21.2 percent. Same-store NOI increased 10 percent year over year. FFO for the quarter was $1 per fully diluted common share, compared to 94 cents for the same period the previous year, a 6.4 percent increase.

Net income available to common shareholders for the second quarter was $20.6 million, or 62 cents per fully dilated share. For the same period in 2013, net income available to common shareholders was $17.9 million, or 57 cents per fully diluted common share.

Revenue for the company’s 386 wholly owned facilities increased 8.6 percent year over year, helped by an increase in average occupancy of 270 basis points and 4.4 percent increase in rental rates. Average overall occupancy was 90.7 percent, with units renting for an average of $11.79 per square foot, an increase of 8.3 percent. Facilities showing the strongest revenue gain were in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York and Texas, officials said.

Sovran acquired 19 self-storage properties during the quarter for $130 million. Sixteen of the assets were purchased for $96 million, with the balance acquired for Sovran HHF Storage Holdings LLC, a joint venture in which Sovran owns 20 percent. Seven of the facilities are in New Jersey, with another seven in the St. Louis market. Single assets are in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia and San Antonio.

The company paid a quarterly dividend of 68 cents per common share.

Sovran, which operates facilities under the brand Uncle Bob's Self Storage, operates 502 facilities in 25 states, with a large presence in Texas.

By Josh Long

Self-storage rental agreements specify that the business operator takes neither care, custody nor control of tenants’ personal property. Instead, tenants assume the risk of damage or loss to their stored goods.

These boilerplate lease terms are crucial to the self-storage industry because they generally insulate operators from liability for customer property that is damaged or lost due to a leaky roof, burglary or other unfortunate circumstance. Tenants face the classic “buyer beware” scenario: They can either purchase tenant insurance from a third-party provider or pray nothing spoils their stuff.

But some self-storage operators have chosen a different path, agreeing to assume risk for tenants’ personal property in exchange for a premium monthly payment. Through their “protection plan,” these operators agree to pay customers for belongings that are lost or damaged, up to a specific dollar amount.

The increasing popularity of protection plans, and some litigation surrounding them, has fueled a vigorous debate over their pros and cons and how they compare to traditional tenant insurance. Operators are curious about the differences between the two programs, the coverages offered and excluded by these products, and which is best for their particular business. This article aims to answer some common questions.

Parties to the Contract

One of the biggest differences between tenant insurance and a protection program is the latter is not insurance, according to Ted Dobbs, an underwriter with Deans & Homer, which has been writing commercial property insurance since 1856. “This is the self-storage owner’s commitment contractually as spelled out in his lease or in a lease addendum that says, ‘Mr. Tenant, if something goes wrong as specified, I’m going to step up to the plate and do the right thing,’” Dobbs says.

Essentially, the operator with a protection plan is offering the customer “a premium quality lease,” added Joseph Torrisi, executive vice president of insurance services with On The Move Insurance Agency, which provides a tenant-protection program. “You’ve got your standard lease where you assume no responsibility for their property, and for a few dollars more, you give them a lease where you are willing to assume limited liability up to the protection-plan limit in the event the roof leaks, the building burns down or your security is breached and the room gets broken into,” Torrisi explained during a seminar at this year’s Inside-Self Storage World Expo in Las Vegas. By contrast, tenant insurance is a contract between the tenant and the insurance carrier.

Damaged Goods: What Next?

Tenant insurance grants a self-storage customer who has suffered a loss the right to file a claim with the insurance provider on the policy, says Blake Johnson, director of underwriting with Ponderosa Insurance Agency LLC. The insurance company handles the claim and determines whether payment should be made under the policy.

“Since we sell tenant-insurance coverage sponsored by a licensed insurance company, we are not involved in deciding if the claim is valid or how much should be paid,” says Kenneth Nitzberg, chairman and CEO of Devon Self Storage Holdings LLC, which offers tenant insurance to its customers.

Self-storage operators who solely offer protection plans are cutting out the third-party insurance carrier. If a tenant’s property is lost or damaged and the loss is covered under the protection plan, the operator is legally responsible for remitting money to the tenant up to the coverage amount specified in the agreement.

Tenant Insurance

A number of self-storage operators say a benefit of tenant insurance is it enables them to focus on their core business. “I’m in the storage business. I’m not in the business of wanting to be handling claims for my tenants,” says Ian Burnstein, co-founder and chief operating officer of Storage Pros Management LLC, which specializes in the acquisition, development, improvement and management of self-storage facilities. “So that’s why I offer a traditional insurance program.”

Tenants typically pay for insurance with their monthly rent, says Nitzberg, who characterized the offering as “a very simple and basic process that is easy to understand by the facility manager and the tenant.”

