REG - Big Yellow Group PLC - RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
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RNS Number : 2691J Big Yellow Group PLC 19 May 2025
Big Yellow Group PLC
("Big Yellow", "the Group" or "the Company")
Results for the YEAR ended 31 MARCH 2025
HIGHLIGHTS
Financial metrics Year ended Year ended
31 March 2025
31 March 2024
Change
Revenue((4)) £204.5m £199.6m 2%
Store revenue((1)) £203.1m £197.1m 3%
Like-for-like store revenue((1,2,6)) £200.7m £196.2m 2%
Store EBITDA((1)) £143.2m £143.0m 0%
Adjusted profit before tax((1,7)) £115.6m £107.3m 8%
Adjusted earnings per share((1,8)) 57.8p 55.9p 3%
Dividend - final 23.8p 22.6p 5%
- total((4,5)) 46.4p 45.2p 3%
Profit before tax((4)) £203.9m £241.0m (15%)
Cash flow from operating activities (after net finance costs and pre-working
capital movements)((3))
£111.9m £110.1m 2%
Basic earnings per share((4)) 103.2p 127.1p (19%)
Store metrics
Store Maximum Lettable Area ("MLA")((1)) 6,421,000 6,419,000 -
Closing occupancy (sq ft)((1)) 5,056,000 5,029,000 1%
Closing occupancy((1)) 78.7% 78.3% 0.4 ppts
Closing occupancy - like-for-like stores (%)((1,2,6)) 79.1% 79.0% 0.1 ppt
Average net rent per sq ft((1)) £34.71 £33.64 3%
Closing net rent per sq ft((1)) £35.17 £34.14 3%
(1) See note 28 for glossary of terms
(2) Excluding Kings Cross (opened June 2023)
(3) See reconciliation in Financial Review on page 18
(4) Statutory metric
(5) The dividend paid in the year is all Property Income Distribution ("PID")
(6) See reconciliation in Portfolio Summary on page 13
(7) See reconciliation in note 10
(8) See reconciliation in note 12
Highlights
· Store revenue growth of 3.0%, with like-for-like store revenue up by 2.3%,
driven by increases in average achieved rents
· Like-for-like occupancy increase of 0.1 ppt to 79.1% (March 2024: 79.0%).
Closing occupancy up 0.4 ppts.
· Average achieved net rent per sq ft increased by 3% year on year, closing net
rent up 3% from March 2024
· Like-for-like store operating cost increase fell from 10% in the first half to
4% in the second half, averaging 7% for the year
· Overall store EBITDA was up £0.2 million compared to the prior year, with the
growth in revenue largely offset by the increase in store operating costs
· Cash flow from operating activities (after net finance costs and pre-working
capital movements) increased by 2% to £111.9 million
· Adjusted profit before tax up 8% to £115.6 million, adjusted earnings per
share up 3% to 57.8p reflecting the dilutive impact of the equity raise in
October 2023
· A 3% increase in full year dividend to 46.4 pence per share in line with
adjusted eps growth
· Statutory profit before tax of £203.9 million, down from £241.0 million in
the prior year, due to a lower revaluation surplus in the year
· £4 million invested in the year on solar retro-fit, 78 stores now have solar
with a 29% increase in capacity in the year to 8.5 Megawatts. All directly
owned stores will have EPCs of A+, A or B by the end of 2026
· Opened a new 65,000 sq ft freehold store in July 2024 in Farnham Road, Slough,
and closed the existing leasehold store, saving £0.4 million annual rent.
The new store achieved 81% occupancy at 31 March 2025, and is trading at the
same revenue as the previous store
· Acquired freehold sites in Leamington Spa and Coventry (the latter post year
end), taking the pipeline to 13 development sites and one replacement store of
approximately 1.0 million sq ft (16% of current MLA), of which 10 are in, or
within close proximity, to London. 1.4 million sq ft of fully built vacant
space is currently available for future growth
· Planning consent granted for key London proposed stores at West Kensington,
Kentish Town (both at appeal) and Staples Corner; we now have 10 of our 14
pipeline stores with planning
· Disposal of land adjacent to our Battersea store for £30.9 million, combined
with post dividend cash flow, this largely offset capital expenditure of
£58.3 million; closing net debt £388.7 million (2024: £385.4 million).
Nicholas Vetch CBE, Executive Chairman of Big Yellow, commented:
"We are pleased to have reported another set of results that are testament to
the underlying resilience of our business. We delivered another year of
revenue growth and achieved a return to growth in adjusted earnings per share,
even when considering the dilutive effects of the placing in October 2023.
The elevated levels of macroeconomic uncertainty since the beginning of April
have impacted confidence and led to some softening of demand and some loss of
occupancy, however, rate growth materially outperformed the same period last
year resulting in revenue growth of 3% since the year end. We expect our
underlying store operating cost inflation to fall further from the 4% seen in
the second half of the year, notwithstanding the impact of the recent rise in
employer's national insurance.
The Group maintains a low absolute level of debt, which allows flexibility in
our hedging strategy, with £210 million of floating rate debt, hence we are,
and expect to continue, benefiting from short-term interest rate reductions.
Our decision a decade or so ago to develop the next phase of new stores, with
a focus on London, continues to bear fruit. Ten stores have opened in the
last five years, with three due to open this year and five the year after.
We are in the process of clearing the pre-start planning conditions on our
site in Kensington Olympia, following which we will commence demolition of the
existing building and construction of its replacement. This will be the most
important project the Group has embarked on, close to one of the wealthiest
and most densely populated areas of Central London.
We expect this next phase of store openings (eight of which are in London) to
make a material contribution to both revenue and earnings in the reasonably
near future.
Our strategy remains much as it was 25 years ago; build the best quality
freehold stores in the best locations, with the highest barriers to entry,
focusing on operational excellence, with low debt to deliver compounding
growth in earnings and cash flow."
ABOUT US
Big Yellow is the UK's brand leader in self storage and operates from a
platform of 109 stores. We have a pipeline comprising 14 proposed self
storage facilities (including one replacement store). The current maximum
lettable area of the existing platform is 6.4 million sq ft. When fully
built out the portfolio will provide approximately 7.4 million sq ft of
flexible storage space. 99% of our stores and sites by value are held
freehold and long leasehold, with the remaining 1% short leasehold.
Currently by revenue 75% of our stores are in London and its commuter towns,
with the balance in larger regional conurbations.
Our stores utilise state of the art technology for our digital and operating
platforms including security, and we focus on locating our stores in high
profile, accessible, main road locations. We also focus on providing
excellent customer service, a highly engaged employee culture, and with
significant and increasing investment in sustainability.
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Big Yellow Group PLC ("Big Yellow", "the Group" or "the Company"), the UK's
brand leader in self storage, is pleased to announce its results for the year
ended 31 March 2025.
Financial results
We have delivered a resilient operating performance in the year to March, with
occupancy stabilised and further growth in net rents. This resulted in a 3%
increase in store revenue, and a return to adjusted eps growth for the year.
We are pleased to have delivered a significant reduction in like-for-like
store operating expense inflation from 10% in the first half of the year to 4%
in the second half. Additionally, given our flexible hedging strategy, the
Group has benefited from a 9% fall in annual interest expense from the
previous year.
Revenue for the year was £204.5 million (2024: £199.6 million), an increase
of 2%, with store revenue up 3%. Like-for-like store revenue (which excludes
new store openings) was up 2% driven by improvements in average net rent.
Store EBITDA was £143.2 million, an increase of £0.2 million from the prior
year (2024: £143.0 million).
The adjusted profit before tax in the year was £115.6 million up 8% from
£107.3 million in 2024. Adjusted earnings per share increased by 3% to
57.8p (2024: 55.9p), with the additional shares in issue following the October
2023 placing impacting the first half of the year.
The Group's cash flow from operating activities (after net finance costs and
pre-working capital movements) increased by £1.8 million (2%) to £111.9
million for the year (2024: £110.1 million).
The Group's statutory profit before tax was £203.9 million, a decrease from
£241.0 million in the prior year. There was a revaluation surplus for the
current year of £79.7 million, compared to a surplus of £131.2 million in
the prior year.
Development pipeline
During the year we opened a new 65,000 sq ft freehold store in Farnham Road,
Slough and closed the existing leasehold store, saving £0.4 million annual
rent. The new store achieved 81% occupancy at 31 March 2025, and is trading
at the same revenue as the previous store. Slough Farnham Road is our first
net zero store, with a solar PV installation of 200 kWp (our largest to date),
battery storage for the energy we generate resulting in an EPC rating of A+.
We have acquired two development sites since the last year end. In May 2024,
in Leamington Spa for £3 million, that will also serve the university town of
Warwick, and in April 2025 in Coventry for £2.5 million.
We have been successful in achieving three key planning consents in London
during the year; at West Kensington, Kentish Town and at Staples Corner. The
store in West Kensington will be only the second purpose-built self storage
facility in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, alongside our
Fulham store, with Kentish Town being the first purpose-built store in the
London Borough of Camden. These, along with the other sites in the pipeline,
are very high-quality locations, and will help consolidate our market-leading
platform. We now have planning consent on 10 of our 14 development sites.
We are currently constructing nine new stores all in London or its conurbation
towns at an approximate cost of £161 million which can comfortably be funded
from cash flow, surplus asset sales and our existing debt facilities.
The projected net operating income of the increase in our total capacity of
1.0 million sq ft when stabilised, at today's prices, is £32.5 million
representing an approximate 15% return on the incremental capital deployed.
If we include the replacement store at Staples Corner, due to open in Summer
2026, the proforma net operating income increases to £36.6 million, a return
of approximately 8.7% on the total development cost of approximately £422
million, including land already acquired. The total cost to complete is
£232 million.
Capital structure
It remains our view that elevated levels of debt over cycles destroys value
and hence our strategy is to maintain debt at modest levels. The Group's
interest cover for the period (expressed as the ratio of cash generated from
operations pre-working capital movements against interest paid) was 6.1 times
(2024: 5.6 times), with the Group's net debt to EBITDA ratio now 3.1x (2024:
3.0x).
Net debt was £388.7 million at 31 March 2025 (2024: £385.4 million), and the
Group has undrawn committed facilities of £175 million. Approximately 47%
of our debt is fixed, with the balance floating, in line with our hedging
policy, and our current average cost of drawn debt is 5.0%, with any further
cuts in interest rates benefitting next year.
The Group owns its assets largely freehold, representing some 99% by value of
our portfolio (including long leasehold stores) which has shielded us from the
significant rise in industrial and warehouse rents that has occurred over the
last decade or more. We view rent liabilities as quasi-debt. Following the
closure of Farnham Road, Slough last summer and Staples Corner in due course
to a new freehold store we expect our total rent liability to fall to
approximately £1.1 million per annum.
Dividends
The Group's dividend policy is to distribute a minimum of 80% of full year
adjusted earnings per share. The final distribution of PID declared is 23.8
pence per share. This brings the total distribution declared for the year to
46.4 pence per share, an increase of 3% from the prior year (2024: 45.2p).
Our people
As we announced last year, John Hunter joined the business as COO in April
2024 and has made a very successful start to leading day-to-day operations and
I am pleased to confirm that John will be formally joining the Board with
effect from the Group's AGM this July.
We believe that any successful business requires the creation of fully engaged
employee culture, and this remains a key focus within Big Yellow. Our
resilient performance is a testament to our highly committed and motivated
employees who operate throughout the business, whether in the stores or in
head office.
Delivering outstanding customer service is a key success factor in our
historic and future growth. Our customer net promoter scores ("NPS") were an
average of 82.8 (2024: 80.5) over the year and demonstrated a further
improvement on already high standards. NPS scores at those levels are
exceptionally unusual and reflect the strong culture within this business.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all our people for their
dedication and support, which has been instrumental in driving our performance
and sustained growth.
Outlook
We are pleased to have reported another set of results that are testament to
the underlying resilience of our business. We delivered another year of
revenue growth and achieved a return to growth in adjusted earnings per share,
even when considering the dilutive effects of the placing in October 2023.
The elevated levels of macroeconomic uncertainty since the beginning of April
have impacted confidence and led to some softening of demand and some loss of
occupancy, however, rate growth materially outperformed the same period last
year resulting in revenue growth of 3% since the year end. We expect our
underlying store operating cost inflation to fall further from the 4% seen in
the second half of the year, notwithstanding the impact of the recent rise in
employer's national insurance.
The Group maintains a low absolute level of debt, which allows flexibility in
our hedging strategy, with £210 million of floating rate debt, hence we are,
and expect to continue, benefiting from short-term interest rate reductions.
Our decision a decade or so ago to develop the next phase of new stores, with
a focus on London, continues to bear fruit. Ten stores have opened in the
last five years, with three due to open this year and five the year after.
We are in the process of clearing the pre-start planning conditions on our
site in Kensington Olympia, following which we will commence demolition of the
existing building and construction of its replacement. This will be the most
important project the Group has embarked on, close to one of the wealthiest
and most densely populated areas of Central London.
We expect this next phase of store openings (eight of which are in London) to
make a material contribution to both revenue and earnings in the reasonably
near future.
Our strategy remains much as it was 25 years ago; build the best quality
freehold stores in the best locations, with the highest barriers to entry,
focusing on operational excellence, with low debt to deliver compounding
growth in earnings and cash flow.
Nicholas Vetch CBE
Executive Chairman
19 May 2025
CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S STATEMENT
Trading
We are pleased to have delivered another year of revenue growth and achieved a
return to growth in adjusted earnings per share, even when considering the
dilutive effects of the placing in October 2023. The first half of the year
saw subdued activity levels as we navigated uncertainty created by the general
election and the resulting change in government. However, we saw stronger
trading in the second half, which resulted in a recovery in like-for-like
occupancy (up 0.1 ppt by March 2025).
We delivered rental growth, both to new and existing customers, albeit
moderated compared to the prior year. This resulted in closing net rent
growth of 3% in the year, which, based on a stable occupancy position,
translated into 3% growth in store revenue. After a period of inflationary
pressure on our cost base in recent years, we have seen underlying increases
in our operating costs moderate through the year, down to a 4% increase in the
second half. If we look back over the past three years, the business has
navigated through the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resultant energy crisis,
high inflation and the impact on the cost of living, higher interest rates and
periods of political instability. Through this three-year period, after
absorbing increasing interest rates and operating costs we delivered growth in
revenue and adjusted profit of 19% and adjusted earnings per share growth of
10%, the latter impacted by the dilutive effect of the issue of new shares.
This demonstrates the resilience of our business and validates our continued
investment in further growth in our store portfolio.
We continue to see demand spread across a diverse set of drivers. However,
the largest driver of demand remains from domestic customers renting storage
space whilst moving home (41% of move ins during the year). We saw some
increase in activity in our last quarter as house buyers sought to complete
their purchase prior to the changes to the Stamp Duty thresholds from 1
April. We also saw an increase in move-ins from business customers (up 2%
year on year), many of whom are online retailers or B2B traders looking for
flexible mini-warehousing for e-fulfilment. Demand from national customers
(5% of our occupied space) continues to be robust, with revenue growth of 11%
year-on-year. Businesses occupy 36% of our occupied space overall.
Investment in our operating platform and systems
Providing our customers with a safe and secure space for their possessions is
our core purpose. Accordingly, we continue to invest in the technology and
physical security of our stores, whilst recognising the important role our
store teams play in providing a reassuring presence during normal opening
hours. This is a dual approach to achieving an accessible and secure
environment for our customers.
In addition to physical security features, such as perimeter fencing,
keypad-controlled gates and lighting enabled by motion detectors, we provide
individually alarmed rooms, 24-hour CCTV and overnight monitoring of our
stores. We are increasingly using data and AI to help detect unusual
behavioural patterns that alert either our store teams or overnight monitoring
service to suspicious activity. We continue to restrict access outside of
normal trading hours to approximately 15% of our customers, the majority of
whom are business customers. Most of our customers are happy to access the
store during normal opening hours when our store teams are present. Our
store teams play an important role as the final check on who we accept into
our buildings as customers and importantly allow access to out of store
opening hours. We believe this is critical to maintaining the security of
our stores, as it cannot be replicated online.
We are trialling a mobile-based access system in three of our stores, as an
alternative to the traditional pin code access system. This enables
customers to unlock gates and entry points to the store via their Bluetooth
enabled smartphone device. This has the potential to provide a seamless and
contactless experience and reduces the risk of pin codes being forgotten or
misappropriated. Should this trial prove to be successful, we will then roll
this out to the wider store estate.
We continue to develop our website to drive the conversion of customers
seeking self storage (over 90% of customers come through our digital
channels), whilst enabling new customers to complete more and more of their
onboarding journey online. As in most retail and consumer service
businesses, there is a continuing trend of customers engaging digitally with
self storage operators. We continually work to identify friction points in
our online journeys, tackle these and thereby drive-up digital conversion and
engagement levels. This ensures our store teams are focussed on dealing with
any customer service issues and help drive revenue from ancillary services in
the store. For example, accepting deliveries for business customers, packing
material sales and optimising contents cover are all revenue generating
activities that rely on our store teams to complete.
We continue to automate operational tasks performed by our store teams. We
have developed our performance dashboard reporting to allow our store managers
to identify issues more easily and speed up decision making. We have made
improvements to our customer refund processes and sped up the onboarding
journey in store for new customers. We have launched a new customer service
platform, which aggregates customer feedback, whether from our internal
surveys or from external sources (for example, Google and Trustpilot
reviews). This allows us to easily see trends in customer feedback and
address any service delivery issues even more promptly. Our use of an
external data supplier to automatically track competitor pricing has allowed
us to become more efficient and reactive to pricing adjustments. All of this
has allowed us to operate more efficiently, whilst focussing our store teams
on value-adding activities.
We continue to review and invest in our cyber security platform. We maintain
our digital security standards by training our teams, implementing
best-of-breed products and technologies, enhancing our policies and
procedures, and fostering strategic partnerships. Our proactive approach
helps us to stay ahead of potential threats and vulnerabilities as we look to
maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our digital
assets.
People
As ever, our continued progress as a business reflects the steadfast
commitment of our people who have worked extremely hard this year, whether in
head office or in our stores.
Over the past 12 months, the level of staff turnover and vacancies in the
business continues to be at relatively low levels. This is encouraging and
reflects the strong culture of the business, the loyalty this engenders and
our ability to attract and retain the talent we need to grow going forward.
The customer service and experience delivered by our store teams is a
differentiating success factor, particularly with those customers who are
regular users of our facilities. Our customer feedback comments frequently
refer to the excellent service delivered by specific team members. We track
our customer satisfaction levels through our net promoter score, and our
average over the year for move-ins and move-outs was 82.8 (2024: 80.5), which
demonstrates an improvement on already very high levels of customer service.
