Safestore Holdings PLC
27 February 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 27 FEBRUARY 2008
Safestore Holdings plc
Quarterly trading update for the period ended 31 January 2008
Safestore Holdings plc ('Safestore' or 'the Company'), the largest self storage
retailer in the UK and Paris, is pleased to report on its trading progress for
the three months ended 31 January 2008.
Financial Highlights*
===================================================
First quarter to First quarter to Change
31 January 2008 31 January 2007
===================================================
Revenue £20.1m £17.1m 17.3%
Like-for-like revenue £19.2m £16.9m 14.1%
Average rate per square foot
('sq ft') £23.08 £20.51 12.5%
Closing occupancy (sq ft) 2,805,000 2,667,000 5.2%
* Unaudited figures
Revenue for the first quarter of the financial year increased by 17.3% compared
to the same period last year (-1.5% over Q4 2007), Average rental rates have
remained strong and are up 12.5% (+2.7% over Q4 2007) and occupancy rose by 5.2%
(-3.9% over Q4 2007) which is in line with historical trading patterns. The
Company manages the business as a customer facing retail led enterprise and
continues to apply the operational expertise and micro management techniques
which have resulted in the performance to date.
Safestore has a pipeline of 18 expansion stores, 17 of which are expected to
open in the next two years. Since the year end the Company has successfully
opened two stores in Glasgow - a flagship store at Dobbies Loan and another at
Rutherglen. In addition the Company anticipates opening a further 4 stores in
Sunderland, Bristol (Filton), Cheltenham and Crayford in the second quarter of
this financial year. These new stores together with the current estate of 104
stores will deliver approximately 5.3 million square feet of storage space
across the UK and Paris.
Steve Williams, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
'Overall revenue and cash flow were broadly in line with Board expectations
during the first quarter, which is traditionally our weakest period of the year.
The trends we saw were similar to previous years and at this stage we remain on
course to meet our expectations for the full year.
'While the wider economic environment is uncertain, Safestore has a resilient
business model, strong operating skills and a high quality asset base which we
believe will underpin our performance.
The Board of Safestore believes that the Company is well positioned to continue
the growth of the business as awareness and penetration of self storage grows.'
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Safestore Holdings plc T: 020 8732 1500
Steve Williams, Chief Executive
Richard Hodsden, Chief Financial Officer
Cardew Group T: 020 7930 0777
Nadja Vetter / Sofia Rehman / David Roach
Notes to editors:
• Safestore is the largest self storage provider in the UK and the
central Paris region and the second largest in the EU, in terms of number of
stores, providing individual, secure self storage space and related
services. Over the past four years, the number of stores increased from 24
to 104 - 84 of which operate under the 'Safestore' brand in the UK and 20 of
which operate under the 'Une Piece en Plus' brand in France
• The UK is the largest and most established self storage market in
Europe. The UK and French markets show lower penetration rates than the US
or Australia and, according to the UK Self Storage Association the UK market
is expected to grow with a CAGR of 10 to 15 per cent.
• This growth is supported by a number of market trends including:
increased workforce mobility, social factors such as high divorce rates and
an ageing population, housing stock pressure in the UK and lifestyle trends
such as the growth in the home improvement market.
• The Group's business model is supported by a substantial asset base,
strong cashflow and a solid record of earnings which are continuing to grow.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
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Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
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