Big Yellow looks to replenish development pipeline

Self-storage firm Big Yellow is readying for opportunities to acquire land and replenish its development pipeline after seeing an uptick in trading. The group said revenue in the six months ended 30 September had risen by 3% to £103m, with adjusted pretax profit up by the same percentage to £54.9m. Like-for-like occupancy across Big Yellow’s 6.4m sq ft portfolio increased by 1.9 percentage points from 1 April 2024 and was down by 1.5 percentage points from same time last year to 80.9%. Average achieved net rent increased by 4% to £34.36 per sq ft at 30 September, with closing net rent up by 4% to £34.77 per sq ft. During the period under review Big Yellow opened a new 65,000 sq ft freehold store in Slough, Berkshire, with customers transferred from a nearby leasehold store, which will be handed back to the landlord; acquired a freehold property in Leamington Spa, taking its pipeline to 12 development sites; and got consent for new stores in West Kensington, Kentish Town and Staples Corner. Looking ahead, chairman Nicholas Vetch said the group would seek to grow revenue through incrementally increasing occupancy levels and driving efficiencies through investment in automation. He added: “Furthermore, and critically, we are fully committed to capturing the opportunity of the revenue and earnings growth from our store pipeline, most of which is now in the construction phase.  We expect to see more opportunities to acquire land and replenish our development pipeline in our core areas of operation.”