TIDMBYG
RNS Number : 4617L
Big Yellow Group PLC
13 January 2021
13 January 2021
Big Yellow Group PLC
("Big Yellow" or "the Group")
Trading Statement
The Board of Big Yellow Group PLC, the UK's brand leader in self
storage, is pleased to provide the following update on trading for
the third quarter ended 31 December 2020.
Results
Quarter ended Quarter ended
31 December 31 December Change
2020 2019
------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- -----------
Store maximum lettable area ("MLA") 4,913,000 4,688,000 4.8%
Closing occupancy (sq ft) 4,074,000 3,745,000 8.8%
Occupancy loss in the quarter 133,000 sq
(sq ft) (32,000) (165,000) ft
Occupancy change year to date 358,000 sq
(sq ft) 293,000 (65,000) ft
Closing occupancy (% of MLA) 82.9% 79.9% 3.0 ppts
Like-for-like closing occupancy(1) 85.7% 79.9% 5.8 ppts
Total revenue for the quarter GBP34.7m GBP32.3m 7.4%
Like-for-like store revenue for
the quarter(2) GBP33.7m GBP31.6m 6.6%
Year to date total revenue GBP100.5m GBP96.6m 4.0%
Like-for-like store revenue year
to date(2) GBP97.9m GBP94.3m 3.8%
Average achieved net rent per
sq ft GBP28.01 GBP28.03 (0.1%)
Closing net achieved rent per
sq ft GBP28.40 GBP28.42 (0.1%)
(1) Excluding Camberwell (opened July 2020), Bracknell (opened
September 2020) and Battersea (opened November 2020).
(2) Like-for-like store revenue excludes Manchester (opened May
2019), Camberwell, Bracknell and Battersea.
Business move-ins in the quarter were up 18% compared to the
prior year, with domestic move-ins up 11%. Move-outs were down 1%
compared to the same quarter last year. The table below shows the
monthly move-ins compared to the prior year.
Month Move-ins Move-ins % Move-outs Move-outs %
2020 2019 2020 2019
October 6,339 5,356 18 6,789 6,714 1
--------- --------- --- ---------- ---------- ----
November 5,265 5,003 5 5,607 5,763 (3)
--------- --------- --- ---------- ---------- ----
December 4,718 4,284 10 4,890 4,947 (1)
--------- --------- --- ---------- ---------- ----
Total 16,322 14,643 11 17,286 17,424 (1)
--------- --------- --- ---------- ---------- ----
In our seasonally weaker third quarter, occupancy decreased by
32,000 sq ft (0.7% of the MLA at 31 December 2020) compared to a
loss of 165,000 sq ft in the same quarter last year (3.5% of the
MLA at 31 December 2019) and a loss of 126,000 sq ft in 2018 (2.7%
of the MLA at 31 December 2018). The table below shows the net
occupancy movement compared to the prior quarter by customer
type:
Customer type Net sq ft change Net sq ft change Change
in quarter ended in quarter ended
31 December 2020 31 December 2019
Domestic (26,000 sq ft) (128,000 sq ft) 102,000 sq ft
------------------ ------------------ --------------
Business 9,000 sq ft (18,000 sq ft) 27,000 sq ft
------------------ ------------------ --------------
Student (15,000 sq ft) (19,000 sq ft) 4,000 sq ft
------------------ ------------------ --------------
Total (32,000 sq ft) (165,000 sq ft) 133,000 sq ft
------------------ ------------------ --------------
Like-for-like closing occupancy was 85.7%, an increase of 5.8
ppts from the same time last year. Closing occupancy was 82.9%,
with three stores having opened in the current year.
Closing net achieved rent per sq ft was GBP28.40, an increase of
2.3% from 30 September 2020, and a decrease of 0.1% from the same
time last year. This reflects a recovery from the impact on rental
growth of the suspension of price increases to existing customers
in the first half of the year, with move-in activity and hence
opening offers being higher this quarter than last year. The
Group's average achieved net rent per sq ft was broadly in line
with last year and we expect to see continued rental growth as we
go into our normal Spring/Summer growth period at higher levels of
occupancy.
