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Top Trends from the UK’s Self-Storage Industry
The self-storage industry is continuing to thrive in a difficult environment – that’s the key message from the Self-Storage Association UK (SSSAUK) in their 2023 annual report which has just been released. Here Hamiltons Removals, who offer high-quality storage facilities in East Anglia, focus on some of the report’s key trends.
The Survey Itself
This year’s survey was one of the biggest the association has ever undertaken. It uses information from the 2022 calendar year, although the report itself was compiled in the first two months of this year.
Around one in four of all the self-storage companies across the UK completed the questionnaire, and they account for 40% of the total storage space available. In total, 57 companies, who have 602 storage facilities between them, answered the survey.
The Key Facts and Figures
- The occupancy rate of all self-storage units was stable at 83.3% of the total available space. The report notes that this is a good thing, as companies should always have space available to attract new customers.
- The so-called churn rate has risen slightly but remains below pre-pandemic levels at 81%. The churn rate is measured by the total number of move-outs in a year divided by the total amount of units that were occupied during that period.
- Three out of every four companies now allow you to reserve your unit online.
- A death in the family is still one of the key personal reasons for using self-storage.
- Those people moving house, or renovating their property, are three times more likely to use self-storage than anyone else.
The Challenges
In 2021, the industry was recovering from the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. However, last year the difficulties came from the high rate of inflation, and specifically soaring interest and mortgage rates.
Both of these had a negative effect on house sales, which is one of the key drivers when it comes to booking up storage space. However, in the rental market many tenants have had no choice but to look for smaller properties because of rising rents. This, says the report, will lead to increased demand for storage facilities as the tenants downsize.
Also, as many people are having difficulties with the high cost of living, some renovation projects may be being put on the back burner. The storage companies themselves have highlighted issues with increasing staff and energy costs, which – in some cases – has led to a rise in the rental rates being charged.
What About the Future?
In spite of the difficulties, most providers have good reason to remain optimistic about the remainder of 2023 and next year. Four out of every five consumers say that their self-storage unit offers good value for money, and one in five customers have rented out their unit for more than five years.
There will always be a demand for self-storage (because of life events, such as moving house, divorces and deaths) and businesses will always need somewhere to put their stock. The storage businesses surveyed said they planned to open or acquire more than 100 new stores in the months ahead.
The report also mentions the need for storage companies to offer high-quality customer service, such as being able to buy packaging and other storage materials on-site and allowing commercial customers to carry out business from the unit (possibly via a trade counter).
Storage Facilities in East Anglia from Hamiltons Removals
At Hamiltons Removals, we have two Safe’n’Stored sites at Harleston and Aldeby, both on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Harleston has self-storage rooms of varying sizes, while Aldeby has self-storage containers ranging from 5’ to 20’ in size, making it ideal for larger items, such as motorbikes and caravans. Both sites are protected by CCTV cameras.
Both depots are now open as usual and our Harleston site sells a range of high-quality packing materials via our online shop. We would recommend you use these if you are storing any furniture and clothing in particular as we stock various specialist products such as sofa covers (which you can also use for moving house) and wardrobe cartons.
The Five Best Towns and Cities to Move to in Scotland
Scotland isn’t all about the Highlands and Islands, Ben Nevis and other stunning scenery. There’s plenty of attractive towns and cities to move to as well. For those considering house removals to Scotland – whether that’s to Edinburgh, Glasgow or any other destinations north of the border – Hamiltons Removals have compiled this handy guide to five of the most popular places.
Edinburgh
The Scottish capital came top of the listing magazine Time Out’s poll to find the Best City in the World last year. They quizzed 20,000 city dwellers worldwide on aspects such as sustainability, walkability, public transport, overall cost, as well as the nightlife and food and drink scenes. Edinburgh scoring particularly well for its overall beauty and its walkability.
Major attractions in the city include the Royal Mile in the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle (which hosts the world-famous Military Tattoo in August), Holyrood Palace (whose art gallery is open to the public, as well as being the Royal Family’s official Scottish residence) and not forgetting the Edinburgh Festival, which is also held in August.
Glasgow
The big city rival to Edinburgh came in fourth in the same poll. For those considering moving house to Glasgow, it scored well for the overall cost of living (better than anywhere else in the poll), the friendliness of the people and the large number of green spaces. Glasgow actually means ‘dear green space’ in Gaelic.
There’s a thriving arts and cultural scene. The city is home to the Scottish Opera, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Scottish Ballet, as well as Celtic and Rangers, who have long dominated Scottish football.
Stirling
Like Edinburgh, this central Scottish town has a skyline dominated by a castle that has incredible views over the city and the surrounding countryside (see above).
It was voted the safest city in the UK by The Complete University Guide 2019 and the happiest place to live in Scotland by Rightmove in 2021. The University reference is important as the city is home to more than 10,000 students, who make up around a fifth of the total population.
Dundee
This is the fourth largest city in Scotland, and the Best Place to live in Scotland in 2019, according to the Sunday Times.
Being on the east coast, it is one of the sunniest places to live in Scotland prompting some to nickname the city ‘Sundee’. As well as having almost 1,500 hours of sunshine per year, it’s also one of the driest and coldest places to live in Scotland. The sun certainly helps as it’s got plenty of beaches to enjoy. The Urban Beach is probably the closest to the city centre, but Broughty Ferry, named after a nearby village, is probably the most famous.
And, like Stirling, Dundee benefits from its student population. There are two universities in the city, the University of Dundee and the University of Abertay Dundee.
St Andrews
This town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland (10 miles south-east of Dundee) is perhaps most famous as being the ‘home of golf’. As well as being popular with golfers, students come to the University from all over the world. It was ranked no. 1 in the UK by the 2022 Good University Guide published by the Times and Sunday Times and is usually ranked highly in all other surveys. St Andrews was also where Prince William met his future wife, the then Kate Middleton.
The town also has plenty of lovely sandy beaches, most notably The West Sands, where the opening scene from the film Chariots of Fire was shot. It is also much smaller and quieter than many of the other towns and cities. However, the town does get markedly busier at the beginning of university terms and during the Open Golf championship in July.
Removals to Scotland with Hamiltons Removals
Hamiltons Removals can offer a high-end removals service if you are considering moving house to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Stirling or any other Scottish destination.
We provide video surveys and free online removal quotes, to help make the whole process more convenient for you. We can also professionally pack all your items for you, including fragile glassware and artwork. We are highly experienced in moving larger items as well, including pianos and motorbikes.