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Last checked at 
19 Jul 2018 07:00
19 July 2018
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 2018.
Results
| Quarter ended 30 June 2018 | Quarter ended30 June 2017 | Change |
Store maximum lettable area ("MLA")(1) | 4,631,000 | 4,576,000 | 1.2% |
Closing occupancy (sq ft) | 3,861,000 | 3,734,000 | 3.4% |
Occupancy growth in the quarter (sq ft) | 131,000 | 183,000 | (52,000) |
Closing occupancy (% of MLA) | 83.4% | 81.6% | 1.8 ppts |
Like-for-like closing occupancy(2) | 84.2% | 81.6% | 2.6 ppts |
Revenue | £30.0m | £27.8m | 7.9% |
Like-for-like Revenue(2) | £29.9m | £27.8m | 7.6% |
Average achieved net rent per sq ft | £26.84 | £26.00 | 3.2% |
(1) The prior period MLA has been restated for the 25,000 sq ft extension to Wandsworth, which came on-line in May 2018. The closing occupancy % has also been restated.
(2) Excluding Guildford Central (opened March 2018).
The 74 Big Yellow stores increased occupancy over the quarter by 131,000 sq ft (2.8 ppts of the MLA) resulting in a closing occupancy of 83.4%. Like-for-like closing occupancy was 84.2%, an increase of 2.6 ppts from 30 June 2017. The Group's average achieved net rent per sq ft increased by 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
The Group's like-for-like revenue increased by 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year, driven by a combination of growth in occupancy and rate.
Armadillo
Revenue from the Armadillo portfolio for the quarter to 30 June 2018 increased by 23% to £3.7 million compared to the same quarter last year. Like-for-like revenue, excluding Stockton South, Newcastle and Gateshead (all acquired in the year ended 31 March 2018) increased by 9% compared to the same quarter last year.
Development
The 25,000 sq ft extension to our Wandsworth store opened in May 2018, taking the store's MLA to 72,000 sq ft.
We are currently fitting out the available vacant space at our site in Wapping to create a self storage centre of approximately 25,000 sq ft, which will open at the end of this month.
Our landmark Manchester city centre store of 60,000 sq ft on Water Street is currently under construction with a scheduled opening in summer 2019. We will also commence construction, later this year, of our 72,000 sq ft store in Camberwell, London, with the store scheduled to open in spring 2020.
In addition, we have recently submitted our planning application on our proposed Kings Cross store.
We are continuing planning discussions on our other development sites and will provide further updates in due course.
James Gibson, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
We have continued to grow our like-for-like occupancy to over 84%, and remain focussed on our core objective of 90% across the portfolio. As we have reduced vacant capacity, our pricing model is delivering improved rental growth and we are pleased to have achieved growth in average net rent of 3.2%.
Like-for-like revenue has increased by 7.6% with a more balanced contribution from occupancy and rate growth than in the previous year.
As reported in our full year results in May we are continuing to follow a more aggressive expansion strategy, largely through the acquisition of raw land as there are very few existing stores that are available to purchase and of the requisite quality. The acquisition of sites for our proposed stores in Hove and Uxbridge were completed during the quarter.
For further information, please contact:
Big Yellow Group PLC 01276 477 811
Nicholas Vetch, Executive Chairman
James Gibson, Chief Executive Officer
John Trotman, Chief Financial Officer
Teneo Blue Rubicon 020 7260 2700
Ben Foster
Matthew Denham
Notes to Editors
Big Yellow is the UK's brand leader in self storage. Big Yellow now operates from a platform of 96 stores, including 22 stores branded as Armadillo Self Storage, in which the Group has a 20% interest. We own a further ten Big Yellow self storage development sites (including one extension site), of which three have planning consent. The current maximum lettable area of the existing platform (including Armadillo) is 5.6 million sq ft. When fully built out the portfolio will provide approximately 6.2 million sq ft of flexible storage space. Of the Big Yellow stores and sites, 97% by value are held freehold and long leasehold, with the remaining 3% 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.
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