The Group's like-for-like store revenue increased by 6.6% in the
quarter, driven entirely from occupancy gains as year-on-year
average rate remained stable. Like-for-like store revenue growth
for the year to date is up 3.8%, compared to 2.4% at the half
year.
As of 12 January, 98.1% of our third quarter revenue has been
collected, in line with the prior year.
Armadillo
The occupancy of the 25 store Armadillo portfolio at 31 December
2020 was 81.3%, an increase of 1.0 ppt from 30 September 2020
(2019: decrease of 2.6 ppts). Revenue for the quarter to 31
December 2020 increased by 7.0% to GBP4.6 million compared to the
same quarter last year (GBP4.3 million).
Development
In December, the Group exchanged contracts to acquire a 5.6 acre
site at the Causeway, Staines. The GBP44.6 million development
will, subject to planning, comprise a 65,400 sq ft self storage
centre including 5,400 sq ft of external access units and 98,500 sq
ft of warehousing and logistical space which the Group will develop
itself. This is a strategic site with excellent access to the M25
motorway and Heathrow Airport and fills a gap in our London store
network.
During the period, as previously reported, we obtained planning
consent on our development sites at Kings Cross and Harrow (both in
London).
The construction of our stores in Uxbridge (London), and Hove,
are on schedule and we anticipate that the stores will open in
Summer 2021 and Spring 2022 respectively.
We will shortly be commencing construction on our development
sites in Harrow, Hayes, Kings Cross and Kingston North (all in
London).
We are continuing planning discussions on our other development
sites and will provide further updates in due course.
James Gibson, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"The trading momentum we referred to when announcing our half
year results has continued through the quarter, and this has been
our best occupancy performance in the third quarter for many years.
The main driver of this occupancy performance has been our domestic
customer base, although business demand has also continued to
improve.
What is becoming clear is that awareness of our product has
accelerated during this difficult time, as people reflect on how
they live their lives or operate their businesses. As we have
stated previously, the structural tail winds which have been
accelerated by this health crisis continue to outweigh the economic
head winds, in so far as they impact our demand. We also believe
that our performance during this period is reflective of self
storage being better established than it was during the Global
Financial Crisis.
We are now just over a week into a third lockdown, albeit unlike
the first lockdown, industry, construction and the housing and
property markets remain open. Although it is early in the fourth
quarter, we are continuing to see growth in year-on-year prospects
and occupancy, however as we have always stated, our visibility of
future demand is limited to two to four weeks.
We remain confident of the longer-term growth prospects of our
business; the principal drivers being revenue growth from the
existing portfolio and targeted expansion focussed principally in
our core area of London and its commuter towns, where new supply
remains constrained."
For further information, please contact:
Big Yellow Group PLC 01276 477 811
Nicholas Vetch, Executive Chairman
James Gibson, Chief Executive Officer
John Trotman, Chief Financial Officer
Teneo
Ben Foster 07776 240 806
Matthew Denham 07825 735 596
Notes to Editors
Big Yellow is the UK's brand leader in self storage. Big Yellow
now operates from a platform of 103 stores, including 25 stores
branded as Armadillo Self Storage, in which the Group has a 20%
interest. We own a further 12 Big Yellow self storage development
sites, of which eight have planning consent. The current maximum
lettable area of the existing platform (including Armadillo) is 6.0
million sq ft. When fully built out the portfolio will provide
approximately 6.8 million sq ft of flexible storage space. Of the
Big Yellow stores and sites, 98% by value are held freehold and
long leasehold, with the remaining 2% short leasehold.
The Group has pioneered the development of the latest generation
of self storage facilities, which utilise state of the art
technology and are located in high profile, accessible, main road
locations. Our focus on the location and visibility of our Big
Yellow stores, coupled with our excellent customer service and our
market leading online platform, has created the most recognised
brand name in the UK self storage industry.
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END
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