We continue to review our store staffing structure and have not been replacing
certain positions when we see staff attrition. The continual improvement in
our digital journeys, along with automation and improvement of in-store
processes, has allowed us to safely achieve annualised savings of £0.3
million in the year. This will help mitigate the additional £0.5 million
cost from the increase in Employers National Insurance from April 2025 and we
will continue to seek further reductions in store staff headcount levels where
these can be safely achieved. However, as mentioned above, our store teams
play an important role in delivering great customer service, income from
ancillary services and maintaining the security of our stores. Whilst we
continue to identify opportunities to reduce headcount, our store team members
will always be required during our normal opening hours.
We continue to make improvements to our culture and practices in respect of
diversity, and these are set out in our latest Inclusivity and Diversity
Report, which is available on our corporate website. Our Diversity and
Inclusivity Committee continues to meet regularly, and I am a standing member
of the Committee. I believe diversity has a positive impact on our
performance and we want to ensure we have an inclusive culture that attracts,
retains and provides equal opportunity to all our team members to drive
forward our business.
ESG
The Big Yellow Foundation helps support the rehabilitation of vulnerable
people into work. Our store teams raise funds by asking our customers if
they wish to donate to the Foundation at move-in and move-out. We also
generate donations from fundraising activities carried out by our employees
across the business. The Company matches all money raised in this way.
Through the generosity of our customers and the efforts of our employees, we
raised a record £444,000 in the year for the Foundation and provided
£345,000 of funding to our seven charity partners. The total funding since
the inception of the Foundation in 2018 now stands at £1.4 million.
We continue to provide free space to small local charities and community
organizations across our store estate. At present we support an average of
two charities per store this way. Our volunteering program allows our staff to
give back to the community, with every member of staff given one day a year to
volunteer with one of our seven charity partners or a charity of their choice.
We also continue to provide 12-week work placements in our stores to
candidates from some of our Foundation partner charities. These placements
help improve confidence and work chances for the candidates. Our store teams
also enjoy working alongside the candidates and find it rewarding to do so.
Our solar retrofit program continues to go from strength to strength, with our
latest installation phase delivering to a further 12 stores and 1,621kWp
capacity this year. This takes the total number of retrofitted stores to 48 at
a cost of £16.8 million to date. Our total solar capacity across the estate
is now 8.5 Megawatts, up from 0.7 Megawatts five years ago.
As part of our solar strategy, we have installed a battery at our new Slough
Farnham Road store. It gives the store increased resilience against energy
cost inflation by storing and reusing energy generated by the solar array on
the store's roof. In the nine months since opening, 67% of the energy
generated on-site has been used by the Slough store (compared to 24% across
the estate), with an estimated payback on the investment in just over nine
years. We intend to further test the performance and payback of this new
initiative by installing combined solar and battery at new stores opening this
year and retrofitting batteries at a further three stores in our current
estate.
Additionally, we have started trialling lighting and heating efficiency
solutions across nine different stores to investigate further opportunities to
reduce our energy consumption and drive our emissions down. Once we have
evaluated the results from these trials, we will look to roll out the
successful solutions across more stores in the estate. We are therefore
making significant progress on our journey to self-generation of our energy
needs.
We continue to maintain an updated assessment of the performance of our estate
by recertifying our EPCs, even when certificates are in date. We have
updated 35 certificates to reflect the impact of our solar installations and
energy efficiency projects. We are now projected to have all stores (bar one
short leasehold) at A+, A or B by the end of 2026, well ahead of the 2028
requirement.
Further detail, including progress on our Science Based Targets, is included
in the ESG Report.
Summary
Our business model, combined with continued investment in our market-leading
brand, store portfolio and operating platform, has once again delivered a
resilient performance over the last 12 months. We remain confident that this
business can continue to deliver compounding returns over the medium to long
term.
Jim Gibson
Chief Executive Officer
19 May 2025
OPERATING REVIEW
The store platform and demand
We now have a portfolio of 109 open and trading stores, with a current maximum
lettable area of 6.4 million sq ft, in line with last year.
Self storage demand is spread across a diverse set of drivers, and is largely
driven by need, with security, convenience, quality of product, service and
location being key factors. Awareness remains relatively low compared to
commoditised products, such as hotel rooms or airline seats, albeit it is
increasing slowly year-on-year with increased supply, marketing expenditure
and customer use. The majority of our domestic customers are represented in
ACORN profiled groups such as Flourishing Capital, Up and Coming Urbanites,
Exclusive Addresses, Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Surroundings,
Upmarket Families, Urban Aspiring Flat Dwellers and Privately Renting
Professionals in Flats. The largest element of demand into our business each
year is customers who use us for relatively short periods driven by a need.
Of our move-ins during the year:
- customers renting storage space whilst moving represented 41% of
move-ins during the year (2024: 41%), with homeowners representing 25% and
renters 16%;
- 12% of our customers who moved in took storage space as a spare room
for decluttering (2024: 12%);
- 35% of our customers used the product because some event had occurred
in their lives generating the need for storage; they may be moving abroad for
a job, have inherited possessions, are getting together, or separating, are
students who need storage during the holidays, or homeowners developing into
their lofts or basements (2024: 36%);
- the balance of 12% of our new customer demand during the year came
from businesses (2024: 11%), who stay longer and represent around 20% of our
customers in store at any one time, occupying 36% of the space at 31 March
2025.
Of our overall occupied space today, customers who are longer stay lifestyle
users, decluttering into small rooms as an extension to their accommodation,
occupy 10% to 15% of our space; approximately 50% of the space is customers
using it for less than 12 months, for reasons which are largely event driven,
which could be inheritance, moving in the owner occupied or rental sector,
home improvements, travelling; the balance of 36% of our space is
businesses.
Our business customer base is comprised of online retailers, B2B traders
looking for flexible mini-warehousing for e-fulfilment, service providers,
those looking to shorten supply chains, and businesses looking to rationalise
their other fixed costs of accommodation. For these customers, who typically
are looking for rooms which could be from 50 sq ft to 500 sq ft in facilities
that meet their operational requirements, the only supply in big cities is
from self storage providers. The average space occupied by business
customers at the year-end is 175 sq ft (2024: 177 sq ft).
Domestic customers occupy on average 59 sq ft (2024: 58 sq ft) and pay on
average 17% more in rent per sq ft than business customers (2024: 17%),
however business customers do stay longer, take more space and represent
around 32% of revenue (2024: 32%).
The pandemic accelerated many structural changes that were already occurring,
such as the move to online retailing and an increase in working from home
facilitated by technological advances. The deindustrialisation of big cities
with the conversion of commercial space into residential and other uses, has
led to a shortage of suitable flexible mini-warehouse space from which to
operate small scale storage and e-fulfilment, particularly in London. These
developments, along with businesses increasingly seeking flexible office and
storage space rather than longer inflexible leases, we believe are long-term
structural trends, which will benefit our business going forward.
From research we have previously carried out, a typical small business using
storage employs around three people and 60% of them are early-stage businesses
and for 50% of them this is their only space.
In addition, we have a dedicated national customers team for businesses who
wish to occupy space in multiple stores. These customers on average occupy
approximately 900 sq ft, paying £29,000 per annum, and are billed and managed
centrally. This area has performed strongly in the year with revenue up 11%
compared to the prior year, making up 5% of occupied space.
Activity
Prospect numbers were down 3% on the prior year, however, our conversion
levels improved with move-ins down only 1% and move-outs also down 1% on last
year.
Occupancy across all 109 stores increased over the year by 27,000 sq ft (2024:
fall of 59,000 sq ft). Domestic occupied space increased by 90,000 sq ft
over the year. Business occupancy dropped 3% or 63,000 sq ft on 1.84 million
sq ft occupied at the beginning of the year.
As we have experienced over the years, there are businesses who outgrow us and
move to their own accommodation, others cease operations, some are seasonal,
and we continue to replace any vacated space with new move-ins from online
traders, e-tailers and service providers. We are not seeing any noticeable
further softening in demand from businesses, particularly in London.
The 77 Big Yellow same stores (see Portfolio Summary) are 80.9% occupied
compared to 81.7% at the same time last year. The eight lease-up Big Yellow
stores added 48,000 sq ft of occupancy over the year to reach closing
occupancy of 64.7%. The 24 Armadillo stores, representing 10% of the Group's
revenue are 76.2% occupied, compared to 74.3% at this time last year.
Overall store occupancy was 78.7% (2024: 78.3%).
Occupancy Occupancy change in year Occupancy Occupancy
31 March 2025 000 sq ft 31 March 2025 31 March 2024
% 000 sq ft 000 sq ft
77 same store Big Yellow stores 80.9% (39) 3,932 3,971
8 lease-up Big Yellow stores 64.7% 48 357 309
24 Armadillo stores 76.2% 18 767 749
All 109 stores 78.7% 27 5,056 5,029
All stores are trading profitably at the EBITDA level.
Rental growth
We continue to manage pricing dynamically, taking account of room
availability, customer demand and local competition, with our pricing model
reducing promotions and increasing asking prices where individual units are in
scarce supply.
We continue to price competitively to win new customers and increase rents to
in-place customers on a range dependent on what they are paying relative to
the current asking price, and on average these were at levels slightly ahead
of wage inflation. It must be remembered that some 60% of our customers
move-out within six months and therefore do not receive any price increases.
New customers over the year paid on average 2% more than move-ins for last
year, and 4% less than customers moving out over the year. If we can improve
our relative occupancy performance, we would expect to see this reverse and be
an additional driver to revenue growth.
The average achieved net rent per sq ft increased by 3% compared to the prior
year, with closing net rent up 3% compared to 31 March 2024. The table below
shows the change in net rent per sq ft for the portfolio by average occupancy
over the year (on a non-weighted basis). The analysis excludes our most
recent store openings.
Average occupancy in the year Net rent per sq ft growth from April 2024 to March 2025 Net rent per sq ft growth from April 2023 to March 2024
75% to 85% 3.3% 5.4%
85% to 90% 5.9% 5.5%
Above 90% 7.8% 6.9%
Marketing and operations
Our marketing strategy focuses on enhancing our market-leading brand awareness
further and leveraging it to maximise the cost-efficient generation of
enquiries, customer move-ins and user satisfaction across our digital
platforms. Our strong brand, combined with continued digital investment and
innovation, has enabled us to create a market-leading website which delivers
over 90% of our enquiries.
Our latest YouGov survey (published in May 2024) confirmed the brand awareness
of Big Yellow remained significantly ahead of other UK operators in the
sector. The survey shows our unprompted brand awareness to be over four
times higher than our nearest competitor across the UK.
The Big Yellow website enables users to browse different room sizes, obtain a
price, reserve online and check-in online prior to arriving at the stores,
which are automated in terms of access once a customer moves in.
We understand our web users often struggle to determine what size of storage
they require. Our online size estimator features intuitive animations and
information to guide people toward making the right choice. The online
experience also allows customers to communicate with us in real-time via Live
Chat, WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger. Comprehensive online FAQs provide our
users with another way to address questions they may have about the service
without needing to call us directly.
This is all essential because approximately 60% of our new prospects have not
used self storage before.
The seamless digital experience continues with our online check-in platform.
This enables customers to complete the majority of their move-in process
remotely. They can upload their photo and identity documents, sign the full
customer licence, set up authorised persons, complete their storage inventory
and establish a paperless Direct Debit - all accomplished remotely. This
online check-in capability has significantly reduced the time our customers
need to spend in our receptions when they move in.
We also provide the ability to purchase boxes and packing materials through
our online BoxShop store. These items can be home delivered or made available
through our Click and Collect service from stores, which represents 77% of
BoxShop transactions. Packing material sales and other ancillary sales
(excluding ELS) generated revenue of £5.1 million in the year (2024: £4.9
million).
Driving online traffic
Self storage is a consumer-facing business and the development of a strong and
sustainable brand is multi-layered. It requires consistency in product,
customer service and interaction at all touch points, particularly online.
Search engines are our most important acquisition tool, accounting for the
majority of traffic to our website. Our focus on gaining a competitive
advantage in search continues and our search engine optimisation ("SEO")
efforts have helped us maintain high organic listings for popular generic and
local self storage-related search terms. This, in turn, drives growth and cost
efficiencies in acquiring new prospects.
Brand search terms are also a valuable driver of enquiries for Big Yellow and
help improve the efficiency of our cost per enquiry. In the past year, 47% of
all search engine paid clicks to our website originated from "Big Yellow"
brand searches. This clearly indicates that the brand is important in driving
higher levels of prospects and customer referrals, leading to improved
operational efficiencies. We have demonstrated this through significant
improvements in the performance of existing storage centres following their
acquisition, re-branding and assimilation into our business.
Search engine marketing remains our largest source of paid web traffic.
Ongoing website optimisation and an engaging user experience through our
digital platforms help ensure we maximise the conversion of these web visits
into enquiries and then customers.
Digital display advertising enables us to regionally target audiences in the
market for self storage, raising consideration of the service and the Big
Yellow brand through engaging creatives. This year, we have also started
growing our strategic online partnerships with brands that have similar
audiences to ours. This will help further drive efficiencies in our cost per
customer.
Online customer reviews and social media
Supporting our values of putting the customer at the heart of our business,
our online customer reviews generate real-time feedback from customers and
provide positive word-of-mouth referrals to our website visitors. Through our
Big Impressions customer feedback programme, we ask our new customers to rate
our service. With the users' permission, we then publish these independent
customer reviews on the Big Yellow website, which currently total over 56,000
averaging 4.8 out of 5.
The Big Impressions programme also generates customer feedback on their
move-in and move-out experience. These customer reviews and mystery shop
results are transparently accessible across the business and help reinforce
our focus on outstanding customer service. Over the year, we have achieved an
average net promoter score of 82.8, which is a very strong consumer-facing
benchmark result.
We also gain real-time customer feedback from over 27,700 Google Reviews,
averaging 4.7 out of 5. These help to enhance our visibility within local
search listings, conveying trust in the Big Yellow brand. Additionally, we
have over 4,750 reviews from the independent review site TrustPilot. These
reviews average a 4.7 out of 5 star rating, labelled as "Excellent" on the
TrustPilot ratings scale. We monitor our customer reviews and respond where
necessary for customer service reasons or to manage our online reputation and
improve our service offering.
Social media continues to complement our existing marketing channels. Big
Yellow actively posts content across LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook to raise
awareness of our services and ESG activities. These social channels are also
used by customers to connect with us and are monitored in real-time, enabling
us to respond promptly to any enquiries. The Big Yellow LinkedIn platform is
specifically used to communicate company achievements, ESG initiatives and our
company culture.
The Big Yellow YouTube channel allows web prospects to experience our stores
online through our video guides to self storage.
We will continue to invest in improving the customer experience and user
journey across all our digital marketing channels and in-store operations to
achieve higher levels of automation and, consequently, efficiencies in the
business.
AI
We continue to look for new opportunities to utilise AI and other emerging
technology to drive efficiency and improve our business. We are currently
leveraging a variety of AI tools to enhance our content creation process using
tools such as Microsoft CoPilot, ChatGPT, and Canva to generate innovative
ideas and content. These tools assist us in creating training modules,
drafting policies and procedures, and developing engaging presentations and
visuals. The integration of these AI tools has significantly streamlined our
workflow and boosted our productivity.
We've also been leveraging rules-based data manipulation and automation
techniques across various aspects of our operations, such as our dynamic
pricing system, prospect management, online check-in, and the digital
automation of all customer communications. Our access control reporting and
alerts, based on significant data from our stores, have been instrumental in
enhancing our store audit processes. Exception reporting is another area where
we've seen great improvements. Other examples in marketing would be
translation AI, optimisation of paid search and targeting of prospects.
Although services provided by third parties, machine learning AI forms the
backbone of our cybersecurity and defence mechanisms. It plays a crucial role
in anti-malware efforts, firewalls, email management, vulnerability testing,
and Security Information and Event Monitoring.
The above is by no means a complete summary of how AI is making a difference
to our business, but should provide an insight and it is something that we
will continue to invest in.
Cyber security and IT infrastructure
Cyber security and IT infrastructure are vital for the Group's strategy and
operations. We have a robust framework covering risk, security, compliance,
innovation, and efficiency. Over the past year, we've achieved significant
results and progress, although as ever, we are proactive in seeking new
opportunities and overcoming new challenges. We maintain our commitment to
investing in and improving our capabilities, ensuring we maintain our
competitive edge.
We regularly evaluate our cyber risk and security status with the help from
both internal experts and external consultants. Mandatory Information Security
and Data Protection training along with frequent tests, such as penetration
testing and phishing simulations, help us ensure our systems and people are
secure. This year, our systems underwent a comprehensive external audit and
achieved IASME Cyber Assurance Levels 1 & 2, incorporating Cyber
Essentials. Additionally, we have cyber insurance in place should a breach
occur.
Our Data Compliance Officer oversees ongoing compliance with GDPR and PCI DSS,
along with Business Continuity and Crisis Communication management. Our
policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and benchmarked against
industry best practice. Our Infrastructure and Development teams drive
innovation and efficiencies throughout the Group.
Development pipeline
An important aspect of our external growth is the development of new stores,
particularly in London, where there are very few existing assets suitable to
be acquired.
Current development pipeline - with planning
Site Location Status Anticipated capacity
Staines, London Prominent location on the Causeway Construction commenced with store opening in July 2025. We are also 70,000 sq ft
developing 9 industrial units on the site totalling 99,000 sq ft.
Queensbury, London Prominent location off Honeypot Lane Construction commenced with store opening in October 2025. 72,000 sq ft
Wembley, London Prominent location on Towers Business Park Construction commenced with store opening in March 2026. 73,000 sq ft
Slough Bath Road Prominent location on Bath Road Construction commenced with store opening in spring 2026. 95,000 sq ft
Epsom, London Prominent location on East Street Construction commenced with store opening in summer 2026. 59,000 sq ft
Staples Corner, London Prominent location on North Circular Road Construction commenced with planned store opening in summer 2026. Replacement for existing leasehold store, additional 18,000 sq ft
Kentish Town, London Prominent location on Regis Road Demolition commenced, with a planned store opening in autumn 2026. 70,000 sq ft
Wapping, London Prominent location on the Highway, adjacent to existing Big Yellow Construction commenced with store opening in late 2026. Additional 95,000 sq ft
West Kensington, London Prominent location on Hammersmith Road Demolition of existing building to commence this year, with a store opening 175,000 sq ft
anticipated in summer 2028.
Newcastle Prominent location on Scotswood Road Planning consent granted, vacant possession awaited. 60,000 sq ft
Current development pipeline - without planning
Site Location Status Anticipated capacity
Old Kent Road, London Prominent location on Old Kent Road Site acquired in June 2022. Planning application submitted in October 2023, 75,000 sq ft
decision anticipated Summer 2025.
