Safestore on the up as it secures revenue growth

The price of shares in FTSE 250 self-storage provide Safestore (LON:SAFE) has climbed by 2.82% to 802.50p (as of 12:30 GMT) after reporting an 11.3% improvement in revenues for the three months ended 31st January. Occupancy rates for the quarter were 6.1 percentage points above the comparative period a year ago.

CEO Frederic Vecchhioli commented: “I am pleased to report that the strong performance of the final quarter of our 2020 financial year has continued throughout the first quarter of 2021 driven by an excellent UK result, complemented by solid performances from Paris and Spain. In addition, our JV with Carlyle, operating in Belgium and the Netherlands, is performing in line with its business plan.

Our recently opened developments in the UK in Carshalton, Sheffield and Gateshead are performing well and our Birmingham Middleway and Paris Magenta stores are due to open in the first half of 2021. We anticipate that our new store pipeline will grow over the coming months and our strong and flexible balance sheet provides significant funding capacity, allowing us to continue to consider strategic, value-accretive investments as and when they arise.

“Our priority, and largest opportunity, remains the significant upside from filling the 1.4m square feet of fully invested currently unlet space in our UK, Paris and Barcelona markets. Whilst the potential for disruption arising from current COVID restrictions remains, the inherent resilience of our business model as well as our recent and current trading allows me to look forward with confidence. The first quarter’s trading performance has provided us with a strong base for the rest of the financial year and, if the current momentum continues, we would anticipate that the business delivers Adjusted Diluted EPRA Earnings per Share for 2020/21 towards the top of the range of analysts’ forecasts“.