TIDMBYG
RNS Number : 5641L
Big Yellow Group PLC
20 July 2017
20 July 2017
Big Yellow Group PLC
("Big Yellow" or "the Group")
Trading Statement
The Board of Big Yellow Group PLC, the UK's brand leader in self
storage, is pleased to provide the following update on trading for
the first quarter ended 30 June 2017.
Results
Quarter Quarter
ended ended %
30 June 30 June
2017 2016
-------------------------- ---------- ---------- ------
Store maximum lettable
area ("MLA") 4,551,000 4,551,000 -
Closing Occupancy (sq
ft) 3,734,000 3,549,000 5
Occupancy growth in
the quarter (sq ft) 183,000 110,000 66
Closing Occupancy (% 4.0
of MLA) 82.0% 78.0% ppts
Revenue GBP27.8m GBP26.4m 5
Like-for-like Revenue(1) GBP27.3m GBP26.0m 5
Average achieved net GBP26.00 GBP26.03
rent per sq ft -
(1) Excluding Nine Elms and Twickenham 2 (acquired from Lock and
Leave on 28 April 2016).
The 73 Big Yellow stores increased occupancy over the quarter by
183,000 sq ft (4 ppts of the MLA) resulting in a closing occupancy
of 82.0%.
Enquiries for storage quotes were broadly in line with the same
quarter last year, however with improved conversion rates, move-ins
increased by 4% compared to the same quarter last year. There was
less churn in the business resulting in move-outs being down by 4%
compared to the same quarter last year. The combination of these
factors drove the improved occupancy performance over the
quarter.
The Group's like-for-like revenue increased by 5% compared to
the same quarter last year, all driven by growth in occupancy.
Armadillo
Revenue from the Armadillo portfolio for the quarter to 30 June
2017 increased by 20% to GBP3.0 million compared to the same
quarter last year. Like-for-like revenue, excluding West Molesey
and Canterbury (acquired from Lock and Leave in April 2016) and the
Quickstore portfolio (acquired in April 2017), increased by 7%
compared to the same quarter last year.
Development
Our new 56,000 sq ft store at Guildford Central, on a prime
location on Woodbridge Meadows is under construction and is due to
open in March 2018. We are also constructing a 25,000 sq ft
extension to our highly occupied Wandsworth store in a vibrant and
dynamic area of South West London. The extension will increase the
store's MLA to 72,000 sq ft upon completion in April 2018.
We submitted a planning application in June for a proposed
60,000 sq ft MLA landmark store on our site in a prominent location
on Water Street, central Manchester.
We are continuing planning discussions on our other development
sites and will provide a further update in November with our
interim results.
James Gibson, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"In May, with our final report, we set out our focus on
occupancy gain and so it is pleasing to report strong occupancy
growth of 4 ppts to 82% across the portfolio. Our long held target
of 85% is now within reach and, as we have previously indicated,
that target is now under review. Net average achieved rent over the
quarter has been flat, but we are confident that, at these higher
occupancy levels, our pricing model will deliver growth in net
achieved rents in due course.
Big Yellow stores now average more than 50,000 sq ft occupied
per store. This represents over 50% more than the industry average
of 32,800 sq ft (source: UK Self Storage Association Annual
Industry Report 2017). We have no doubt that this is as a result of
our market leading brand position.
Supply remains constrained, particularly in London and other
large conurbations where our stores operate. We are aware of only
one store opening in London in the next 12 months, but also one
closure, resulting in no net increase in supply.
We continue to look to acquire additional land or sites, and our
financial strength should allow us to exploit any opportunities
that arise."
For further information, please contact:
01276 477
Big Yellow Group PLC 811
Nicholas Vetch, Executive Chairman
James Gibson, Chief Executive Officer
John Trotman, Chief Financial Officer
020 7260
Teneo Blue Rubicon 2700
Ben Foster
Chloe Maier
Notes to Editors
Big Yellow is the UK's brand leader in self storage. Big Yellow
now operates from a platform of 92 stores, including 19 stores
branded as Armadillo Self Storage, in which the Group has a 20%
interest. We own a further eight Big Yellow self storage
development sites (including two extensions sites), of which two
have planning consent. The current maximum lettable area of this
platform is 5.4 million sq ft. When fully built out the portfolio
will provide approximately 5.8 million sq ft of flexible storage
space. Of the Big Yellow stores and sites, 96% by value are held
freehold and long leasehold; with the remaining 4% short
leasehold.
The Group has pioneered the development of the latest generation
of self storage facilities, which utilise state of the art
technology and are located in high profile, accessible, main road
locations. Our focus on the location and visibility of our Big
Yellow stores, coupled with our excellent customer service and our
market leading online platform, has created the most recognised
brand name in the UK self storage industry.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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