Leicester Prominent location on Belgrave Gate, Central Leicester Site acquired in June 2023. Planning application submitted in November 2024. 58,000 sq ft
Leamington Spa Prominent location on Queensway Site acquired in May 2024. Planning application submitted in December 2024. 55,000 sq ft
Coventry Prominent location on Sir Henry Parkes Road Site acquired in April 2025. 58,000 sq ft
Total - all sites 1,033,000 sq ft
PORTFOLIO SUMMARY
March 2025 March 2024
Big Yellow same stores ((1)) Big Yellow lease-up Armadillo Big Yellow same stores Big Yellow lease-up Armadillo
Total Total
Number of stores 77 8 24 109 77 8 24 109
At 31 March:
Total capacity (sq ft) 4,863,000 552,000 1,006,000 6,421,000 4,859,000 552,000 1,008,000 6,419,000
Occupied space (sq ft) 3,932,000 357,000 767,000 5,056,000 3,971,000 309,000 749,000 5,029,000
Percentage occupied 80.9% 64.7% 76.2% 78.7% 81.7% 56.0% 74.3% 78.3%
Net rent per sq ft £37.56 £33.28 £23.74 £35.17 £36.43 £31.74 £22.98 £34.14
For the year:
REVPAF((2)) £34.80 £23.34 £21.01 £31.63 £34.28 £18.41 £20.02 £30.71
Average occupancy 82.3% 62.1% 77.3% 79.8% 84.1% 51.8% 76.4% 80.2%
Average annual net rent psf £37.08 £32.82 £23.42 £34.71 £35.87 £31.10 £22.75 £33.64
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Self storage income 148,335 11,262 18,226 177,823 146,945 8,640 17,562 173,147
Other storage related 19,195 1,607 2,861 23,663 18,682 1,221 2,651 22,554
income ((2))
Ancillary store rental 1,576 17 45 1,638 1,375 17 19 1,411
income
Total store revenue 169,106 12,886 21,132 203,124 167,002 9,878 20,232 197,112
Direct store operating costs (43,606) (5,690) (8,269) (57,565) (39,722) (4,591) (7,517) (51,830)
Short and long (2,145) (26) (206) (2,377) (2,102) (10) (169) (2,281)
leasehold rent((3))
Store EBITDA((2)) 123,355 7,170 12,657 143,182 125,178 5,277 12,546 143,001
Store EBITDA margin 72.9% 55.6% 59.9% 70.5% 75.0% 53.4% 62.0% 72.5%
Deemed cost £m £m £m £m
To 31 March 2025 749.0 188.0 145.3 1,082.3
Capex to complete - 0.3 - 0.3
Total 749.0 188.3 145.3 1,082.6
(1) We have changed the presentation of the portfolio summary this year,
to show same stores and lease-up stores, rather than established and
developing stores, and represented the comparative information accordingly.
This new approach is consistent with other listed self storage businesses.
The Big Yellow same stores are those that have reached 85% occupancy during a
previous financial year. Should a store move categories in a year, we
re-present the comparative information so the store is in the same category in
both years. We opened a new freehold store at Slough Farnham Road during the
year. After transferring its customers to the new Farnham Road store, we
closed our leasehold Slough Whitby Road store during the year. The
occupancy, net rent and capacity at the balance sheet date shows Slough
Farnham Road within the same stores, as it was effectively a continuation of
trade in a new location. The revenue and operating costs for the year for
both stores are shown within same stores.
(2) See glossary in note 28.
(3) Rent paid for six short leasehold properties and five long leasehold
properties
The table below reconciles Store EBITDA to gross profit in the statement of
comprehensive income.
Year ended 31 March 2025 Year ended 31 March 2024
£000 £000
Store EBITDA Reconciling items Gross profit per statement of comprehensive income Store EBITDA Reconciling items Gross profit per statement of comprehensive income
Store revenue/Revenue((4)) 203,124 1,371 197,112 2,507
204,495 199,619
Cost of sales((5)) (57,565) (4,561) (62,126) (51,830) (4,164) (55,994)
Rent((3)) (2,377) 2,377 - (2,281) 2,281 -
143,182 (813) 142,369 143,001 624 143,625
(4) See note 3 of the financial statements, reconciling item is
non-storage income.
(5) See reconciliation in cost of sales section in Financial Review on
page 16.
Reconciliation of APMs
The table below reconciles the reported figures above to the like-for-like
metrics the Group reports:
Like-for-like revenue
Year ended 31 March 2025 Year ended 31 March 2024
£000 £000
Store revenue (6) 203,124 197,112
Less revenue from non like-for-like stores (6) (2,465) (905)
Like-for-like revenue (6) 200,659 196,207
Like-for-like store occupancy
Year ended 31 March 2025 Year ended 31 March 2024
Store MLA (sq ft) (6) 6,421,000 6,419,000
Less MLA from non like-for-like stores (sq ft) (6) (101,000) (101,000)
Like-for-like MLA (sq ft) (6) 6,320,000 6,318,000
Store occupancy (sq ft) (6) 5,056,000 5,029,000
Less occupancy from non like-for-like (sq ft) (6) (59,000) (36,000)
Like-for-like occupancy (sq ft) (6) 4,997,000 4,993,000
Like-for-like occupancy (%) (6) 79.1% 79.0%
(6) See glossary in note 28
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Revenue
Total revenue for the year was £204.5 million, an increase of £4.9 million
(2%) from £199.6 million in the prior year. The increase in revenue for
the year was impacted by lower rental income on our development sites as we
obtained vacant possession; store revenue growth for the year was 3%.
Like-for-like store revenue (see glossary in note 28) for the year was £200.7
million, an increase of 2% from the prior year (2024: £196.2 million).
In the prior year, we reported that revenue growth was highest in London
stores, with our south east commuter and regional stores delivering a lower
run-rate of revenue growth. In the current year, we have seen this reverse,
with our commuter and regional stores delivering higher revenue growth than
our London stores.
Included in store revenue is other storage related income, from the sale of
packing materials, insurance/enhanced liability service ("ELS"), and storage
related charges. This amounted to £23.7 million in the year (2024: £22.6
million), an increase of 5%. This is ahead of the overall store revenue
increase after a focus on improving the average level of ELS cover we sell to
customers and improving the amount we charge for add-on services.
The other revenue earned by the Group is tenant income on sites where we have
not started development.
Operating costs
Cost of sales principally comprise the direct store operating costs, including
store staff salaries, utilities, business rates, insurance, a full allocation
of the central marketing budget and repairs and maintenance.
We saw moderating operating cost increases in the second half of the financial
year. The like-for-like increase in store operating costs in the first half
of the year was 10%; for the second half this figure was 4%, with an overall
increase of 7% for the year. We are pleased to have significantly reduced
our operating cost inflation in the second half and are targeting to achieve
further improvement in the year ahead.
The table below shows the breakdown of our store operating costs compared to
the prior year:
Year ended 31 March 2025 Year ended 31 March 2024 % of store operating costs in 2025
£000 £000
Category Change
Cost of sales 1,422 1,519 -6% 2%
Staff costs 15,199 14,719 3% 26%
General & admin 1,646 1,534 7% 3%
Utilities 2,783 2,670 4% 5%
Property rates 20,856 18,153 15% 35%
Marketing 6,778 6,438 5% 11%
Repairs & maintenance 5,841 5,336 9% 10%
Insurance 3,394 3,323 2% 6%
Computer costs 1,193 1,031 16% 2%
Total before one-off items 59,112 54,723 8%
One-off items (1,547) (2,893) (46%)
Total per portfolio summary 57,565 51,830 11%
Store operating costs have increased by £5.7 million (11%). The one-off
items in the current year relate to rates rebates received in the year, with
the prior year one-off items due to release of a provision for property rates
from the 2017 rating list and a reassessment of the Group's bad debt
provision. Store operating costs before these one-off items have increased
by £4.4 million (8%) compared to the prior year. The additional operating
expense from new stores accounted for £0.5 million in the year. The
remaining increase is £3.9 million (7%), with commentary below:
- Cost of sales has reduced with slightly lower packing material
sales in the year, and some savings on purchase costs.
- Staff costs have increased by £0.5 million (3%) with the salary
review of on average 4.8% (including a higher increase to those at the lower
end of the pay scale reflecting the rise in the national living wage). This
increase has been partly offset by savings on headcount, as we drive
efficiencies into the stores through automation.
- Our utilities expenditure continues to benefit from our
investment in solar.
- Property rates have increased by £2.7 million (15%). The causes
of this increase are the impact of new stores; the unwinding of taper relief
from the introduction of the 2023 listing, and inflation applied to the
multiplier which was set at 6.7%, based on the CPI print to September 2023.
The rates payable for the next financial year will be based off the CPI to
September 2024, which was 1.7%.
- Our marketing expense for the year was up 5%, mainly due to an
increase in the PPC budget over the summer months to drive additional
prospects in a softer demand environment. The total marketing spend
represents 3.3% of revenue for the year.
- The repairs and maintenance expense has increased due to an
additional investment in security in our stores, and an increase in solar
panel maintenance costs, with higher numbers of stores now with solar PVs.
- Computer costs have increased by £0.2 million (16%), which reflects
additional investment in systems to drive automation across the business.
- The Group's bad debt expense for the year was 0.2% of revenue, in
line with the prior year. The Group has not seen any deterioration in its
aged debtors' profile over recent months.
The table below reconciles store operating costs per the portfolio summary to
cost of sales in the statement of comprehensive income:
Year ended 31 March 2025 Year ended 31 March 2024
£000 £000
Direct store operating costs per portfolio summary (excluding rent) 57,565 51,830
Rent included in cost of sales (total rent payable is included in portfolio 1,593 1,784
summary)
Depreciation charged to cost of sales 530 569
Costs associated with closure of Slough leasehold store 694 -
Head office and other operational management costs charged to cost of sales 1,744 1,811
Cost of sales per statement of comprehensive income 62,126 55,994
The Group incurred various costs associated with the closure of its Slough
leasehold store in the year, including the cost of transferring customers to
our new freehold Slough Farnham Road store, and the strip-out of the building
before returning it to the landlord. These costs totalled £0.7 million and
have been excluded from the Group's adjusted profit for the year, as they are
a one-off item.
Store EBITDA
Store EBITDA for the year was £143.2 million, an increase of £0.2 million
from £143.0 million for the prior year (see Portfolio Summary). The overall
EBITDA margin for during the year was 70.5%, down from 72.5% in 2024, due to
the increase in store operating costs discussed above.
All stores are currently trading profitably at the Store EBITDA level.
Administrative expenses
Administrative expenses in the statement of comprehensive income of £15.8
million were up £0.5 million (4%) compared to the prior year, slightly ahead
of average inflation.
Other income
In February 2022 the Group experienced a fire at our Cheadle store, which
resulted in a total loss to the store. We had insurance cover in place for
both the fit-out and four years loss of income. The Group settled the claim
with the insurers in the year and the resulting loss of income insurance
proceeds received during the financial year was £4.0 million, which is
included in other income (2024: £1.8 million). There will be no further
amounts received in respect of this claim in the year ending 31 March 2026.
In the prior year the Group received £4.7 million, being the insurance
proceeds for the fit-out of the Cheadle store. This amount was shown as
other income in 2024 but not included in the Group's adjusted earnings for
that year, as it relates to capital expenditure.
Interest expense on bank borrowings
The gross bank interest expense for the year was £23.3 million, a decrease of
£2.4 million from the prior year, due to lower average debt levels, following
the placing in October 2023, partly offset by a slightly higher average cost
of debt following the increase in interest rates in the prior year. The
average cost of borrowing during the year was 5.7% compared to 5.5% in the
prior year. Our average cost of debt has now started to fall following the
reduction in interest rates from August 2024.
Capitalised interest has risen significantly as we build out the stores in our
development pipeline, and was £7.9 million, up from £3.3 million in the
prior year.
Total finance costs in the statement of comprehensive income reduced to £15.9
million from £22.9 million in the prior year, due to the reduction in
interest payable and the increase in capitalised interest.
Profit before tax
The Group made a profit before tax in the year of £203.9 million, compared to
a profit of £241.0 million in the prior year. After adjusting for the gain
on the revaluation of investment properties and other matters shown in the
table below, the Group made an adjusted profit before tax in the year of
£115.6 million, up 8% from £107.3 million in 2024.
Profit before tax analysis 2025 2024
£000 £000
Profit before tax 203,854 241,035
Gain on revaluation of investment properties (79,667) (131,159)
Movement in fair value on interest rate derivatives (547) 2,146
Gain on disposal of non-current asset (8,754) -
Costs associated with closure of Slough leasehold store 694 -
Cheadle fit-out insurance proceeds - (4,723)
Adjusted profit before tax 115,580 107,299
The adjustments made to the Group's profit before tax follow guidance issued
by EPRA, with additional Company specific adjustments made to give readers a
clearer underlying picture of the Group's performance. EPRA profit before
tax is disclosed in note 10.
The movement in the adjusted profit before tax from the prior year is
illustrated in the table below:
£m
Adjusted profit before tax - year ended 31 March 2024 107.3
Decrease in gross profit (0.6)
Increase in administrative expenses (0.5)
Increase in other income 2.3
Decrease in net interest payable 2.5
Increase in capitalised interest 4.6
Adjusted profit before tax - year ended 31 March 2025 115.6
Basic earnings per share for the year was 103.2p (2024: 127.1p) and diluted
earnings per share was 102.8p (2024: 126.4p). Diluted adjusted earnings
per share based on adjusted profit after tax was up 3% to 57.8p (2024: 55.9p)
(see note 12).
REIT status
The Group is a Real Estate Investment Trust ("REIT") and therefore benefits
from a zero tax rate on its qualifying self storage earnings. The Group only
pays tax on the profits attributable to our residual business, comprising
primarily of the sale of packing materials and insurance.
REIT status gives the Group exemption from UK corporation tax on profits and
gains from its qualifying portfolio of UK stores. Revaluation gains on
developments and our existing open stores are exempt from corporation tax on
chargeable gains, provided certain criteria are met.
The Group has a rigorous internal system in place for monitoring compliance
with criteria set out in the REIT regulations. On a monthly basis, a report
on compliance with these criteria is issued to the Executive. To date, the
Group has complied with all REIT regulations, including forward looking
tests.
Taxation
There is a £2.5 million tax charge in the residual business for the year
ended 31 March 2025 (2024: £2.3 million). The current year tax charge is
partly offset in the income statement by an adjustment to the prior year tax
estimate of £0.5 million (2024: prior year adjustment of £1.1 million).
Dividends
The Board is recommending the payment of a final dividend of 23.8 pence per
share in addition to the interim dividend of 22.6 pence, giving a total
dividend for the year of 46.4 pence, an increase of 3% from the prior year.
The Group's policy is to distribute a minimum of 80% of our adjusted earnings
per share in each reporting period.
REIT regulatory requirements determine the level of Property Income
Distribution ("PID") payable by the Group. Based on the full year
distributable reserves for PID purposes, a PID of 46.4p pence per share is
payable (31 March 2024: 45.2 pence). The PID for the year to 31 March 2025
accounts for all of the declared dividend. The table below summarises the
declared dividend for the year:
Dividend (pence per share) 31 March 2025 31 March 2024
Interim dividend 22.6p 22.6p
Final dividend 23.8p 22.6p
Total dividend 46.4p 45.2p
Subject to approval by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting to be held
on 17 July 2025, the final dividend will be paid on 25 July 2025. The ex-div
date is 3 July 2025 and the record date is 4 July 2025.
Cash flow growth
The Group is strongly cash generative and draws down from its longer term
committed facilities as required to meet its obligations. The Group's cash
flow from operating activities pre-working capital movements for the year was
£111.9 million, an increase of 2% from £110.1 million in the prior year,
with the growth in line with the increase in the Group's profitability in the
year. These operating cash flows are after the ongoing maintenance costs of
the stores, which were on average approximately £53,500 per store (2024:
£49,000).
The Group's net debt has increased slightly over the year to £388.7 million
(March 2024: £385.4 million).
There are distortive working capital items in the prior year, and therefore
the summary cash flow below sets out the free cash flow pre-working capital
movements
Year ended Year ended
31 March 2025
31 March 2024
£m £m
Cash generated from operations pre-working capital movements 132.0 135.1
Net finance costs (21.5) (24.0)
Interest on obligations under lease liabilities (0.6) (0.6)
Loss of income insurance proceeds 4.0 1.6
Tax (2.0) (2.0)
Cash flow from operating activities pre-working capital movements 111.9 110.1
Working capital movements 2.6 (5.3)
Cash flow from operating activities 114.5 104.8
Capital expenditure (58.3) (30.9)
Disposal of non-current asset 30.6 5.4
Insurance proceeds on fit-out - 4.7
Cash flow after investing activities 86.8 84.0
Ordinary dividends (88.5) (85.3)
Issue of share capital 0.8 108.0
Payment of lease liabilities (1.8) (1.8)
Loan arrangement fees paid (0.6) (3.7)
Increase/(decrease) in borrowings 2.7 (100.2)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow (0.6) 1.0
The Group's interest cover for the period (expressed as the ratio of cash
generated from operations pre-working capital movements against interest paid)
was 6.1 times (2024: 5.6 times). This is calculated per below:
31 March 2025 31 March 2024
£000 £000
Cash generated from operations pre working capital movements (see note 26) 131,999 135,086
Interest paid per cash flow statement (21,657) (24,069)
Interest cover 6.1x 5.6x
In the year capital expenditure outflows were £58.3 million, up from £30.9
million in the prior year. This capital expenditure was principally on the
construction of new stores, and the continued roll-out of our solar retro-fit
programme. We expect the amount of capital expenditure to increase next
year, as we continue the build out of our pipeline. The disposal of
non-current asset of £30.6 million relates to the proceeds from the sale of
land adjacent to our Battersea store.
The cash flow after investing activities was a net inflow of £86.8 million,
an increase of 3% from £84.0 million in the prior year.
Balance sheet
Property
The Group's open stores and stores under development owned at 31 March 2025,
which are classified as investment properties, have all been valued
individually by JLL.
The external valuation has resulted in an investment property asset value of
£2,992.7 million, comprising £2,784.6 million (93%) for the freehold
(including nine long leaseholds) open stores, £22.9 million (1%) for the
short leasehold open stores and £185.2 million (6%) for the freehold
investment properties under construction.
Investment property
The open store portfolio has increased in value by £78.8 million (3%). This
increase in value arises from improvements in the cap rates on certain stores,
and growth in the projected cash flows. The weighted average exit
capitalisation rate used in the valuations was 5.2% in the current year,
compared to 5.4% in the prior year.
Analysis of property portfolio Value at 31 March 2025 Revaluation movement in the year
£m £m
Investment property 2,807.5 78.8
Investment property under construction 185.2 0.9
Investment property total 2,992.7 79.7
The table below provides a further breakdown of the open store valuations:
Mature Lease-up Armadillo
Freehold Leasehold Freehold Largely Freehold Total
Number of stores 73 4 8 24 109
MLA capacity (sq ft) 4,619,000 244,000 552,000 1,006,000 6,421,000
Valuation at 31 March 2025
£2,269.3m £18.8m £270.9m £177.3m £2,736.3m
Value per sq ft £491 £77 £491 £176 £426
Net initial year one NOI yield
5.0% 17.2% 3.5% 5.9% 5.0%
The total store valuation in this table differs to the balance sheet due to
the non-self storage investment property that the Group owns, such as the
Harrow Industrial Scheme. The net initial year one NOI yield is 5.0% (2024:
5.2%). Note 15 contains more detail on the assumptions underpinning the
valuations.
