Regardless of the current economic climate,the UK Self Storage industry has proven to be adurable business, with the average consumer storageperiod increasing from 22 to 37 weeks in the lastfour years alone.
In anage of cutbacks and downsizing, a number ofbusinesses and consumers are taking advantage of the flexiblenature of a storage unit, attracted by low rents and theconvenience of hassle-free rental agreements.
It is no secretthat the economy has forced a number people tocheck theirfinances, with a large number of homeowners opting toconvert their homes instead of moving. With spare rooms becoming offices andattics becoming bedroom, many homeowners are short ofstorage space, which has created a demand for on-site storage facilities.
This combinedwith factors such a rise in UK divorce rates and a growing number ofpeople relocating, downsizing or moving into flats have created a rise indemand for storage space for personal and sentimental belongings.
And it’s notonly homeowners who are looking to downsize and cut downcosts. A number of low-levelentrepreneurs and businesses are taking advantage of storage units, fromself-contained gyms to music studios, from recycling centres to offices; anexpanding number of tenants arecreatively using their units to boosttheir businesses.
“We’reseeing a change in the proportion of business customers to private customers.This is part of the recessionary effect,’ Rodney Walker, CEO of the SelfStorage Association reveals. ‘If you are starting a business in today’slandscape it makes sense to use a facility that is flexible and cheap. Forstart-ups, self-storage has always been a potentially more cost-effective wayof getting established.’
The flexiblenature of a storage unit enables theoccupant to create a spacenot just to store belongings, but to make a working space at apinch of the cost oftypical commercial property.
Ordinarilyonly available to large scale businesses, UK Self Storage investment have now been opened up as an opportunity for individual investors, byLondon-based company, Experience International.
For thoselooking for a low-entry, hassle-free investment, investors canobtain a StorePod – an individual storage unit situatedin a self-storage facility – and contract anagreement to sub-let the units to a well-established management company, who inturn sub-let the units under license to end users.
With guaranteedreturns, investors receive double digit returns from a 6 year lease already inplace. The lease is projected to average NETreturns in excess of 10% for the initial 6 year period guaranteed 8%NET yields for years 1 and 2).
And with asecure exit strategy in place and an optional buy-back scheme, investors cansecure a regular income from thebooming self storage business.
For more information about storage investment and to access an exclusive investor report then go to http://selfstorageinvestment.org