Kevin Leebrick, store manager with Advantage Self Storage in Indian Trail, N.C., says a majority of customers opt into purchasing tenant insurance. Managers at his facility use a suggestive sales tactic that helps reel in the business. “Our lease asks that all of our tenants have insurance,” he says. “‘Will the $2,000 for the nine bucks a month be enough for you?’ That phrase has garnered the success we’ve had over the last year.”

Tenant insurance can also provide a financial perk for self-storage operators because they sometimes reap a portion of the proceeds of the policy. For example, for every $9 in monthly insurance paid by a tenant, Advantage Self Storage gets to keep $3.60, or 40 percent of the proceeds, Leebrick says.

Operators who offer tenant insurance through Ponderosa Insurance Agency get to keep 30 percent of the premium for the least expensive plan, which is $7.95 a month for a limit on personal property of $1,000, according to Johnson. The company’s most popular plan covers $5,000 in property, he says. Ponderosa charges a $100 deductible for all its limits.

Similarly, it’s common for self-storage operators who offer pay-with-rent tenant insurance to retain a per-policy administrative fee ranging from 25 percent to 50 percent of the premium, according to Keith McConnell, vice president of business development for MiniCo Insurance Agency. MiniCo offers tenants coverage of $2,500 for $9 per month, and they have the option of covering up to $20,000 in personal property for a higher monthly premium.

During the 2014 ISS Expo, Burnstein alluded to another benefit of tenant insurance: that it is less likely a customer with insurance will sue the self-storage operator. He cited a small-claims action in Massachusetts in which a tenant without insurance obtained a $5,000 judgment. Storage Pros planned to appeal. The claim would have been paid if the person had insurance, Burnstein says.

“Practically speaking, it’s going to be a small-claims matter most of the time,” he says, referring to litigation against self-storage operators. “But we have a couple cases right now where there is actually somebody that’s claiming an obscene amount of money.”

Policy Improvements

Some sources says insurance carriers have been improving their policies, making insurance more attractive to self-storage tenants.  McConnell says MiniCo and other companies have eliminated deductibles and are valuing stored goods based on the cost to replace the item rather than their actual cash value. “Replacement cost is a much broader and better coverage than an actual-cash-value policy,” he explained.

Competition may also be driving improvements in tenant insurance. “With the popularity of pay-with-rent insurance programs, especially over the past five years, more and more programs have been developed and introduced in the marketplace,” McConnell says.

Protection Plans

Protection plans also have their advantages. According to Dobbs, they enable operators to provide an additional layer of customer service to tenants after their personal property has been damaged. “What they do is come to you [the store manager] and start screaming and yelling. So wouldn’t it be delightful if you could say, ‘Mr. Tenant, relax. Let’s take a look at your file. The good news is you bought protection from us and we are going to respond to this situation.’”

A protection plan provides an avenue to keep customers content, Dobbs says. For example, a self-storage operator in Colorado recently received a claim from a tenant whose crockpot fell and broke in her storage unit after she bumped into a stack of boxes. Though the incident was the tenant’s fault, the owner gave her $25 to purchase a new crockpot. Had the tenant purchased insurance, the carrier probably would have denied coverage because the self-storage operator was not negligent and breakage is not a covered peril, Dobbs says.

“Owners want happy customers who continue to pay monthly rents,” Dobbs says. “We believe the store managers and owners are better equipped to understand where customers are coming from.”

Contractual Liability Policies

Deans & Homer is among the insurance companies that sell contractual liability policies to self-storage operators to mitigate the risks associated with offering a protection plan. Without such a policy, an operator that is unfortunate enough to suffer a major catastrophe could have to pay out tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to tenants whose damaged goods were covered under a protection plan.

In broad terms, with a $100,000 deductible, a self-storage operator might pay $1 for every $10 he charges his tenants for a protection plan, Dobbs says. Operators who are averse to any risks can purchase a $0 deductible, which enables them to collect $4 (rather than $9) for every $10 per unit per month.

“Really, I’m teaching owners to manage risk in this specific tenant-program area. The reality is there are not that many claims in this whole area,” says Dobbs, who noted few claims exceed the deductibles on the contractual liability policy.

Dobbs characterized a protection plan as an “attractive profit center,” and says it’s possible for owners with at least 60 facilities to generate $2 million or more annually by offering one.

Torrisi of On The Move Insurance Agency says facilities may operate for two or three years without encountering a claim from a customer on a protection plan. Through its contractual liability policy, On The Move will cover a protection plan of up to $50,000.

“For the most part, well-known facilities have very few claims,” Torrisi says. “If you store property in a good facility, the roofs don’t leak. They are safe because they’ve got security, they’ve got cameras. You can only get into the facility with a gate access code.”