Investment property under construction
The Group spent £55.3 million on investment property under construction in
the year, the majority of which was construction expenditure, with the only
site acquisition in the year being Leamington Spa. Slough Farnham Road
transferred to investment property during the year as the store opened.
There was a revaluation surplus of £0.9 million on the investment property
under construction in the year.
The projected net operating income of the increase in our total capacity of
1.0 million sq ft when stabilised is £32.5 million representing an
approximate 15.3% return on the incremental capital deployed. On a proforma
basis at stabilisation, the projected net operating income for the 13 new
stores and one replacement store is £36.6 million, a return of approximately
8.7% on the total development cost of £422 million, including land already
acquired.
Purchaser's cost adjustment
As in prior years, we have instructed an alternative valuation on our assets
using a purchaser's cost assumption of 2.75% (see note 15 for further details)
to be used in the calculation of our adjusted diluted net asset value. This
Red Book valuation based on the special assumption of 2.75% purchaser's costs,
results in a higher property valuation at 31 March 2025 of £3.11 billion
(£116 million higher than the value recorded in the financial statements).
This translates to 58.7 pence per share. This revised valuation translates
into an adjusted net asset value per share of 1,355.6 pence (2024: 1,296.4
pence) after the dilutive effect of outstanding share options.
Receivables
The Group's bad debt expense in the year represented 0.2% of revenue compared
to 0.2% in the prior year, with 81% of our customer base paying by direct
debit (2024: 80%).
Net asset value
The adjusted net asset value is 1,355.6 pence per share (see note 13), an
increase of 5% compared to 1,296.4 pence per share at 31 March 2024. The
table below reconciles the movement:
Adjusted NAV pence per share
Movement in adjusted net asset value £m
31 March 2024 2,561.9 1,296.4
Adjusted profit after tax 113.6 57.5
Equity dividends paid (88.4) (44.7)
Revaluation movements 79.7 40.3
Movement in purchaser's cost adjustment 5.0 2.5
Other movements (e.g. share schemes, gain on disposal) 10.3 3.6
31 March 2025 2,682.1 1,355.6
Borrowings
Our financing policy is to fund our current needs through a mix of debt,
equity, and cash flow to allow us to build out, and add to, our development
pipeline and achieve our strategic growth objectives, which we believe improve
returns for shareholders. We aim to ensure that there are sufficient
medium-term facilities in place to finance our committed development
programme, secured against the freehold portfolio, with debt serviced by our
strong operational cash flows. We maintain a keen watch on medium and
long-term rates and the Group's policy in respect of interest rates is to
maintain a balance between flexibility and hedging of interest rate risk.
The table below summarises the Group's debt facilities at 31 March 2025, with
a current average cost of debt of 5.0% (March 2024: 5.4%).
Debt Expiry Facility Drawn Cost
Aviva Loan September 2028 £152.5m £152.5m 3.4%
M&G loan (£35 million fixed at 4.5%, £85 million floating)
September 2029 £120m £120m 6.4%
Revolving bank facility (Lloyds, HSBC, and Barclays, floating) December 2027 (option to extend for further year)
£300m £125m 5.7%
Total Average term 3.5 years £572.5m £397.5m 5.0%
In addition to the facilities above, the Group has a $225 million credit
approved shelf facility with Pricoa Private Capital ("Pricoa"), to be drawn in
fixed sterling notes. The Group can draw the debt in minimum tranches of
£10 million over the next year with terms of between 7 and 15 years at short
notice, typically 10 days.
The Group's £300 million RCF has incorporated Sustainability-linked KPIs into
the loan, which include annual pre-agreed targets and are based on:
- reductions in Scope 1 and 2 emissions;
- increase in solar generation capacity;
- total annual grants to Big Yellow Foundation charity
partners; and
- the value of storage space provided free of charge to
local charities in our stores.
Performance against the KPIs is measured annually, with a margin decrease or
increase applied to the headline margin. We are pleased to report that the
Group met all the KPIs in the first year of the loan and is therefore
benefitting from a 5bps margin reduction on the RCF.
The Group was comfortably in compliance with its banking covenants at 31 March
2025. Further details of the Group's covenants are provided in note 19 of
the accounts. The Group's key financial ratios are shown in the table below:
Metric 31 March 2025 31 March 2024
Net Debt / Gross Property Assets 13% 13%
Net Debt / Adjusted Net Assets 14% 15%
Net Debt / Market Capitalisation 21% 18%
Net debt to Group EBITDA ratio 3.1x 3.0x
Cash generated from operations pre-working capital movements against interest
paid
6.1x 5.6x
At 31 March 2025, the fair value on the Group's interest rate derivatives was
a liability of £1.3 million. The Group does not hedge account its interest
rate derivatives. The fair value movements are eliminated from adjusted
profit before tax, adjusted earnings per share, and adjusted net assets per
share. Cash deposits are only placed with approved financial institutions in
accordance with the Group's Treasury policy.
Share capital
The share capital of the Company totalled £19.7 million at 31 March 2025
(2024: £19.6 million), consisting of 196,714,696 ordinary shares of 10p each
(2024: 196,195,287 shares). 0.5 million shares were issued for the
exercise of options during the year at an average exercise price of £12.60
(2024: 0.3 million shares at an average price of £10.77).
The Group holds 0.9 million shares within an Employee Benefit Trust ("EBT").
These shares are shown as a debit in reserves and are not included in
calculating net asset value per share.
2025 2024
No. No.
Opening shares 196,195,287 184,265,973
Shares issued in placing - 11,640,212
Shares issued for the exercise of options 519,409 289,102
Closing shares in issue 196,714,696 196,195,287
Shares held in EBT (881,360) (1,098,686)
Closing shares for NAV purposes 195,833,336 195,096,601
96.9 million shares were traded in the market during the year ended 31 March
2025 (2024: 111.2 million). The average mid-market price of shares traded
during the year was £11.09 with a high of £13.36 and a low of £8.71.
Principal risks and uncertainties
The Directors have carried out a robust assessment of the emerging and
principal risks facing the Group, including those that would threaten its
business model, future performance, solvency, or liquidity. The Group
maintains a low appetite to risk, in line with our strategic objectives of
providing a low volatility, high distribution business.
The section below details the emerging and principal risks and uncertainties
that are considered to have the most material impact on the Group's strategy
and objectives. These key risks are monitored on an ongoing basis by the
Executive Directors and considered fully by the Board in its annual risk
review.
Risk and impact Mitigation Change during the year and outlook
Self storage market risk
There is a risk to the business that the self storage market does not grow in Self storage is a relatively immature market in the UK compared to other self The past three financial years have seen a challenging geopolitical and
line with our projections, and that economic growth in the UK is below storage markets such as the United States and Australia, and we believe has macroeconomic backdrop, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,
expectations, which could result in falling demand and a loss of income. further opportunity for growth. Awareness of self storage and how it can be the US regional banking crisis, the collapse of Credit Suisse, the conflict in
used by domestic and business customers is relatively low throughout the UK, the Middle East, the impact of rising inflation and interest rates, and more
although higher in London. recently the imposition of tariffs by the United States.
The rate of growth of branded self storage on main roads in good locations has Rising inflation and interest rates impacted the cost of living in the UK, and
historically been limited by the difficulty of acquiring sites at affordable the level of housing transactions fell as the cost of mortgages increased.
prices and obtaining planning consent.
The Group's activity levels have been impacted by this backdrop during the
Our performance during the past five years has been resilient with revenue year and move-ins were down 1% compared to the prior year. The quarter to
growing by 58% from £129.3 million in the year ended 31 March 2020 to £204.5 September was impacted by consumer hesitancy in the lead-up to the new
million for this year. We believe that this performance is due to a government's Budget.
combination of factors including:
Inflation has moderated over the past twelve months and interest rates and
- a high quality and growing portfolio of freehold properties delivering mortgage costs have started to fall, however the impact of the proposed US
higher operating margins; tariffs has yet to fully play through.
- a focus on London and the South East and other large urban We have seen some competitor openings in the year in our areas of operation,
conurbations, where the drivers in the self storage market are at their although the overall level of penetration of self storage in the UK remains
strongest and the barriers to competition are at their highest; significantly below that of the US and Australia.
- continuing innovation and automation;
- an inclusive and non-hierarchical culture with a highly engaged team;
- a focus on delivering the highest levels of customer service;
- delivering on our strong ESG commitments;
- the UK's leading self storage brand, with high and growing public
awareness and online strength; and
- strong cash flow generation from a secure capital structure.
We have a large current storage customer base occupying approximately 73,000
rooms spread across the portfolio of stores and hundreds of thousands more who
have used our stores over the years. In any month, customers move in and out
at the margin resulting in changes in occupancy. This is a seasonal business
and typically we see growth over the spring and the summer months, with the
seasonally weaker period being the winter months.
Property risk
There is a risk that we will be unable to acquire new development sites which Our management has significant experience in the property industry generated The Group has acquired 14 sites over the past six years, taking its total
meet management's criteria. This would impact on our ability to grow the over many years and in particular acquiring property on main roads in high pipeline to 14 sites which, when opened, would expand the Group's current MLA
overall store platform. profile locations and obtaining planning consents. We do take planning risk by 16%.
where necessary, although the availability of land, and competition for it
Changing climate and resulting likely changes to planning restrictions will makes acquiring new sites challenging. The planning process remains difficult and to achieve a planning consent can
narrow choice of available sites further.
take anything from eighteen months to three years. Local planning policy is
Our in-house development team and our professional advisers have significant favouring residential development over other uses, and we don't expect this to
The Group is also subject to the risk of failing to obtain planning consents experience in obtaining planning consents for self storage centres. change given the shortage of housing in the UK.
on its development sites, and the risk of a rising cost of development.
We manage the construction of our properties very tightly, working with an We have planning consent on 10 of the 14 development sites and are currently
Planning approval is increasingly dependent on Social or Environmental established professional team of external advisers and sub-contractors who on site at nine of these.
enhanced features (e.g. social enterprise at Battersea, BREEAM standards, have worked with us for many years to our Big Yellow specification.
local planners demands for green spaces) - adding cost and complexity.
We carried out an external benchmarking of our construction costs and
tendering programme during 2023, which reinforced our current approach, but
also gave some areas where further efficiencies and cost savings can be
achieved, which we have been implementing since then.
Valuation risk
The valuation of the Group's investment properties may fall due to external The portfolio is diverse with approximately 73,000 rooms currently occupied in The revaluation surplus on the Group's open store investment properties was
pressures or the impact of performance. our stores for a wide variety of reasons. £78.8 million in the year (an uplift of 3%), due to an improvement in cap
rates following recent transactions in the sector and growth in underlying
Lack of transactional evidence in the self storage sector leads to more The valuations are carried out by independent, qualified external valuers who cash flows used in the valuations.
subjective valuations. have significant experience in the UK self storage industry.
There have been several larger portfolio transactions across Europe over the
past four years, notably including the acquisition of Lok 'n Store by
Shurgard, which completed in August 2024 and there is a weight of
institutional money looking to invest in self storage.
There is significant headroom on our loan to value banking covenants.
Treasury risk
The Group may face increased costs from adverse interest rate movements. Our financing policy is to fund our current needs through a mix of debt, The Bank of England base rate has started to reduce during the year, with it
equity, and cash flow to allow us to selectively build out the remaining currently at 4.25%, down from 5.25% at the start of our financial year.
development pipeline and achieve our strategic growth objectives, which we
believe improve returns for shareholders. We have made it clear that we 53% of the Group's drawn debt is floating, and hence the Group has benefitted
believe optimal leverage for a business such as ours should be a debt to from these and any future reductions in the base rate.
EBITDA ratio in the range of 3 to 4 times and this informs our management of
treasury risk. Debt providers currently remain supportive to companies with a strong capital
structure.
We aim to ensure that there are sufficient medium-term facilities in place to
finance our committed development programme, secured against the freehold The Group's interest cover ratio for the year ended 31 March 2025 was 6.1
portfolio, with debt serviced by our strong operational cash flows. times, comfortably ahead of our banking covenants, as disclosed in note 19.
We have a fixed rate loan in place from Aviva Commercial Finance Limited, with We keep our hedging arrangements under review and if the long-term cost of
three and a half years remaining. The Group has a £120 million loan from borrowing for durations of ten to twelve years falls, we will consider taking
M&G Investments, which is repayable in 2029. For our revolving credit out more longer-term debt, which would increase the weighting of the fixed
facility, we borrow at floating rates of interest. element.
The Group has a $225 million credit approved shelf facility with Pricoa
Private Capital ("Pricoa"), to be drawn in fixed sterling notes. The Group
can draw the debt in minimum tranches of £10 million with terms of between 7
and 15 years at short notice, typically 10 days.
Our policy is to maintain a flexible borrowing structure, with a long-term
average of approximately 50% of our total borrowings fixed, with the balance
floating. At 31 March 2025 47% of the Group's total drawn borrowings were
fixed or subject to interest rate derivatives. The Group reviews its current
and forecast projections of cash flow, borrowing and interest cover as part of
its monthly management accounts. In addition, an analysis of the impact of
significant transactions is carried out regularly, as well as a sensitivity
analysis assuming movements in interest rates and store occupancy on gearing
and interest cover. This sensitivity testing underpins the viability
statement below.
The Group regularly monitors its counterparty risk. The Group monitors
compliance with its banking covenants closely. During the year it complied
with all its covenants and is forecast to do so for the foreseeable future.
Tax and regulatory risk
The Group is exposed to changes in the tax regime affecting the cost of We regularly monitor proposed and actual changes in legislation with the help The Group has seen a significant increase in its property rates bill over
corporation tax, property rates, VAT, Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Land Tax of our professional advisers, through direct liaison with HMRC, and through recent years, with the 2023 rating list reflecting the rise in industrial
("SDLT"). trade bodies to understand and, if possible, mitigate or benefit from their rents over the past few years, alongside higher levels of CPI inflating our
impact. cost. The rating list for 2026 will be published in the next few months, and
The Group is exposed to potential tax penalties or loss of its REIT status by
the Group may experience a further increase in cost from this.
failing to comply with the REIT legislation. HMRC has designated the Group as having a low-risk tax status, and we hold
regular meetings with them. We carry out detailed planning ahead of any The corporation tax rate increased in April 2023, and there is a risk that tax
future regulatory and tax changes using our expert advisers. rates will rise further in the medium-term to fund the increased government
deficits that have arisen from the policy response to the pandemic.
The Group has internal monitoring procedures in place to ensure that the
appropriate REIT rules and legislation are complied with. To date all REIT The Group has also experienced an increase in cost from the recent rises in
regulations have been complied with, including projected tests. National Insurance and the National Living Wage. We have sought to mitigate
the impact of these through reductions in store headcount as we continue our
investment in automation.
Human resources risk
Our people are key to our success and as such we are exposed to a risk of high We have developed a professional, lively, and enjoyable working environment The Group carried out an engagement survey of its employees during the prior
staff turnover, and a risk of the loss of key personnel. and believe our success stems from attracting and retaining the right people. year, which showed very pleasing results of the level of engagement of our
We encourage all our staff to build on their skills through appropriate teams.
training and regular performance reviews. We believe in an accessible and open
culture and everyone at all levels is encouraged to review, and challenge We have listened to the feedback from our employees raised during our
accepted norms, to contribute to the performance of the Group. engagement survey and made several changes to the Group's operations, included
reviewing and relaunching our Bright Ideas Suggestion Scheme, reviewing our
salary bands for Store employees, and personal safety training having been
provided for all team members within our stores. We also introduced a new
Employee Assistance Programme, re-trained our Wellbeing Experts and set up a
specific Wellbeing sub-site on our Intranet.
We are carrying out a full engagement survey in May 2025, and will report on
the results of that in next year's annual report.
Brand and reputation risk
The Group is exposed to the risk of a single serious incident materially
The Group has a crisis response plan which was developed in conjunction with
affecting our customers, people, financial performance and hence our brand and
We have always aimed to run this business in a professional way, which has external consultants to ensure the Group is well placed to effectively deal
reputation, including the risk of a data breach. involved strict adherence with all regulations that affect our business, such with a major incident.
as health and safety legislation, building regulations in relation to the
construction of our buildings, anti-slavery, anti-bribery, and data
regulations.
We also invest in cyber security (discussed below), and make an ongoing
investment in staff training, facilities management, and the maintenance of
our stores.
We work closely with our key suppliers to ensure a consistency of service from
them.
To ensure consistency of service and to understand the needs of our customers,
we send surveys to every customer who moves in and moves out of the
business. The results of the surveys and mystery shops are reviewed to
continuously improve and deliver consistent performance throughout the
business.
We experienced a fire caused by arson at our Armadillo Cheadle store in
2022. Our crisis response team worked effectively in managing the incident.
We maintain regular communication with our key stakeholders, customers,
employees, shareholders, and debt providers.
Security risk
The Group is exposed to the risk of the damage or loss of a store due to The safety and security of our customers, their belongings, stores, and our We have continued to run courses for all our staff to enhance the awareness
vandalism, fire, or natural incidents such as flooding. This may also cause staff remains a key priority. To achieve this, we invest in state-of-the-art and effectiveness of our procedures in relation to security.
reputational damage. access control systems, individual room alarms, digital CCTV systems, intruder
and fire alarm systems and the remote monitoring of all our stores outside of We have further invested in security improvements in our stores during the
our trading hours. We are the only major operator in the UK self storage year. We have also invested in additional automated reports and alerts which
industry that has every room in every Big Yellow store individually alarmed. notify our overnight monitoring station and the operating team of suspicious
customer activity.
We have implemented customer security procedures in line with advice from the
Police and continue to work with the regulatory authorities on issues of We regularly review and implement improvements to our security processes and
security, reviewing our operational procedures regularly. The importance of procedures.
security and the need for vigilance is communicated to all store staff and
reinforced through training and routine operational procedures.
Cyber risk
High profile cyber-attacks and data breaches are a regular staple in today's The Group receives specialist advice and consultancy in respect of cyber We don't consider the risk to have increased more for the Group than any other
news. The results of any breach may result in reputational damage, fines, or security, and we have dedicated in-house monitoring and regular review of our business; however, we consider that the threats in the entire digital
customer compensation, causing a loss of market share and income. security systems. We also limit the retention of customer data to the landscape do continue to increase and evolve. As such we have continued to
minimum requirement. invest in cyber security upgrading or replacing components as required.
Policies and procedures are under regular review and benchmarked against
industry best practice by our consultants. These policies also include
defend, detect and response policies.
