20 February 2024
Lok'nStore Group
plc
("Lok'nStore", the "Company",
"We" or the "Group")
Trading
update
"Continued revenue
growth"
Lok'nStore, the AIM quoted
self-storage company, is pleased to provide the following update on
trading for the six months to 31 January 2024.
Highlights:
·
Self-storage revenue up 4.9%
·
Price per square foot up 4.0%
·
Pipeline progress in period
o New
Landmark stores in Basildon and Kettering opened
o New
stores in Staines and Bromborough due to open in 2024
o Further planning permission progress at Barking and
Eastbourne
·
These four stores will add 211,600 sq. ft of
trading space to the portfolio
·
£10 million out of total debt of £43.7 million
fixed at all-in cost of 5.2%
Trading momentum continues
Building on the last three years of
significant revenue growth, trading in the six months to 31 January
2024 remains in line with the board's expectations with
self-storage revenue up 4.9% on the comparative period last
year. Occupied unit space at the end of the period was down
by 22,639 sq. ft to 862,554 sq. ft (-2.9%) offset by Price per sq.
ft. of occupied space up by 4.0% from the same point last year.
Further progress on new stores
Our new Landmark store in Basildon,
Essex opened on 1st December 2023. This 49,700 sq.
ft. leasehold store has a total project cost of £3.8 million and is
our first ever purpose-built leasehold store. The Basildon
store forms part of a large retail park and sits on top of a
discount food retailer. Early trading at this newly opened
store and our recently opened stores in Bedford and Peterborough
continues to be in line with expectations.
In Kettering, Northamptonshire, we
opened a 45,900 sq. ft. managed store on 9th February
2024.
Fit-out work continues at our new
Landmark store development in Staines, Surrey (effective freehold)
which is due to open in spring 2024. Our 66,500 sq ft Staines
store encompasses a discount food store which should drive
additional footfall to our store.
We are also on site in Bromborough,
Wirral for a managed store client which is due to open in the
Autumn of 2024.
These four stores will add a further
211,600 sq. ft. of trading space to the undersupplied UK
self-storage market.
The Basildon and Staines owned
stores will be independently valued as trading assets for the first
time at our FY24 year-end.
Further progress on planning permission for more new
stores
We have now received formal planning
permission for our new store in Barking, Greater London. At
c.84,000 sq. ft, this freehold Landmark store will be our biggest
store to date, reflecting the continued strong demand we are seeing
for our product. We are currently working through the
pre-commencement conditions.
We are anticipating planning
permission for a new Freehold store in Eastbourne in the coming
weeks. This Landmark location, adjacent to supermarkets and
retail outlets is close to our existing leasehold store, which has
been trading since 2003.
Interest Rate fixed on £10 million of debt
In December 2023, the Group entered
into five-year interest rate Swaps on £10.0 million of its floating
rate debt. The two separate swaps of £5.0 million each were
executed at a Sonia swap rate of 3.51%, providing an all-in
effective rate payable on this swap of 5.2% and will result in
estimated saving of c. £0.2 million of interest payable in the
coming year compared to the Company's current cost of floating debt
of 6.74% on its Revolving Credit Facility.
Interim results for the period
ending 31 January 2024 will be announced in the 2nd half
of April 2024
Commenting on progress in the six months to 31 January 2024
Andrew Jacobs, Chair of Lok'nStore, said:
"Trading in the first half of FY24
has been positive with self-storage revenue up 4.9% on the same
period last year.
We continue to deliver on our
strategy of opening more new stores in the under supplied
self-storage market. We have made significant progress on our new
store pipeline with the Basildon store opening in December 2023,
the Kettering managed store in February 2024 and two more stores
due to open in 2024 in Staines and Bromborough. These new
stores are anticipated to add further momentum to sales, earnings
and net asset growth."
-Ends-
Enquiries:
Lok'nStore
Andrew Jacobs, Chair
Ray Davies, Finance
Director
Neil Newman-Shepherd, Managing
Director
|
01252 521 010
|
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited - Nomad and Joint
Broker
Julian Blunt/Seamus Fricker,
Corporate Finance
Sunila De Silva, Corporate Broking
|
020 7220 0500
|
Peel Hunt LLP - Joint
Broker
Capel Irwin/Carl Gough/Henry
Nicholls
|
020 7418 8900
|
Camarco - Financial
PR
Billy Clegg/Tom
Huddart/Letaba Rimell
|
020
3757 4991
|