Storage specialist Lok’n Store hopes to secure more new sites as expansion continues

Aim-listen storage firm Lok’n Store’s shares rose this morning as it announced it is looking to branch out with more premises, amid rising profit and revenue.

The company, which has 31 stores trading, will try to build on this in the coming months, with eight new sites in the pipeline around the UK as the firm enjoys growing demand for storage space.

The figures

Profit before tax rose 20 per cent year on year, from around £2.2m to £2.7m for the six months ending 31 January. Revenue rose to £8.5m for the period, up 11.5 per cent on £7.5m for the same period the year before.

Total assets rose to £188m, up 22 per cent on £155m last year, while the firm managed to shave just over £1m of net debt from the same period in 2018, as it fell to £31.2m from £32.3m.

Why it’s interesting

Lok’n Store is one of several storage companies which has reaped the rewards of an under-supplied market in recent months, with Big Yellow storage also targeting “aggressive” expansion.

The firm said it has eight sites in the pipeline, including two brand new premises recent acquired in Stevenage and Wolverhampton, and hopes they will yield a 27 per cent increase in trading capacity.

Shares rose 0.2 per cent in early morning trading.

What Lok’n Store said

Chief executive Andrew Jacobs said: “Lok’n Store’s trading is strong and our outlook remains confident. With low gearing helped by capital recycling, we will continue to build more landmark stores in a structurally under-supplied market.

“In the first half of this year we opened a new store, acquired an existing operation and added two more sites to our pipeline. We have opened two more sites since the period-end and two more sites are currently with lawyers.

“Our objective is to open more landmark stores while remaining conservatively geared delivering sustainable growth and consistently increasing dividends.”