Climate change related risk
The Group is exposed to climate-change related transition and physical risks. The good working order of our stores is of critical importance to our business Our Sustainability Committee, chaired by a Non-Executive Director, has
Physical risks may affect the Group's stores and may result in higher model. delivered an ambitious strategic plan to 2032.
maintenance and repair costs. Failing to transition to a low carbon economy
may cause an increase in taxation, decrease in access to loan facilities and We visually inspect each of our stores at least once per annum and planned and We appreciate that both physical and transition risks are expected to
reputational damage. unplanned work is discussed immediately. materialise to lesser or greater extents over the coming years and costs may
go up gradually, hidden within what may be perceived as 'natural variations'.
Maintenance requirements are discussed at budget reviews; proposals are made Our focus and strong governance will allow us to continue to mitigate the
to raise climate change related issues to the Board, who may request more effects.
holistic adaptation work to be carried out.
The key mitigation strategy to address transitional risks is the delivery of
our Net Renewable Energy Positive Strategy and the Net Zero Scope 1 and Scope
2 Emissions Strategy. Our investment to decarbonise our business over the next
eight years is expected to mitigate fully against taxation (carbon tax) risk
and reputational risks (both investors and customers).
Internal audit
The Group employs a Head of Store Compliance responsible for reviewing store
operational and financial controls. He reports to the Chief Financial
Officer and meets with the Audit Committee at least once a year. This role
is supported by three other team members, enabling additional work and support
to be carried out across the Group's store portfolio. The Store Compliance
team visits each operational store at least once every nine months to carry
out a detailed store audit. These audits are unannounced, and the Store
Compliance team carry out detailed tests on financial management,
administrative standards, and operational standards within the stores. Part
of the store staff's bonus is based on the scores they achieve in these
audits. The results of each audit are reviewed by the Chief Financial
Officer, the Chief Operating Officer, the Financial Controller, and the Head
of Store Operations. This is the equivalent of an internal audit function
for the Group's store operations.
For the key business cycles conducted at the Group's head office, external
consultants are used to review the Group's controls on a rotational basis.
The consultants produce a report with recommendations which is discussed with
management and reviewed by the Audit Committee. The cycles covered by this
activity include construction expenditure, treasury, taxation, and facilities
management.
During the year, the Group implemented new software to enable us to better
capture risks and controls and implement a formal testing cycle ahead of the
new Corporate Governance Code. With the assistance of external consultants,
we performed a detailed walk through of key processes. We have developed a
detailed Risk and Controls Matrix in these areas and documented the
workflows. These are embedded in the software, and with reference to best
practice will highlight any risks we can further develop controls around, or
any controls that could be improved.
With the combination of the store internal audit process, the external
assessment of the key business cycles, and the new software to manage and
report on risks, the Audit Committee considers that this provides a robust
internal audit assessment for the Group.
GOING CONCERN
A review of the Group's business activities, together with the factors likely
to affect its future development, performance and position are set out in the
Strategic Report. The financial position of the Group, its cash flows,
liquidity position and borrowing facilities are shown in the balance sheet,
cash flow statement and accompanying notes to the financial statements.
Further information concerning the Group's objectives, policies, and processes
for managing its capital; its financial risk management objectives; details of
its financial instruments and hedging activities; and its exposures to credit
risk and liquidity risk can be found in this Report and in the notes to the
financial statements.
At 31 March 2025 the Group had available liquidity of approximately £184
million, from a combination of cash and undrawn bank debt facilities. The
Group additionally has a $225 million credit approved shelf facility with
Pricoa Private Capital to be drawn in fixed sterling notes. The Group can
draw the debt in minimum tranches of £10 million with terms of between 7 and
15 years at short notice, typically 10 days. The Group is cash generative
and for the year ended 31 March 2025, had cash flow from operating activities
(after net finance costs and pre-working capital movements) of £111.9
million, with capital commitments at the balance sheet date of £77.5 million.
The Group has net current liabilities at the balance sheet date and draws on
its Revolving Credit Facility (current headroom of £175 million) as required,
as it is inefficient for the Group to hold significant amounts of cash.
The Directors have prepared cash flow forecasts for a period of 18 months from
the date of approval of these financial statements, considering the Group's
operating plan and budget for the year ending 31 March 2026 and projections
contained in the longer-term business plan which cover the 18 month going
concern assessment period. After reviewing these projected cash flows
together with the Group's and Company's cash balances, borrowing facilities
and covenant requirements, and potential property valuation movements over
that period, the Directors believe that, taking account of severe but
plausible downsides, the Group and Company will have sufficient funds to meet
their liabilities as they fall due for that period.
In making their assessment, the Directors have carefully considered the
outlook for the Group's trading performance and cash flows as a result of the
current economic environment, considering the trading performance of the Group
over the recent dislocations in the global economy from Covid-19, the Russian
invasion of Ukraine and the impact of rising inflation. The Directors have
also considered the performance of the business during the Global Financial
Crisis. The Directors modelled several different scenarios, including
material reductions in the Group's occupancy rates and property valuations,
and assessed the impact of these scenarios against the Group's liquidity and
the Group's banking covenants. The scenarios considered did not lead to
breaching any of the banking covenants, and the Group retained sufficient
liquidity to meet its financial obligations as they fall due.
Consequently, the Directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in
preparing the Group and Company financial statements.
VIABILITY STATEMENT
The Directors have assessed the Group's viability over a four-year period to
March 2029. This period is selected based on the Group's long-term strategic
plan to give greater certainty over the forecasting assumptions used. As in
the assessment of going concern, the Directors have modelled several different
scenarios on the Group's future prospects.
In making their assessment, the Directors took account of the Group's current
financial position, including committed capital expenditure. The Directors
carried out a robust assessment of the emerging and principal risks and
uncertainties facing the business, their potential financial impact on the
Group's cash flows, REIT compliance and financial covenants and the likely
effectiveness of the mitigating options detailed. The Directors have assumed
that funding for the business in the form of equity, bank debt and debt
provided by insurance companies will be available in all reasonably plausible
market conditions. Whilst the eventual impact of the current economic
environment on the Group is uncertain, and may not be known for some time, the
Group has a highly cash generative business, good liquidity and has proved
resilient in its trading in recent years.
Based on this assessment the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the
Company and the Group will be able to continue operating and meeting all their
liabilities as they fall due to March 2029.
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
Year ended 31 March 2025
Note 2025 2024
£000 £000
Revenue 3 204,495 199,619
Cost of sales (62,126) (55,994)
Gross profit 142,369 143,625
Administrative expenses (15,763) (15,219)
Operating profit before fair value changes on property assets 126,606 128,406
Gain on the revaluation of investment properties 14a,15 79,667 131,159
Gain on disposal of non-current asset 14a 8,754 -
Operating profit 215,027 259,565
Other income 3 4,047 6,517
Investment income - interest receivable 7 161 45
- fair value 547 -
movement on derivatives
Finance costs - interest payable 8 (15,928) (22,946)
- fair value 8 - (2,146)
movement on derivatives
Profit before taxation 203,854 241,035
Taxation 9 (1,963) (1,202)
Profit for the year (attributable to equity shareholders) 5 201,891 239,833
Total comprehensive income for the year (attributable to equity shareholders) 201,891 239,833
Basic earnings per share 12 103.2p 127.1p
Diluted earnings per share 12 102.8p 126.4p
Adjusted earnings per share are shown in Note 12.
All items in the statement of comprehensive income relate to continuing
operations.
Consolidated Balance Sheet
31 March 2025
Note 2025 2024*
£000
£000
Non-current assets
Investment property 14a 2,807,535 2,718,525
Investment property under construction 14a 185,225 146,485
Right-of-use assets 14a 15,651 17,152
Plant, equipment, and owner-occupied property 14b 3,813 3,870
Intangible assets 14c 1,433 1,433
Investment 14d 588 588
3,014,245 2,888,053
Current assets
Inventories 437 486
Trade and other receivables 16 5,822 4,873
Cash and cash equivalents 8,765 9,356
15,024 14,715
Total assets 3,029,269 2,902,768
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 17 (52,109) (44,153)
Borrowings 19 (3,483) (3,317)
Obligations under lease liabilities 21 (1,857) (2,253)
.
(57,449) (49,723)
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings 19 (389,769) (386,371)
Obligations under lease liabilities 21 (15,222) (16,474)
Derivative financial instruments 18c (1,283) (1,830)
(406,274) (404,675)
Total liabilities (463,723) (454,398)
Net assets 2,565,546 2,448,370
Equity
Share capital 22 19,671 19,620
Share premium account 398,444 397,686
Reserves 2,147,431 2,031,064
Equity shareholders' funds 2,565,546 2,448,370
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and
authorised for issue on 19 May 2025. They were signed on its behalf
by
Jim Gibson, Director John Trotman,
Director
Company Registration No. 03625199
* two balances have been netted down in the prior year balance sheet, see
notes 16 and 17.
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
Year ended 31 March 2025
Share capital Share premium account Other non-distributable reserve Capital redemption reserve Retained earnings Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Own shares £000
£000
At 1 April 2024 19,620 397,686 74,950 1,795 1,955,316 (997) 2,448,370
Total comprehensive income for the year - 201,891 201,891
- - - -
Issue of share capital 51 758 - - - - 809
Dividend - - - - (88,379) - (88,379)
Use of own shares to satisfy share options - (198) -
- - - 198
Credit to equity for equity-settled share-based payments - 2,855 2,855
- - - -
At 31 March 2025 19,671 398,444 74,950 1,795 2,071,485 (799) 2,565,546
The other non-distributable reserve arose in the year ended 31 March 2015
following the placing of 14.35 million ordinary shares.
The issue of share capital is net of expenses.
Year ended 31 March 2024
Share capital Share premium account Other non-distributable reserve Capital redemption reserve Retained earnings Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Own shares £000
£000
At 1 April 2023 18,427 290,857 74,950 1,795 1,797,436 (1,019) 2,182,446
Total comprehensive income for the year - - 239,833 239,833
- - -
Issue of share capital 1,193 106,829 - - - - 108,022
Dividend - - - - (86,013) - (86,013)
Use of own shares to satisfy share options - - (22) -
- - 22
Credit to equity for equity-settled share-based payments - - 4,082 4,082
- - -
At 31 March 2024 19,620 397,686 74,950 1,795 1,955,316 (997) 2,448,370
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
Year ended 31 March 2025
Note 2025 2024
£000
£000
Cash generated from operations 26 134,623 129,826
Bank interest paid (21,657) (24,069)
Interest on obligations under lease liabilities (557) (575)
Interest received 142 45
Loss of income insurance proceeds 4,047 1,561
Tax paid (2,024) (1,996)
Cash flows from operating activities 114,574 104,792
Investing activities
Purchase of non-current assets (58,258) (30,910)
Disposal of non-current asset 30,591 5,400
Insurance proceeds on fit-out - 4,722
Cash flows from investing activities (27,667) (20,788)
Financing activities
Issue of share capital 809 108,022
Payment of lease liabilities (1,816) (1,829)
Equity dividends paid (88,542) (85,259)
Loan arrangement fees paid (632) (3,752)
Increase/(decrease) in borrowings 26b 2,683 (100,159)
Cash flows used in financing activities (87,498) (82,977)
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents (591) 1,027
Opening cash and cash equivalents 9,356 8,329
Closing cash and cash equivalents 8,765 9,356
Notes to the financial statements
Year ended 31 March 2025
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
Big Yellow Group PLC is a Company incorporated in the United Kingdom under the
Companies Act 2006, with registration number 03625199, and limited by shares.
The address of the registered office is 2 The Deans, Bridge Road, Bagshot,
Surrey, GU19 5AT. The nature of the Group's operations and its principal
activities are set out in note 4 and in the Strategic Report.
2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparation of financial statements
The financial information set out above does not constitute the Group and
Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 March 2025 or 2024 but is
derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2024 have been delivered
to the registrar of companies, and those for 2025 will be delivered in due
course. The auditor has reported on those accounts; their reports were (i)
unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the
auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and
(iii) did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the
Companies Act 2006.
The Group's financial statements have been prepared in accordance with
UK-adopted international accounting standards ("IFRS Standards") and in
relation to the parent company financial statements have been properly
prepared in accordance with UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice
(including FRS 101). The financial statements have been prepared in accordance
with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. The Group has applied all
relevant accounting standards which have been endorsed by the International
Accounting Standards Board and have been applied consistently year on year.
The Group uses a number of APMs to monitor the performance of the business.
Adjusted profit before tax and adjusted earnings per share are the Group's
primary profit measures and reflect underlying profit by excluding capital and
non-recurring items such as revaluation movements, gains or losses on the
disposal of properties and the fair value movement of interest derivatives in
accordance with EPRA guidelines. In addition, the Group adjusts for items
such as the write off of acquisition costs, and fair value movements on the
stepped acquisition of associates. These adjusted measures should not be
considered in isolation from, or as substitutes for, or superior to the
financial measures prepared in accordance with IFRS.
3. REVENUE
Analysis of the Group's operating revenue can be found below and in the
Portfolio Summary on page 13.
2025 2024
£000
£000
Open stores
Self storage income 177,823 173,147
Enhanced liability service income 18,563 17,649
Packing materials income 2,815 2,854
Other income from storage customers 2,285 2,051
Ancillary store rental income 1,638 1,411
Total store revenue 203,124 197,112
Non-storage income 1,371 2,507
Total revenue 204,495 199,619
Non-storage income derives principally from rental income earned from tenants
of properties awaiting development.
The Group has also earned other income of £4.0 million in the year (2024:
£6.5 million). This relates to insurance proceeds for loss of income
following the destruction of the Group's Cheadle store by fire in 2022, with
the claim having been settled with the insurers in the current year (2024:
£1.8 million). This has been included in the Group's adjusted profit before
tax for the year as it is current period earnings, and the income the
insurance proceeds are replacing would have also been included in the Group's
adjusted profit before tax for the year. The balance of £4.7 million in the
prior year is the insurance proceeds for the fit-out of the Cheadle store.
The Group has considered IFRS 17 in respect of our sale of the Enhanced
Liability Service, and concluded any impact from IFRS 17 would be immaterial.
4. SEGMENTAL INFORMATION
IFRS 8 requires operating segments to be identified on the basis of internal
reports about components of the Group that are regularly reviewed by the Chief
Executive to allocate resources to the segments and to assess their
performance. Given the nature of the Group's business, there is one segment,
which is the provision of self storage and related services.
Revenue represents amounts derived from the provision of self storage and
related services which fall within the Group's ordinary activities after
deduction of trade discounts and value added tax. The Group's non-current
assets, revenue and profit before tax are attributable to one activity, the
provision of self storage and related services. These all arise in the
United Kingdom in the current year and prior year.
5. PROFIT FOR THE YEAR
a) Profit for the year has been arrived at after charging/(crediting):
Note 2025 2024
£000
£000
Depreciation of plant, equipment, and owner-occupied property 14b 837 864
Depreciation of interest in leasehold properties 1,624 1,707
Gain on the revaluation of investment property (79,667) (131,159)
Cost of inventories recognised as an expense 1,310 1,411
Employee costs 6 25,826 25,250
b) Analysis of auditor's remuneration:
2025 2024
£000
£000
Fees payable to the Company's auditor for the audit of the Company's annual 587 539
accounts
Fess payable to the Company's auditor for the subsidiaries' annual accounts 54 54
Total audit fees 641 593
Audit related assurance services - interim review 65 64
Total non-audit fees 65 64
Total audit and non-audit fees paid to KPMG LLP 706 657
6. EMPLOYEE COSTS
The average monthly number of full-time equivalent employees (including
Executive Directors) was:
2025 2024
Number
Number
Sales 396 402
Administration 63 62
459 464
At 31 March 2025 the total number of Group employees was 485 (2024: 503).
The average number of employees for the year was 496 (2024: 504).
2025 2024
£000 £000
Their aggregate remuneration comprised:
Wages and salaries 19,138 18,647
Social security costs 2,981 1,692
Other pension costs 852 829
Share-based payments 2,855 4,082
25,826 25,250
7. INVESTMENT INCOME
2025 2024
£000
£000
Bank interest receivable 161 45
Fair value movement on derivatives 547 -
Total investment income 708 45
8. FINANCE COSTS
2025 2024
£000
£000
Interest on bank borrowings 23,269 25,624
Capitalised interest (7,898) (3,254)
Interest on obligations under lease liabilities 557 575
Other interest payable - 1
Total interest payable 15,928 22,946
Fair value movement on derivatives - 2,146
Total finance costs 15,928 25,092
9. TAXATION
As a REIT, the Group does not pay UK corporation tax on the profits and gains
from its qualifying rental business in the UK provided that it meets certain
conditions. Non-qualifying profits and gains of the Group are subject to
corporation tax as normal. The Group monitors its compliance with the REIT
conditions. There have been no breaches of the conditions to date.
UK current tax 2025 2024
£000
£000
- Current year 2,504 2,270
- Prior year (541) (1,068)
1,963 1,202
A reconciliation of the tax charge is shown below:
2025 2024
£000
£000
Profit before tax 203,854 241,035
Tax charge at 25% (2024 - 25%) thereon 50,964 60,259
Effects of:
Revaluation of investment properties (19,917) (32,790)
Other permanent differences (8) 111
Utilisation of brought forward losses - (284)
Profits from the tax-exempt business (28,535) (25,026)
Current year tax charge 2,504 2,270
Prior year adjustment (541) (1,068)
Total tax charge 1,963 1,202
The prior year adjustment arose due to prudent assumptions made during the assessment of the corporation tax provision for the prior year accounts. On completion of the tax computations for the year, the actual charge for the year ended 31 March 2024 was £0.5 million lower than had been provided in the accounts (2024: £1.1 million lower).
At 31 March 2025 the Group has unutilised tax losses from the non-REIT taxable business of £34.2 million (2024: £33.1 million) available for offset against certain types of future taxable profits. All losses can be carried forward indefinitely. The losses have not been recognised as a deferred tax asset, as there is no certainty over their future use.
10. ADJUSTED PROFIT
2025 2024
£000
£000
Profit before tax 203,854 241,035
Gain on revaluation of investment properties (79,667) (131,159)
Gain on disposal of non-current asset (8,754) -
Change in fair value of interest rate derivatives (547) 2,146
EPRA adjusted profit before tax 114,886 112,022
Cheadle fit-out insurance proceeds - (4,723)
Costs associated with closure of Slough leasehold store 694 -
Adjusted profit before tax 115,580 107,299
Tax (1,963) (1,202)
Adjusted profit after tax 113,617 106,097
Adjusted profit before tax which excludes gains and losses on the revaluation
of investment properties, changes in fair value of interest rate derivatives,
net gains and losses on disposal of investment property, and material
non-recurring items of income and expenditure have been disclosed as, in the
Board's view, this provides a clearer understanding of the Group's underlying
trading performance.
11. DIVIDENDS
2025 2024
£000
£000
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:
Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2024 of 22.6p 44,135 41,939
(2023: 22.9p) per share.
Interim dividend for the year ended 31 March 2025 of 22.6p 44,244 44,074
(2024: 22.6p) per share.