Protection-Plan Risks

There are some risks associated with offering protection plans. While insurance rates and terms are subject to approval by the state departments of insurance, Johnson of Ponderosa Insurance pointed out that protection plans are not regulated.

“Protection plans can just do whatever they want, make changes whenever they like and they don’t have to go through the approval process,” he says. “Without regulation in those protection plans, it puts the facility and the tenant at risk.” A catastrophe, such as a fire that destroys all the tenants’ belongings in a facility, could trigger a deluge of protection-plan claims against a facility.

While regulated insurance companies have reserves to pay out claims, self-storage operators using a protection plan may not have allocated funds for a rainy day, Nitzberg says. “If you haven’t been putting aside the $10 monthly fee for a tenant-protection plan, you may not have the cash available [to pay the claims],” he says. “Then, you’ve got a problem.”

Some operators may choose to arbitrarily reject tenant claims, opening the door to a potential lawsuit, according to Nitzberg. “The only ones who win a lawsuit are the attorneys on both sides,” he says. “Not everybody out there has the financial strength and sophistication and knowledge and commitment to run the tenant-protection program because the money is entrusted to the owner. That’s where the claims get paid.”

Ultimately, both tenant insurance and protection programs serve a purpose, guarding tenants against the risk of damage or loss to their belongings. “Both programs are a positive for the storage operator and the tenant if properly sold, administered, reserved and adjusted,” Nitzberg says. “There are fires. There are floods. There are burglaries. That’s called life. That is why you purchase insurance in the first place.”

More than 300 people applied for staff positions at a large Store First self-storage facility that’s scheduled to open soon in Paisley, Scotland, near Glasgow. The rush of applicants came after a public notice was posted on the company’s website.

Joe Cullinane, Store First’s regional manager, told the source he’s been inundated with phone calls since posting the job notice, which included his phone number. “I knew there were a lot of people out there looking for work, but I never expected this level of applications,” he said. Cullinane has already hired two supervisors for the facility but is looking to hire about 20 full- and 10 part-time employees.

Store First Glasgow is the company’s first storage facility in Scotland. It’s on the former Hillman Imp car-manufacturing site, which halted production in 1981. The site now includes housing, a retail park and a supermarket. Additional development plans include homes, hotels and pubs, and industrial and commercial businesses such as offices and car showrooms, according to the source.

The new facility is near the entrance of the business park and includes four dock- and three ground-level loading doors. The property will also feature a sprinkler system, secure parking bays for 13 trailers and separate, private parking for 130 cars. Store First spent an estimated £10 million to purchase the land and convert the empty building to storage, according to the source.

Store First has several facilities in Northwest England, with the goal of increasing its footprint to 50 locations across the United Kingdom within five years. The company’s model blends traditional self-storage units with full business amenities for small businesses, including use of P.O. boxes, free WiFi and private meeting rooms. Site amenities include office facilities, breakout areas, packaging and shipping services, complimentary moving services, and reception areas. Security includes closed-circuit television, coded electric gates and perimeter fencing.

AMERCO, the parent company of U-Haul International Inc., reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, the first quarter of its 2015 fiscal year. Self-storage revenue increased $7 million, nearly 17 percent, year over year to $49.1 million. Average monthly occupancy was 82.3 percent during the quarter, up from 80.2 percent for the same period the previous year. U-Haul added more than 470,000 net rentable square feet during the quarter and has gained approximately 1.8 million net rentable square feet during the last 12 months, company officials said in a press release.

Companywide, AMERCO reported net earnings available to common shareholders of $124.5 million, or $6.36 per share, compared to $113 million, or $5.78 per share, for the same period in 2014.

"Our businesses have a lot of moving parts. The experienced, committed U-Haul team continued to do a good job serving customers," said Joe Shoen, chairman of AMERCO.

Operating earnings at the company’s moving-and-storage segment increased $16.7 million in the quarter compared to the previous year. Total revenue climbed $75.7 million but was partially offset by a $59 million increase in total costs and expenses.

The company will hold its 8th annual Virtual Analyst and Investor meeting on Aug. 28 at 2 p.m. ET. Participants can interact directly with senior management through a live video webcast. A brief presentation by AMERCO officials will be followed by a Q&A session.

The company held its investor call for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 on Thursday. A replay can be accessed by visiting the “Events and Presentations” area of the company’s website.

AMERCO is the parent company of U-Haul International, Oxford Life Insurance Co., Repwest Insurance Co. and Amerco Real Estate Co. Established in 1945, U-Haul has 40 million square feet of storage space at more than 1,000 owned and managed facilities throughout North America.