When it comes to certain products and businesses it is just as important that the outside is as aesthetically pleasing as the “inside” is functionally sound. It is not unusual for consumers to not be interested in giving something a try because they don’t like how it looks. After all, you can only make one first impression, right? [More]

Running a business—self storage or otherwise-- is full of challenges and tough decisions. Sometime they can be pretty tough to handle like when it comes to having to raise rates or increase costs for any sort of reason. What you have to do is try to envision the good that can occur if the expense is incurred. Even then, sometimes it can be tough to pull the figurative trigger because you don’t want to spend the money (it’s so hard to earn!). [More]

When the self storage industry began back in the 1960s the idea was to give people that needed a little extra space for their stuff exactly what they needed—space. For the most part that is exactly what people use the self storage industry for. However, there is a small but growing population that is using self storage space for something else. [More]

Growing a business in a market where it does not have an established foot hold already is pretty challenging. Getting a business to turn a profit is a task that many regretfully do not succeed in doing. If you are one of those that are able to establish a foothold and turn a profit the last thing you want to do is start giving the government a piece of the pie, small or large. [More]

The self storage industry is poised for growth in the UK. Businesses have really latched on to the idea of using self storage units to full fill their storage needs, and thousands of private individuals enjoy having the extra space at home that having a self storage unit allows them to have. Starting in October, that storage space will likely cost them a little bit more. [More]

The self storage industry has been one of the few sectors to do well during the current economic struggles that much of the world is suffering through. Companies and people in the United States have been taking advantage of it for some time. It is starting to appear as if people and companies in the UK are starting to jump on the bandwagon. [More]

Since they began dotting the landscape of America about half a century ago, self storage facilities have become much more than additional closet space or an extra garage. With the way that Hollywood has latched onto them and made them apart of so many different movies and television shows you could almost say they are part of pop culture. [More]

In Europe as in the United States, real estate analysts are recommending self storage as an investment worth considering, compared to other areas of the real estate market (such as residential and retail properties), which are foundering. [More]

Alligator Self Storage, a Scottish self storage chain, has announced that it plans to expand into two or three more sites this year. It has already acquired 12 new locations over the past several months, thanks to the tireless efforts of founder Alister Jack. Jack financed the acquisition of the 12 new locations, which came from Australian investment bank Macquarie, with 20 million from Merrill Lynch (through Bank of America).

“We have the ability to finance the acquisition of more sites,” Jack told Scott Reid of Scotland on Sunday yesterday. “We would like to buy two or three in the next year, though there’s quite a bit to do in terms of integrating the latest sites.” [More]

The United Kingdom's largest self-storage company, Safestore, has reported a full-year loss for 2009, even though the number of customers using its facilities has steadily increased. After making a pre-tax profit of £14.9 million in 2008, it recorded a pre-tax loss for 2009 of £9.4 million ($15 million). Per share earnings fell from 6.68p to a loss of 0.14p.

Occupancy of Safestore's storage units grew by 57,000 square feet in 2009, against a drop of 195,000 square feet in 2008. Rental rates also rose 4.9 percent. At year's end, Safestore was charging £25.24 per square foot of unit space. Safestore's UK and French earnings rose 1.9 percent, from £82.9 to £84.4 million. [More]