88,379 86,013
Proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2025 of 46,608 44,135
23.8p (2024: 22.6p) per share.
Subject to approval by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 17 July 2025, the final dividend will be paid on 25 July 2025. The ex-div date is 3 July 2025 and the record date is 4 July 2025.
The Property Income Distribution ("PID") payable for the year is 46.4 pence
per share (2024: 45.2 pence per share).
12. EARNINGS PER SHARE
Year ended 31 March 2025 Year ended 31 March 2024
Earnings Shares Pence per share Earnings Shares Pence per share
£m million £m million
Basic 201.9 195.6 103.2 239.8 188.7 127.1
Dilutive share options - 0.8 (0.4) - 1.1 (0.7)
Diluted 201.9 196.4 102.8 239.8 189.8 126.4
Adjustments:
Gain on revaluation of investment properties (79.7) - (40.6) (131.2) - (69.1)
Gain on disposal of non-current asset (8.7) - (4.5) - - -
Change in fair value of interest rate derivatives (0.6) - (0.3) 2.2 - 1.1
EPRA earnings 112.9 196.4 57.4 110.8 189.8 58.4
Cheadle fit-out insurance proceeds - - - (4.7) - (2.5)
Costs associated with closure of Slough leasehold store
0.7 - 0.4 - - -
Adjusted - diluted 113.6 196.4 57.8 106.1 189.8 55.9
Adjusted - basic 113.6 195.6 58.1 106.1 188.7 56.2
The calculation of basic earnings is based on profit after tax for the year.
The weighted average number of shares used to calculate diluted earnings per
share has been adjusted for the conversion of share options.
EPRA earnings and adjusted earnings per ordinary share have been disclosed to
give a clearer understanding of the Group's underlying trading performance.
13. NET ASSETS PER SHARE
EPRA's Best Practices Recommendations guidelines for Net Asset Value (NAV)
metrics are EPRA Net Tangible Assets (NTA), EPRA Net Reinstatement Value (NRV)
and EPRA Net Disposal Value (NDV).
EPRA NTA is considered to be most consistent with the nature of Big Yellow's
business which provides sustainable long-term progressive returns. EPRA NTA
is shown in the table below. This measure is further adjusted by the
adjustment the Group makes for purchaser's costs, which is the Group's
Adjusted Net Asset Value (or Adjusted NAV).
Net assets per share are equity shareholders' funds divided by the number of
shares at the year end. The shares currently held in the Group's Employee
Benefit Trust are excluded from both net assets and the number of shares.
Adjusted net assets per share include the effect of those shares issuable
under employee share option schemes and the effect of alternative valuation
methodology assumptions (see note 15).
Year ended 31 March 2025 Year ended 31 March 2024
Equity attributable to ordinary shareholders Equity attributable to ordinary shareholders
£000 £000
Pence per share
Pence per share
Shares Shares
Basic NAV 2,565,546 195,833,336 1,310.1 2,448,370 195,096,601 1,255.0
Share and save as you earn schemes
584 2,022,198 (13.6) 2,019 2,515,556 (15.0)
Diluted NAV 2,566,130 197,855,534 1,297.0 2,450,389 197,612,157 1,240.0
Fair value of derivatives 1,283 - 0.6 1,830 - 0.9
Intangible assets (1,433) - (0.7) (1,433) - (0.7)
EPRA NTA 2,565,980 197,855,534 1,296.9 2,450,786 197,612,157 1,240.2
Valuation methodology assumption (see note 15) (£000)
116,110 - 58.7 111,095 - 56.2
Adjusted NAV 2,682,090 197,855,534 1,355.6 2,561,881 197,612,157 1,296.4
14. NON-CURRENT ASSETS
a) Investment property, investment property under construction and
right-of-use assets
Investment property under construction
£000
Investment Right-of-use assets
property £000 Total
£000 £000
At 31 March 2023 2,449,640 260,720 18,148 2,728,508
Additions 13,705 15,126 604 29,435
Transfer on opening 115,166 (115,166) - -
Reclassification from plant, equipment and owner-occupied property
- 60 - 60
Disposal (5,400) - - (5,400)
Revaluation 145,414 (14,255) - 131,159
Depreciation - - (1,600) (1,600)
At 31 March 2024 2,718,525 146,485 17,152 2,882,162
Additions 14,955 55,280 101 70,336
Transfer on opening 17,394 (17,394) - -
Disposal (22,152) - (112) (22,264)
Revaluation (see note 15) 78,813 854 - 79,667
Depreciation - - (1,490) (1,490)
At 31 March 2025 2,807,535 185,225 15,651 3,008,411
The right-of-use assets represent the present value of minimum lease payments
for leasehold properties that meet the definition of IAS 40 and are accounted
for as investment properties - see note 21 for further details of the
obligations under lease liabilities. The fair value of the leasehold
properties (including long leaseholds), on which the Group pays rent, of
£72.3 million (2024: £78.4 million) is included within the investment
property total.
The transfer on opening during the year is our Slough Farnham Road store
moving from investment property under construction to investment property.
The disposal in the prior year is the proceeds from a land swap transaction at
our Kings Cross store realising the Group £5.4 million. The disposal of
investment property in the current year was the sale of land adjacent to our
Battersea store for £30.9 million for residential development. The gain on
disposal of non-current assets is shown in the comprehensive statement of
income and has been excluded from the Group's adjusted profit before tax for
the year.
The income from self storage accommodation earned by the Group from its
investment property is disclosed in note 3. Direct operating expenses, which
are all applied to generating rental income, arising on the investment
property in the year are disclosed in the Portfolio Summary on page 13.
Included within additions is £7.9 million of capitalised interest (2024:
£3.3 million), calculated at the Group's average borrowing cost for the year
of 5.7%. 96 of the Group's investment properties are pledged as security for
loans, with a total external value of £2.39 billion.
The difference between additions to investment property above and the purchase
of non-current assets in the cash flow statement is principally due to
capitalised interest of £7,898,000 and payables relating to our construction
programme at the balance sheet date of £4,104,000.
b) Plant, equipment, and owner-occupied property
Freehold property Leasehold improve-ments Plant and machinery Fixtures, fittings Total
£000 £000 £000 & office equipment Right of use assets £000
Motor vehicles £000 £000
£000
Cost
At 31 March 2023 2,406 59 647 32 1,691 875 5,710
Reclassification to investment property under construction - -
(60) - - - (60)
Retirement of fully depreciated assets (133) (686)
- - - - (819)
Additions 23 - 255 - 516 131 925
At 31 March 2024 2,369 59 769 32 1,521 1,006 5,756
Retirement of fully depreciated assets (98) (560)
- - (32) - (690)
Additions 80 - 79 40 722 - 921
Disposals - - (7) - (15) - (22)
At 31 March 2025 2,449 59 743 40 1,668 1,006 5,965
Depreciation
At 31 March 2023 (682) (20) (210) (32) (340) (423) (1,707)
Retirement of fully depreciated assets 133 686
- - - - 819
Charge for the year (50) (4) (181) - (629) (134) (998)
At 31 March 2024 (732) (24) (258) (32) (283) (557) (1,886)
Retirement of fully depreciated assets 98 560
- - 32 - 690
Charge for the year (51) (3) (176) (6) (601) (134) (971)
Disposals - - 4 - 11 - 15
At 31 March 2025 (783) (27) (332) (6) (313) (691) (2,152)
Net book value
At 31 March 2025 1,666 32 411 34 1,355 315 3,813
At 31 March 2024 1,637 35 511 - 1,238 449 3,870
c) Intangible assets
The intangible asset relates to the Big Yellow brand, which was acquired
through the acquisition of Big Yellow Self Storage Company Limited in 1999.
The carrying value remains unchanged from the prior year as there is
considered to be no impairment in the value of the asset. The asset has an
indefinite life and is tested annually for impairment or more frequently if
there are indicators of impairment.
d) Investment
The Group has a £0.6 million investment in Doncaster Security Operations
Centre Limited, a company which provides out-of-hours monitoring and alarm
receiving services, including for the Group's stores. The investment is
carried at cost and tested annually for impairment.
15. VALUATION OF INVESTMENT PROPERTY
Deemed cost Revaluation on deemed cost Valuation
£000 £000 £000
Freehold (including long leasehold)
At 31 March 2024 1,078,305 1,608,045 2,686,350
Transfer from investment property under construction 18,681 (1,287) 17,394
Disposals (22,152) - (22,152)
Movement in year 14,741 88,302 103,043
At 31 March 2025 1,089,575 1,695,060 2,784,635
Leasehold
At 31 March 2024 20,898 11,277 32,175
Movement in year 214 (9,489) (9,275)
At 31 March 2025 21,112 1,788 22,900
Total investment property
At 31 March 2024 1,099,203 1,619,322 2,718,525
Transfer from investment property under construction 18,681 (1,287) 17,394
Disposals (22,152) - (22,152)
Movement in year 14,955 78,813 93,768
At 31 March 2025 1,110,687 1,696,848 2,807,535
Investment property under construction
At 31 March 2024 178,761 (32,276) 146,485
Transfer to investment property (18,681) 1,287 (17,394)
Movement in year 55,280 854 56,134
At 31 March 2025 215,360 (30,135) 185,225
Valuation of all investment property
At 31 March 2024 1,277,964 1,587,046 2,865,010
Disposals (22,152) - (22,152)
Movement in year 70,235 79,667 149,902
At 31 March 2025 1,326,047 1,666,713 2,992,760
The Group has classified the fair value investment property and the investment
property under construction within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. There
has been no transfer to or from Level 3 in the year.
The Group's freehold and leasehold investment properties have been valued at
31 March 2025 by external valuers, Jones Lang Lasalle ("JLL"). The Valuation
has been prepared in accordance with the version of the RICS Valuation -
Global Standards (incorporating the International Valuation Standards) and the
UK national supplement ("the Red Book") current as at the valuation date.
The valuation of each of the investment properties and the investment
properties under construction has been prepared on the basis of either Fair
Value or Fair Value as a fully equipped operational entity, having regard to
trading potential, as appropriate.
The valuation has been provided for financial reporting purposes and as such,
is a Regulated Purpose Valuation as defined in the Red Book. In compliance
with the disclosure requirements of the Red Book, JLL have confirmed that:
· this is JLL's fourth annual valuation for these purposes on
behalf of the Group;
· JLL do not provide other significant professional or agency
services to the Group;
· in relation to the preceding financial year of JLL, the proportion
of the total fees payable by the Group to the total fee income of the firm is
less than 5%; and
· the fee payable to JLL is a fixed amount per asset and is not
contingent on the appraised value.
The self storage properties have been valued on the basis of Fair Value as
fully equipped operational entities, having regard to trading potential. Due
to the specialised nature and use of the buildings the approach is to adopt a
profits method of valuation in an explicit Discounted Cash Flow calculation
and then consider the results in the context of recent comparable evidence of
transactions in the sector.
The profits method requires an estimate of the future cash flow that can be
generated from the use of the building as a self storage facility, assuming a
reasonably efficient operator. Judgements are made as to the trading
potential and likely long term sustainable occupancy. Stable occupancy
depends upon the nature of demand, size of property and nearby competition,
and allows for a reasonable vacancy rate to enable the operator to sell units
to new customers. The cash flow runs for an explicit period of 10 years, after
which it is capitalised at an all risks yield which reflects the implicit
future growth of the business, or a hypothetical sale. This is a valuer's
shortcut: maintaining the cash flow into perpetuity would provide the same
result. The comparison with recent transactions requires the evidence to be
considered in terms of the multiple on net operating profit (or
EBITDA/EBITDAR), value per square foot, yield profile etc and then adjusted to
reflect differences in location, building factors, tenure, trading maturity
and trading risk.
This mirrors the typical approach of purchasers in the self storage market.
However, in view of the relatively limited availability of comparable market
evidence this requires a degree of valuer judgment. In particular, most of the
transactions have comprised share sales due to the nature of the asset class
and the terms of those transactions have mostly been kept confidential between
the parties.
Portfolio Premium
JLL's valuation report confirms that the properties have been valued
individually but that if the portfolio was to be sold as a single lot or in
selected groups of properties, the total value could differ. JLL state that
in current market conditions they are of the view that there could be a
portfolio premium.
Assumptions
A. Net operating income is based on projected revenue received less
projected operating costs, which include a management fee to take account of
central/head office costs. The initial net operating income is calculated by
estimating the net operating income in the first 12 months following the
valuation date.
B. The net operating income in future years is calculated assuming
either straight-line absorption from day one actual occupancy or variable
absorption over years one to five of the cash flow period, to an estimated
stabilised/mature occupancy level. In the valuation the assumed stabilised
occupancy level for the 109 trading stores (both freeholds and leaseholds)
open at 31 March 2025 averages 87% (31 March 2024: 88%). The projected
revenues and costs have been adjusted for estimated cost inflation and revenue
growth.
C. The future rental growth incorporated into the valuation averages
2.3% per annum (2024: 2.5% per annum)
D. The capitalisation rates applied to existing and future net cash flow
have been estimated by reference to underlying yields for asset types such as
industrial, distribution and retail warehousing, yields for other trading
property types such as student housing and hotels, bank base rates, ten-year
money rates, inflation and the available evidence of transactions in the
sector. The valuation included in the accounts assumes rental growth in
future periods. The net initial yield for the 109 stores is 5.0% (31 March
2024: 5.2%). The weighted average exit capitalisation rate adopted (for both
freeholds and leaseholds) is 5.2% (31 March 2024: 5.4%).
E. The future net cash flow projections (including revenue growth and
cost inflation) have been discounted at a rate that reflects the risk
associated with each asset. The weighted average annual discount rate adopted
(for both freeholds and leaseholds) is 6.7% (31 March 2024: 7.1%).
F. Purchaser's costs of 6.8% have been adopted reflecting current
progressive Stamp Duty Land Tax rates.
Short leasehold
The same methodology has been used as for freeholds, but the exit
capitalisation rate is adjusted to reflect the unexpired lease term at exit.
The average unexpired term of the Group's five short leasehold properties is
11.4 years (31 March 2024: 10.4 years unexpired).
Sensitivities
Self storage valuations are complex, derived from data which is not widely
publicly available and involve a degree of judgement. For these reasons we
have classified the valuations of our property portfolio as Level 3 as defined
by IFRS 13. Inputs to the valuations, some of which are 'unobservable' as
defined by IFRS 13, include capitalisation yields, stable occupancy rates, and
rental growth rates. The existence of an increase of more than one
unobservable input would augment the impact on valuation. The impact on the
valuation could be mitigated by the inter-relationship between unobservable
inputs moving in opposite directions. For example, an increase in stable
occupancy may be offset by an increase in yield, resulting in no net impact on
the valuation. A sensitivity analysis showing the impact on the investment
property valuation of changes in yields and stable occupancy is shown below:
Impact of a change in capitalisation rates Impact of a change in stabilised occupancy assumption
25 bps decrease 25 bps increase 1% increase 1% decrease
2025 4.9% (4.5%) 1.0% (1.1%)
2024 4.8% (4.4%) 0.9% (1.0%)
A sensitivity analysis has not been provided for a change in the rental growth
rate adopted as there is a relationship between this measure and the discount
rate adopted. So, in theory, an increase in the rental growth rate could
give rise to a corresponding increase in the discount rate and the resulting
value impact would be limited.
Investment properties under construction
JLL have valued the stores in development adopting the same methodology as set
out above but on the basis of the cash flow projection expected for the store
at opening and after allowing for the outstanding costs to take each scheme
from its current state to completion and full fit-out. JLL have allowed for
holding costs and construction contingency, as appropriate. Three of the
schemes valued do not yet have planning consent and JLL have reflected the
planning risk in their valuation. The cost to complete for the investment
property under construction amounts to £218.2 million (2024: £214.4
million).
Valuation assumption for purchaser's costs
The Group's investment property assets have been valued for the purposes of
the financial statements after deducting notional weighted average purchaser's
cost of 6.8% on the net value, as if they were sold directly as property
assets. The valuation is an asset valuation which is entirely linked to the
operating performance of the business. The assets would have to be sold with
the benefit of operational contracts, employment contracts and customer
contracts, which would be very difficult to achieve except in a corporate
structure. This approach follows the logic of the valuation methodology in
that the valuation is based on a capitalisation of the net operating income
after allowing a deduction for operational cost and an allowance for central
administration costs. Sale in a corporate structure would result in a
reduction in the assumed Stamp Duty Land Tax but an increase in other
transaction costs reflecting additional due diligence resulting in a reduced
notional purchaser's cost of 2.75% of gross value. All the significant sized
transactions that have been concluded in the UK in recent years were completed
in a corporate structure. The Group therefore instructed JLL to carry out an
additional valuation on the above basis, and this results in a higher property
valuation at 31 March 2025 of £3,108.9 million (£116.1 million higher than
the value recorded in the financial statements) translating to 58.7 pence per
share. We have included this revised valuation in the adjusted diluted net
asset calculation (see note 13).
Valuer rotation
On 19 October 2023 the RICS published guidelines on a new time-limited,
mandatory rotation cycle for regulated purposes valuations. Rules are
effective from 1 May 2024, and require, after a two-year transition period, a
valuation firm to be rotated after 10 consecutive years of valuing a given
asset. These guidelines match our existing voluntary policy of 10 yearly
valuation rotation, therefore our planned valuer rotation cycle remains
unchanged.
16. TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES
31 March 31 March
2025 2024*
£000 £000
Current
Trade receivables 1,580 1,007
Other receivables 505 312
Prepayments and accrued income 3,737 3,554
5,822 4,873
* - the prior year trade receivables balance has been reduced by £5,243,000
with an equal adjustment to deferred income to remove amounts that relate to
post year end activity.
Trade receivables are net of a bad debt provision of £622,000 (2024:
£579,000). The Directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and
other receivables approximates their fair value.
Trade receivables
The Group does not typically offer credit terms to its customers, requiring
them to pay in advance of their storage period and hence the Group is not
exposed to significant credit risk. A late charge of 10% is applied to a
customer's account if they are more than 10 days overdue in their payment.
The Group provides for receivables on a specific basis. There is a right of
lien over the customers' goods, so if they have not paid within a certain time
frame, we have the right to sell the items they store to recoup the debt
owed. Trade receivables that are overdue are provided for based on estimated
irrecoverable amounts determined by reference to past default experience.
For individual storage customers, the Group does not perform credit checks,
however this is mitigated by the fact that these customers are required to pay
in advance, and also to pay a deposit ranging from one week to four weeks'
storage income. Before accepting a new national customer, the Group uses an
external credit rating to assess the potential customer's credit quality and
defines credit limits by customer. There are no customers who represent more
than 5% of the total balance of trade receivables.
Included in the Group's trade receivables balance are debtors with a carrying
amount of £771,000 (2024: £782,000) which are past due at the reporting date
for which the Group has not provided as there has not been a significant
change in credit quality and the amounts are still considered recoverable. The
average age of these receivables is 15 days past due (2024: 18 days past due).
The creation and release of credit loss allowances have been included in cost
of sales in the income statement.
The Group measures the loss allowance for the trade receivables at an amount
equal to lifetime expected credit loss. The expected credit losses on trade
receivables are estimated using a provision matrix by reference to past
default experience of the debtor.
The Group writes off a trade receivable when there is information indicating
that the debtors are in severe financial difficulty and there is no realistic
prospect of recovery, e.g. when the debtor has been placed under liquidation
or has entered into bankruptcy proceedings.
The following table details the risk profile of trade receivables based on the
Group's provision matrix:
Year ended 31 March 2025 Not past due <31 days 31-45 days >45 days Total
Expected credit loss rate (%) 2.0% 33.5% 34.7% 50.0% 28.2%
Gross carrying amount (£000) 814 468 72 848 2,202
Lifetime ECL (£000) (16) (157) (25) (424) (622)
Net trade receivables at 31 March 2025 798 311 47 424 1,580
Year ended 31 March 2024 Not past due <31 days 31-45 days >45 days Total
Expected credit loss rate (%) 3.3% 43.3% 25.4% 52.8% 36.5%
Gross carrying amount (£000) (restated) 457 155 63 911 1,586
Lifetime ECL (£000) (15) (67) (16) (481) (579)
Net trade receivables at 31 March 2024 442 88 47 430 1,007
The above balances are short term and therefore the difference between the
book value and the fair value is not significant. Consequently, these have not
been discounted.
Movement in the credit loss allowance
2025 2024
£000
£000
Balance at the beginning of the year 579 1,070
Amounts provided/(released) in year 326 (192)
Amounts written off as uncollectible (283) (299)
Balance at the end of the year 622 579
The concentration of credit risk is limited due to the customer base being
large and unrelated. Accordingly, the Directors believe that there is no
further credit provision required in excess of the credit loss allowance.
17. TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES
31 March 31 March
2025 2024*
£000 £000
Current
Trade payables 9,006 2,437
Other payables 14,624 18,166
Accruals and deferred income 28,479 23,550
52,109 44,153
* - the prior year deferred income balance has been reduced by £5,243,000
with an equal adjustment to trade receivables to remove amounts that relate to
post year end activity.
The Group has financial risk management policies in place to ensure that all
payables are paid within the credit terms. The Directors consider the
carrying amount of trade and other payables and accruals and deferred income
approximates fair value. The main items within other payables are VAT,
customer deposits and withholding tax on the PID.
The Group invoices its customers in advance, and hence any deferred income
balance primarily relates to amounts paid by customers for rental periods
beyond the balance sheet date. The Group's deferred income balance at 31
March 2025 was £13.1 million, an increase of 5% from 31 March 2024 (£12.5
million).
Within trade payables is £4,104,000 of invoices relating to the Group's
construction programme (2024: £394,000).
18. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The Group manages its capital to ensure that entities in the Group will be
able to continue as going concerns while maximising the return to stakeholders
through the optimisation of the debt and equity balance. The capital structure
of the Group consists of debt, which includes the borrowings disclosed in note
19, cash and cash equivalents and equity attributable to equity holders of the
parent, comprising issued capital, reserves and retained earnings.
With the exception of derivative instruments which are classified as a
financial liability at fair value through the statement of comprehensive
income, financial liabilities are categorised under amortised cost. The
Group has the following classes of financial assets:
· Trade and other receivables - trade receivables are initially
recognised at transaction price. Other receivables are initially recognised
at fair value. Subsequently these assets are measured at amortised cost
using the effective interest method, less provision for expected credit
losses.
· Cash and cash equivalents - cash and cash equivalents represent only
liquid assets with maturity of 90 days or less. Bank overdrafts that
cannot be offset against other cash balances are shown with borrowings in
current liabilities on the balance sheet. Cash and cash equivalents are also
classified as amortised cost. They are subsequently measured at amortised
cost. Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits at call with
banks, and other short term highly liquid investments with original maturities
of three months or less.
Exposure to credit and interest rate risks arise in the normal course of the
Group's business. Derivative financial instruments are used to manage
exposure to fluctuations in interest rates but are not employed for
speculative purposes.
A. Balance sheet management
The Group's Board reviews the capital structure on an ongoing basis. As part
of this review, the Board considers the cost of capital and the risks
associated with each class of capital. The Group seeks to have a conservative
gearing ratio (the proportion of net debt to equity). The Board considers at
each review the appropriateness of the current ratio in light of the above.
The Board is currently satisfied with the Group's gearing ratio.
The gearing ratio at the year-end is as follows:
2025 2024
£000
£000
Debt (397,451) (394,768)
Cash and cash equivalents 8,765 9,356
Net debt (388,686) (385,412)
Balance sheet equity 2,565,546 2,448,370
Net debt to equity ratio 15.2% 15.7%
B. Debt management
The Group currently borrows through a senior term loan, secured on 61 self
storage assets, a loan with Aviva Commercial Finance Limited secured on a
portfolio of 20 self storage assets, a £120 million loan from M&G
Investments Limited secured on a portfolio of 15 self storage assets. The
Group also has a $225 million shelf facility available from Pricoa Private
Capital (see note 19). Borrowings are arranged to ensure an appropriate
maturity profile and to maintain short-term liquidity. Funding is arranged
through banks and financial institutions with whom the Group has a strong
working relationship.
C. Interest rate risk management
The Group is exposed to interest rate risk as entities in the Group borrow
funds at both fixed and floating interest rates. The risk is managed by the
Group by maintaining an appropriate mix between fixed and floating rate
borrowings, and by the use of interest rate swap contracts. Hedging activities
are evaluated regularly to align with interest rate views and defined risk
appetite; ensuring optimal hedging strategies are applied, by either
positioning the balance sheet or protecting interest expense through different
interest rate cycles.
At 31 March 2025 the Group had one interest rate derivative in place - £35
million fixed at 4.5% (excluding the margin on the underlying debt instrument)
until September 2029.
Under interest rate swap contracts, the Group agrees to exchange the
difference between fixed and floating rate interest amounts calculated on
agreed notional principal amounts. Such contracts enable the Group to mitigate
the risk of changing interest rates on the fair value of issued fixed rate
debt held and the cash flow exposures on the issued variable rate debt held.
The fair value of interest rate swaps at the reporting date is determined by
discounting the future cash flows using the curves at the reporting date and
the credit risk inherent in the contract and is disclosed below. The average
interest rate is based on the outstanding balances at the end of the financial
year.
The £35 million interest rate swap settles on a three-monthly basis. The
floating rate on the interest rate swap is three month SONIA. The Group
settles the difference between the fixed and floating interest rate on a net
basis.
The Group does not hedge account for its interest rate swaps and states them
at fair value, with changes in fair value included in the statement of
comprehensive income. A reconciliation of the movement in derivatives is
provided in the table below:
2025 2024
£000
£000
At 1 April (1,830) 316
Fair value movement in the year 547 (2,146)
At 31 March (1,283) (1,830)
The interest rate derivative liability is shown within non-current liabilities
at the year end, as the interest rate derivative expires in 2029. The tables
below reconcile the opening and closing balances of the Group's finance
related liabilities for the current and prior year:
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost Financial liabilities measured at fair value
Loans Obligations under lease liabilities
£000 £000 Interest rate derivatives
£000 Total
£000
At 1 April 2024 (394,768) (18,727) (1,830) (415,325)
Cash movement in the year (2,683) 1,816 - (867)
Lease variations - (168) - (168)
Fair value movement - - 547 547
At 31 March 2025 (397,451) (17,079) (1,283) (415,813)
The difference between the loans balance above and the balance sheet is loan
arrangement fees of £4,199,000.
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost Financial liabilities measured at fair value
Loans Obligations under lease liabilities
£000 £000 Interest rate derivatives
£000 Total
£000
At 1 April 2023 (494,927) (19,696) 316 (514,307)
Cash movement in the year 100,159 1,829 - 101,988
Lease variations - (860) - (860)
Fair value movement - - (2,146) (2,146)
At 31 March 2024 (394,768) (18,727) (1,830) (415,325)
The difference between the loans balance above and the balance sheet is loan
arrangement fees of £5,080,000
D. Interest rate sensitivity analysis
In managing interest rate risks the Group aims to reduce the impact of
short-term fluctuations on the Group's earnings, without jeopardising its
flexibility. Over the longer term, permanent changes in interest rates may
have an impact on consolidated earnings. At 31 March 2025, it is estimated
that an increase of 0.25 percentage points in interest rates would have
reduced the Group's adjusted profit before tax and net equity by £525,000
(2024: reduced adjusted profit before tax by £510,000) and a decrease of 0.25
percentage points in interest rates would have increased the Group's adjusted
profit before tax and net equity by £525,000 (2024: increased adjusted profit
before tax by £510,000). The sensitivity has been calculated by applying
the interest rate change to the variable rate borrowings, net of interest rate
swaps, at the year end.
The Group's sensitivity to interest rates has increased slightly during the
year, following the increase in the amount of floating rate debt. The Board
monitors closely the exposure to the floating rate element of our debt.
E. Cash management and liquidity
Ultimate responsibility for liquidity risk management rests with the Board of
Directors, who have built an appropriate liquidity risk management framework
for the management of the Group's short, medium, and long-term funding and
liquidity management requirements. The Group manages liquidity risk by
maintaining adequate reserves, banking facilities and reserve borrowing
facilities by continuously monitoring forecast and actual cash flows and
matching the maturity profiles of financial assets and liabilities. Included
in note 19 is a description of additional undrawn facilities that the Group
has at its disposal to further reduce liquidity risk.
Short term money market deposits are used to manage liquidity whilst
maximising the rate of return on cash resources, giving due consideration to
risk.
F. Foreign currency management
The Group does not have any foreign currency exposure.
G. Credit risk
The credit risk management policies of the Group with respect to trade
receivables are discussed in note 16. The Group has no significant
concentration of credit risk, with exposure spread over 73,000 occupied rooms
in our stores.
The credit risk on liquid funds is limited because the counterparties are
banks with high credit-ratings assigned by international credit-rating
agencies.
H. Financial maturity analysis
In respect of interest-bearing financial liabilities, the following table
provides a maturity analysis for individual elements.
2025 Maturity
Less than one year One to two years Two to five years More than five years
Total £000 £000 £000 £000
£000
Debt
Aviva loan 152,451 3,483 3,658 145,310 -
M&G loan payable at variable rate 85,000 - - 85,000 -
M&G loan fixed by interest rate derivatives 35,000 - 35,000 -
-
Bank loan payable at variable rate 125,000 - - 125,000 -
Total 397,451 3,483 3,658 390,310 -
2024 Maturity
Less than one year One to two years Two to five years More than five years
Total £000 £000 £000 £000
£000
Debt
Aviva loan 155,768 3,317 3,483 148,968 -
M&G loan payable at variable rate 85,000 - - - 85,000
M&G loan fixed by interest rate derivatives 35,000 - - 35,000
-
Bank loan payable at variable rate 119,000 - - 119,000 -
Total 394,768 3,317 3,483 267,968 120,000
I. Fair values of financial instruments
The fair values of the Group's cash and short-term deposits and those of other
financial assets equate to their book values. Details of the Group's
receivables at amortised cost are set out in note 16. The amounts are
presented net of provisions for doubtful receivables, and allowances for
impairment are made where appropriate. Trade and other payables, including
bank borrowings, are carried at amortised cost. Obligations under lease
liabilities are included at the present value of their minimum lease payments.
Derivatives are carried at fair value.
For those financial instruments held at valuation, the Group has categorised
them into a three-level fair value hierarchy based on the priority of the
inputs to the valuation technique in accordance with IFRS 7. The hierarchy
gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical
assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs
(Level 3). If the inputs used to measure fair value fall within different
levels of the hierarchy, the category level is based on the lowest priority
level input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the
instrument in its entirety. The fair value of the Group's outstanding
interest rate derivatives, as detailed in note 18C, have been estimated by
calculating the present value of future cash flows, using appropriate market
discount rates, representing Level 2 fair value measurements as defined by
IFRS 7. There are no financial instruments which have been categorised as
Level 1 or Level 3. The fair value of the Group's debt equates to its book
value.
J. Maturity analysis of financial liabilities
The contractual maturities based on market conditions and expected yield
curves prevailing at the year-end date are as follows:
2025 Trade and other payables Borrowings and Obligations under lease liabilities Total
£000 Interest rate swaps interest £000 £000
£000 £000
From five to twenty years - - - 20,315 20,315
From two to five years - (485) 429,640 3,067 432,222
From one to two years - (232) 28,528 1,878 30,174
Due after more than one year - (717) 458,168 25,260 482,711
Due within one year 23,630 (131) 23,465 1,878 48,842
Total 23,630 (848) 481,633 27,138 531,553
2024 Trade and other payables Borrowings and Obligations under lease liabilities Total
£000 Interest rate swaps interest £000 £000
£000 £000
From five to twenty years - (98) 124,225 20,784 144,911
From two to five years - (1,089) 309,503 3,247 311,661
From one to two years - (195) 30,000 2,279 32,084
Due after more than one year - (1,382) 463,728 26,310 488,656
Due within one year 20,603 106 24,520 2,279 47,508
Total 20,603 (1,276) 488,248 28,589 536,164
K. Reconciliation of maturity analyses
The maturity analysis in note 18J shows non-discounted cash flows for all
financial liabilities including interest payments. The table below
reconciles the borrowings column in note 19 with the borrowings and interest
column in the maturity analysis presented in note 18J.
2025 Unamortised borrowing costs Borrowings and
£000 interest
Borrowings Interest £000
£000 £000
From five to twenty years - - - -
From two to five years 390,310 35,131 4,199 429,640
From one to two years 3,658 24,870 - 28,528
Due after more than one year 393,968 60,001 4,199 458,168
Due within one year 3,483 19,982 - 23,465
397,451 79,983 4,199 481,633
2024 Unamortised borrowing costs Borrowings and
£000 interest
Borrowings Interest £000
£000 £000
From five to twenty years 120,000 3,673 552 124,225
From two to five years 267,968 37,007 4,528 309,503
From one to two years 3,483 26,517 - 30,000
Due after more than one year 391,451 67,197 5,080 463,728
Due within one year 3,317 21,203 - 24,520
Total 394,768 88,400 5,080 488,248
19. BORROWINGS
31 March 31 March
Secured borrowings at amortised cost 2025 2024
£000 £000
Current liabilities
Aviva loan 3,483 3,317
3,483 3,317
Non-current liabilities
Bank borrowings 125,000 119,000
Aviva loan 148,968 152,451
M&G loan 120,000 120,000
Unamortised loan arrangement costs (4,199) (5,080)
Total non-current borrowings 389,769 386,371
Total borrowings 393,252 389,688
The weighted average interest rate paid on the borrowings during the year was
5.7% (2024: 5.5%).
The Group has £175 million in undrawn committed bank borrowing facilities at
31 March 2025, which expire after between two and three years (2024: £181
million expiring after between two and three years).
The Group has a £152.5 million fixed rate loan with Aviva Commercial Finance
Limited, expiring in September 2028. The loan is secured over a portfolio of
20 freehold self storage centres. The annual fixed interest rate on the loan
is 3.3%. The loan has an amortising element of £7.5 million which runs to
April 2027.
The Group has a secured £300 million Sustainability-linked revolving bank
facility with Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays expiring in December 2027, with a
margin of 1.25%. The Group has the option to extend the facility by a
further one-year term through to December 2028, subject to lender approval
The Group has a £120 million loan with M&G Investments Limited, with a
bullet repayment in September 2029. The loan is secured over a portfolio of
15 freehold self storage centres.
In addition to the facilities above the Group has a $225 million credit
approved shelf facility with Pricoa Private Capital ("Pricoa"), to be drawn in
fixed sterling notes. The Group can draw the debt in minimum tranches of
£10 million over the next year with terms of between 7 and 15 years at short
notice.
The movement in the Group's loans are shown net in the cash flow statement as
the bank loan is a revolving facility and is repaid and redrawn each month.
The movement has been shown net in the cash flow statement. The other
Group loans are not revolving, and any movements in those loans are disclosed
in a footnote to note 26b.
The Group was in compliance with its banking covenants at 31 March 2025 and
throughout the year. As stated in the going concern review, we forecast
compliance with our covenants going forward. We therefore do not consider it
likely that these loans would become repayable within 12 months. The
principal covenants are summarised in the table below:
Covenant Covenant level At 31 March 2025
Consolidated EBITDA to net finance costs Minimum 1.5x 6.1x
Consolidated net tangible assets Minimum £500m £2,565.5m
Bank loan interest cover Minimum 1.75x 9.0x
Net debt to EBITDA ratio Maximum 8x 3.1x
Aviva loan interest service cover ratio Minimum 1.5x 6.4x
Aviva loan debt service cover ratio Minimum 1.2x 3.9x
M&G interest cover Minimum 1.5x 2.8x
The Consolidated EBITDA covenant is calculated by dividing the consolidated
EBITDA generated by the Group's stores by the Group's consolidated net finance
costs.
The bank loan interest cover, the Aviva loan interest service cover ratio and
the M&G interest cover covenants are calculated by dividing the EBITDA
generated by each loan's security pool by the interest payable for each loan
for each defined time period. The Aviva loan debt service cover ratio is
calculated by taking the EBITDA generated by the Aviva security pool and
dividing by the Aviva loan interest payable and facility amortisation. The
Aviva and M&G loans consolidated net tangible assets covenant is a minimum
of £250 million.
Interest rate profile of financial liabilities
Floating rate Weighted average interest rate Period for which the rate is fixed Weighted average period until maturity
Total £000 Fixed rate
£000 £000
At 31 March 2025
Gross financial liabilities 397,451 210,000 187,451 5.0% 3.6 years 3.5 years
At 31 March 2024
Gross financial liabilities 394,768 204,000 190,768 5.4% 4.6 years 4.2 years
All monetary liabilities, including short-term receivables and payables are
denominated in sterling. The weighted average interest rate includes the
effect of the Group's interest rate derivatives. The Directors have concluded
that the carrying value of borrowings approximates to its fair value.
Narrative disclosures on the Group's policy for financial instruments are
included within the Strategic Report and in note 18.
20. DEFERRED TAX
Deferred tax assets in respect of share based payments £0.2 million (2024:
£0.1 million), corporation tax losses £6.5 million (2024: £6.2 million),
capital allowances in excess of depreciation £0.1 million (2024: £0.1
million) and capital losses £2.1 million (2024: £2.1 million) in respect of
the non-REIT taxable business have not been recognised as it is not considered
probable that sufficient taxable profits will arise in the relevant taxable
entity. The unused tax losses can be carried forward indefinitely.
21. OBLIGATIONS UNDER LEASE LIABILITIES
Minimum lease payments Present value of minimum lease payments
2025 2024 2025 2024
£000
£000 £000 £000
Amounts payable under lease liabilities:
Within one year 1,878 2,279 1,857 2,253
Between one and five years inclusive 4,945 5,526 4,533 5,112
Greater than five years 20,315 20,784 10,689 11,362
27,138 28,589 17,079 18,727
Less: future finance charges (10,059) (9,862)
Present value of lease liabilities 17,079 18,727
All obligations under lease liabilities are denominated in sterling.
Interest rates are fixed at the contract date. All leases are on a fixed
repayment basis and no arrangements have been entered into for contingent
rental payments. The carrying amount of the Group's lease obligations
approximates their fair value.
22. SHARE CAPITAL
Called up, allotted, and fully paid
2025 2024
£000
£000
Ordinary shares of 10 pence each 19,671 19,620
Movement in issued share capital
Number of shares at 31 March 2023 184,265,973
Issues of shares - placing 11,640,212
Exercise of share options - Share option schemes 289,102
Number of shares at 31 March 2024 196,195,287
Exercise of share options - Share option schemes 519,409
Number of shares at 31 March 2025 196,714,696
The share capital of the Company consists only of fully paid ordinary shares
with a nominal (par) value of £0.10 per share. There are no restrictions on
the ability of shareholders to receive dividends, nor on the repayment of
capital. All ordinary shares are equally eligible to receive dividends and
the repayment of capital in accordance with the Company's Articles of
Association and represent one vote at shareholders' meetings of the Company.
At 31 March 2025 options in issue to Directors and employees were as follows:
Option price per ordinary share Type of option Date first exercisable Number of ordinary shares Number of ordinary shares
2024
Date option Date on which the exercise period expires 2025
Granted
21 July 2015 nil p LTIP 21 July 2018 21 July 2025 239 989
22 July 2016 nil p LTIP 22 July 2019 21 July 2026 1,415 1,415
2 August 2017 nil p LTIP 2 August 2020 2 August 2027 2,320 9,217
24 July 2018 nil p LTIP 24 July 2021 24 July 2028 1,552 53,697
19 July 2019 nil p LTIP 19 July 2022 19 July 2029 16,824 148,587
5 August 2020 nil p LTIP 5 August 2023 5 August 2030 101,814 189,504
1 March 2021 903.2p SAYE 1 April 2024 1 October 2024 - 77,395
22 July 2021 nil p LTIP 22 July 2024 22 July 2031 130,662 285,440
21 July 2022 nil p LTIP 21 July 2025 21 July 2032 412,863 425,523
8 August 2022 1060.3p SAYE 1 September 2025 1 March 2026 45,660 57,665
20 July 2023 nil p LTIP 20 July 2026 19 July 2033 570,838 590,931
1 August 2023 891.5p SAYE 1 September 2026 1 March 2027 65,553 79,382
18 July 2024 nil p LTIP 18 July 2027 17 July 2034 548,499 -
10 July 2024 945.1p SAYE 1 September 2027 1 March 2028 80,726 -
1,978,965 1,919,745
Own shares
The own shares reserve represents the cost of shares in Big Yellow Group PLC
purchased in the market and held by the Big Yellow Group PLC Employee Benefit
Trust, along with shares issued directly to the Employee Benefit Trust.
881,360 shares are held in the Employee Benefit Trust (2024: 1,098,686), and
no shares are held in treasury.
23. SHARE-BASED PAYMENTS
The Company has three equity share-based payment arrangements, namely an LTIP
scheme (with approved and unapproved components), an Employee Share Save
Scheme ("SAYE") and a Deferred Bonus Plan. The Group recognised a total
expense in the year related to equity-settled share-based payment transactions
of £2,855,000 (2024: £4,082,000).
Equity-settled share option plans
Since 2004 the Group has operated an Employee Share Save Scheme ("SAYE") which
allows any employee who has more than six months service to purchase shares at
a 20% discount to the average quoted market price of the Group shares at the
date of grant. The associated savings contracts are three years at which
point the employee can exercise their option to purchase the shares or take
the amount saved, including interest, in cash. The scheme is administered by
Globalshares.
On an annual basis since 2004 the Group awarded nil-paid options to senior
management under the Group's Long Term Incentive Plan ("LTIP"). The awards
are conditional on the achievement of challenging performance targets as
described in the Remuneration Report. The weighted average share price at
the date of exercise for options exercised in the year was £12.60 (2024:
£10.77).
LTIP scheme 2025 2024
No. of options No. of options
Outstanding at beginning of year 1,705,303 1,350,147
Granted during the year 566,193 678,088
Lapsed during the year (41,171) (72,932)
Exercised during the year (443,299) (250,000)
Outstanding at the end of the year 1,787,026 1,705,303
Exercisable at the end of the year 254,826 403,409
The weighted average fair value of options granted during the year was
£1,708,000 (2024: £1,564,000).
Participants pay the nominal value of the shares when exercising options under
the LTIP scheme.
Options outstanding at 31 March 2025 had a weighted average contractual life
of 8.0 years (2024: 7.8 years).
Employee Share Save Scheme ("SAYE") 2025 2025 2024 2024
No. of options Weighted average exercise price No of options Weighted average exercise price
(£)
(£)
Outstanding at beginning of year 214,442 £9.41 196,661 9.71
Granted during the year 86,354 £9.45 82,656 8.91
Forfeited during the year (32,747) £9.63 (25,773) 9.99
Exercised during the year (76,110) £9.01 (39,102) 9.47
Outstanding at the end of the year 191,939 £9.54 214,442 9.41
Exercisable at the end of the year - - - -
Options outstanding at 31 March 2025 had a weighted average contractual life
of 2.0 years (2024: 1.7 years).
The inputs into the Black-Scholes model for the options granted during the
year are as follows:
LTIP SAYE
Expected volatility n/a 26%
Expected life 3 years 3 years
Risk-free rate 0% 4.08
Expected dividends 4.1% 5.5%
Expected volatility was determined by calculating the historical volatility of
the Group's share price over the year prior to grant.
Deferred bonus plan
The Executive Directors receive awards under the Deferred Bonus Plan. This
is accounted for as an equity instrument. The plan was set up in July
2018. The vesting criteria and scheme mechanics are set out in the
Directors' Remuneration Report.
24. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS
At 31 March 2025 the Group had £77.5 million of amounts contracted but not
provided in respect of the Group's properties (2024: £3.9 million of capital
commitments).
25. EVENTS AFTER THE BALANCE SHEET DATE
In April 2025 the Group acquired a development site in Coventry for £2.5
million.
26. CASH FLOW NOTES
a) Reconciliation of profit after tax to cash generated from operations
Note 2025 2024
£000
£000
Profit after tax 201,891 239,833
Taxation 1,963 1,202
Other income 3 (4,047) (6,517)
Investment income (708) (45)
Finance costs 15,928 25,092
Operating profit 215,027 259,565
Gain on the revaluation of investment properties 14a, 15 (79,667) (131,159)
Gain on disposal of non-current asset 14a (8,754) -
Depreciation of plant, equipment, and owner-occupied property 14b 837 864
Depreciation of right-of-use assets 14a,14b 1,701 1,734
Employee share options 6 2,855 4,082
Cash generated from operations pre working capital movements 131,999 135,086
Decrease in inventories 49 10
Increase in receivables (1,024) (1,650)
Increase/(decrease) in payables 3,599 (3,620)
Cash generated from operations 134,623 129,826
b) Reconciliation of net cash flow movement to net debt
Note 2025 2024
£000
£000
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents in the year (591) 1,027
Cash flow from (increase)/decrease in debt financing(1) (2,683) 100,159
Change in net debt resulting from cash flows (3,274) 101,186
Movement in net debt in the year (3,274) 101,186
Net debt at the start of the year (385,412) (486,598)
Net debt at the end of the year 18A (388,686) (385,412)
(1) Made up of a net increase of £6.0 million in the RCF facility and
repayments of the Aviva facility of £3.3 million (2024: Made up of a net
decrease of £97.0 million in the RCF facility and repayments of the Aviva
facility of £3.2 million).
27. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries, which are related
parties, have been eliminated on consolidation and are not disclosed in this
note.
AnyJunk Limited
Jim Gibson is a Non-Executive Director and shareholder in AnyJunk Limited.
During the year AnyJunk Limited provided waste disposal services to the Group
on normal commercial terms, amounting to £25,000 (2024: £17,000). At 31
March 2025 a balance of £3,000 was included in trade payables for amounts
owing to AnyJunk Limited (2024: £nil).
London Children's Ballet
The Group signed a Section 106 agreement with Wandsworth Council relating to
the development of our Battersea store, which required the Group to provide
cultural space to Wandsworth Borough Council. In 2021, the Group granted a
twenty year lease over this space to London Children's Ballet at a peppercorn
rent, who in turn have agreed to enter into a Social Agreement with Wandsworth
Borough Council coterminous with the lease. Jim Gibson is the Chairman of
Trustees of the London Children's Ballet. London Children's Ballet rent
storage space from the Group on normal commercial terms, amounting to £4,000
during the year (2024: £4,000). The Group sponsored a London Children's
Ballet development programme during the year, amounting to £8,000 (2024:
£8,000).
Doncaster Security Operations Centre Limited ("DSOC")
The Group has invested £588,000 in DSOC. DSOC provided alarm and CCTV
monitoring services to the Group under normal commercial terms during the
year, amounting to £358,000 (2024: £319,000). At 31 March 2025 a balance of
£nil was included in trade payables for amounts owing to DSOC (2024:
£95,000).
Treepoints Limited
Jim Gibson is a Non-Executive Director and an investor in City Stasher
Limited, which in turn has a minority investment in Treepoints Limited.
Treepoints Limited provided offsetting tree planting services in respect of
our online packing material sales, under normal commercial terms during the
period, amounting to £2,000 (2024: £2,000). At 31 March 2025 and 31 March
2024 there were no amounts included in trade payables for amounts owing to
Treepoints Limited.
Ukrainian Sponsorship Pathway UK
Nicholas Vetch and Heather Savory are trustees of a charity called Ukrainian
Sponsorship Pathway UK ("USPUK") to help Ukrainians displaced by the war to
travel to the UK as part of the "Homes for Ukraine" scheme. The charity has
set up offices in Warsaw and Krakow and is one of the few that has been
recognised for this purpose by the UK Government. In the prior year the
Board approved a donation of £50,000 (2025: £nil). In the current year,
the Group has provided free office space to USPUK worth £10,000 (2024:
£nil).
Landmark Trust and Ruth Strauss Foundation
Dr Anna Keay is the CEO of the Landmark Trust and Vince Niblett is a Trustee
of the Ruth Strauss Foundation. During the year the Company provided free
storage to the Landmark Trust and the Ruth Strauss Foundation with a total
value of £10,000 (2024: £9,000).
No other related party transactions took place during the years ended 31 March
2025 and 31 March 2024.
28. GLOSSARY
Absorption The rate of growth in occupancy assumed within the external property
valuations from the current occupancy level to the assumed stable occupancy
level.
Adjusted earnings The IFRS profit after taxation attributable to shareholders of the Company
excluding investment property revaluations, one-off items of income and costs,
gains/losses on investment property disposals and changes in the fair value of
financial instruments.
Adjusted earnings growth The increase in adjusted eps year-on-year.
Adjusted NAV EPRA NTA adjusted for an investment property valuation carried out at
purchasers' costs of 2.75%, see note 13.
Adjusted earnings per share Adjusted earnings divided by the average number of shares in issue during the
financial year, see note 12.
Adjusted Profit Before Tax The Company's pre-tax EPRA earnings measure with additional Company
adjustments, see note 10.
APMs Additional performance measures that help financial statement users to better
understand the Group's performance and position.
Average net achieved rent per sq ft Storage revenue divided by average occupied space over the financial year.
Average occupancy The average space occupied by customers divided by the MLA expressed as a %.
Average rental growth The growth in average net achieved rent per sq ft year-on-year.
BREEAM An environmental rating assessed under the Building Research Establishment's
Environmental Assessment Method.
Cap rates The exit capitalisation rates used in the external investment property
valuation.
Carbon intensity Carbon emissions divided by the Group's average occupied space.
Closing net rent per sq ft Annual storage revenue generated from in-place customers divided by occupied
space at the balance sheet date.
Closing occupancy % The space occupied by customers divided by the MLA at the balance sheet date
expressed as a %.
Closing occupancy sq ft The space occupied by customers at the balance sheet date in sq ft.
Committed facilities Available undrawn debt facilities plus cash and cash equivalents.
Consolidated EBITDA Consolidated EBITDA calculated in accordance with the terms of the Group's
Revolving Credit Facility Agreement.
Debt Long-term and short-term borrowings, as detailed in note 19, excluding lease
liabilities and debt issue costs.
Earnings per share (eps) Profit for the financial year attributable to equity shareholders divided by
the average number of shares in issue during the financial year.
EBITDA Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation.
EPRA The European Public Real Estate Association, a real estate industry body. This
organisation has issued Best Practice Recommendations with the intention of
improving the transparency, comparability, and relevance of the published
results of listed real estate companies in Europe.
EPRA earnings The IFRS profit after taxation attributable to shareholders of the Company
excluding investment property revaluations, gains/losses on investment
property disposals and changes in the fair value of financial instruments.
EPRA earnings per share EPRA earnings divided by the average number of shares in issue during the
financial year, see note 12.
EPRA NTA per share EPRA NTA divided by the diluted number of shares at the year end.
EPRA net tangible asset value (EPRA NTA) IFRS net assets excluding the mark-to-market on interest rate derivatives,
deferred taxation on property valuations where it arises, and intangible
assets. It is adjusted for the dilutive impact of share options.
Equity All capital and reserves of the Group attributable to equity holders of the
Company.
Gross property assets The sum of investment property and investment property under construction.
Gross value added The measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry,
or sector of an economy.
Interest cover The ratio of operating cash flow divided by interest paid (before working
capital movements, exceptional finance costs, capitalised interest, and
changes in fair value of interest rate derivatives). This metric is provided
to give readers a clear view of the Group's financial position.
Like-for-like store operating costs Store operating costs excluding one-off items and the operating costs of a
store opened in the preceding or current financial year.
Like-for-like occupancy Excludes the closing occupancy of new stores acquired, opened, or closed in
the current financial year in both the current financial year and comparative
figures. In 2025this excludes Kings Cross. We previously excluded
Armadillo from the like-for-like occupancy metrics but are now including these
stores to show the occupancy performance of all the Group's like-for-like
trading stores.
Like-for-like store revenue Excludes the impact of new stores acquired, opened or stores closed in the
current or preceding financial year in both the current year and comparative
figures. In 2025 this excludes Kings Cross.
LTV (loan to value) Net debt expressed as a percentage of the external valuation of the Group's
investment properties.
Maximum lettable area (MLA) The total square foot (sq ft) available to rent to customers.
Move-ins The number of customers taking a storage room in the defined period.
Move-outs The number of customers vacating a storage room in the defined period.
NAV Net asset value.
Net debt Gross borrowings less cash and cash equivalents.
Net initial yield The forthcoming year's net operating income expressed as a percentage of
capital value, after adding notional purchaser's costs pre administrative
expenses.
Net operating income Store EBITDA after an allocation of central overhead.
Net operating income on stabilisation The projected net operating income delivered by a store when it reaches a
stable level of occupancy.
Net promoter score (NPS) The Net Promoter Score is an index ranging from -100 to 100 that measures the
willingness of customers to recommend a company's products or services to
others. The Company measures NPS based on surveys sent to all its move-ins
and move-outs.
Net Renewable Energy Positive Our strategy as set out in
https://corporate.bigyellow.co.uk/index.php/sustainability/strategy.
Net rent per sq ft Storage revenue generated from in place customers divided by occupancy.
Net Zero Strategy The Group's published strategy to have Net Zero Scope 1 and 2 Emissions.
Non like-for-like stores Stores excluded from like-for-like metrics, as they were acquired, opened or
closed in the current or preceding financial year. In 2025 this excludes
Kings Cross.
Occupancy The space occupied by customers divided by the MLA expressed as a %.
Occupied space The space occupied by customers in sq ft.
Other storage related income Packing materials, insurance, and other storage related fees.
Pipeline The Group's development sites.
Property Income Distribution (PID) A dividend, generally subject to withholding tax, that a UK REIT is required
to pay from its tax-exempt property rental business, and which is taxable for
UK-resident shareholders at their marginal tax rate.
REGO Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin
REIT Real Estate Investment Trust. A tax regime which in the UK exempts
participants from corporation tax both on UK rental income and gains arising
on UK investment property sales, subject to certain conditions.
REVPAF Total store revenue divided by the average maximum lettable area in the year.
Store EBITDA Store earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation, see
reconciliation in the portfolio summary on page 13.
Store revenue Revenue earned from the Group's open self storage centres.
TCFD Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosure.
Total shareholder return (TSR) The growth in value of a shareholding over a specified period, assuming
dividends are reinvested to purchase additional units of shares.
Ten Year Summary
2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
Results
Revenue 204.5 199.6 188.8 171.3 135.2 129.3 125.4 116.7 109.1 101.4
Operating profit before gains and losses on property assets
126.6 128.4 120.0 106.6 81.5 80.0 76.7 70.9 65.3 59.9
Cash flow from operating activities
114.6 104.8 112.0 107.1 76.7 73.6 72.2 63.0 55.9 55.5
Profit before taxation 203.9 241.0 75.3 698.9 265.8 93.4 126.9 134.1 99.8 112.2
Adjusted profit before taxation
115.6 107.3 106.0 96.8 74.6 71.0 67.5 61.4 54.6 49.0
Net assets 2,565.5 2,448.4 2,182.4 2,184.4 1,453.9 1,163.9 1,123.9 981.1 890.4 829.4
Diluted adjusted earnings per share
57.8p 55.9p 56.5p 52.5p 42.4p 42.1p 41.4p 38.5p 34.5p 31.1p
Declared total dividend per share
46.4p 45.2p 45.2p 42.0p 34.0p 33.8p 33.2p 30.8p 27.6p 24.9p
Key statistics
Number of stores open** 109 109 108 105 78 75 74 74 73 71
Store MLA (000 sq ft) 6,421 6,419 6,292 6,098 4,930 4,688 4,622 4,631 4,551 4,464
Sq ft occupied (000)** 5,056 5,029 5,088 5,107 4,201 3,781 3,810 3,730 3,551 3,363
Occupancy (decrease)/ increase in year (000 sq ft)*
27 (59) (19) 906 420 (29) 80 179 188 185
Closing net rent per sq ft** £35.17 £34.14 £32.48 £29.92 £28.71 £28.15 £27.28 £26.74 £26.03 £25.90
Number of occupied rooms** 73,000 73,000 73,000 73,000 62,000 56,500 56,000 55,000 52,500 50,000
Average number of employees during the year**
459 464 465 427 370 361 347 335 329 318
* - the occupancy growth in 2015, 2017, 2022 and 2023 includes the acquisition
of existing stores
** - from 2022 this includes the Armadillo stores, which the Group acquired
the remaining 80% of which it did not previously own on 1 July 2021
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