U.K. self-storage company Lok'nStore Group PLC has released its pre-close financial report for the second half of its 2014 fiscal year, which will end July 31. The company followed up a strong first half with continued growth, reporting self-storage revenue is on target for a 10.2 percent increase compared to the second half of its 2013 fiscal year. Storage revenue was up 7.8 percent during the first six months of its 2014 fiscal year, according to a company press release.

Lok'nStore also anticipates an occupancy increase of 9.6 percent and a rent-per-square-foot gain of nearly 6.4 percent, year over year. Ancillary sales have also been robust, with the company reporting a 25 percent sales increase in boxes and packaging and a 17 percent gain in tenant insurance, according to the source.

Company officials said the strong numbers are an indication of the continued strengthening of the British economy as well as the result of steps taken to enhance operating efficiency during the recession. "Trading this year has been very strong, with occupancy, prices, revenue and profit all moving strongly ahead,” said Andrew Jacobs, CEO. “Looking at our development pipeline, our new flagship store in Maidenhead, [England], opened in December, and early trading has been robust, quickly reaching profitability."

The company has four self-storage facilities under development in Aldershot, Bristol, Reading and Southampton, England, that are scheduled to open in the next 18 months. The Reading location is expected to open in October, Jacobs said.

Lok’nStore builds, buys or leases large warehouses or industrial buildings and rents storage units to customers on a weekly basis. Around 60 percent of the company's 7,000 customers are residential and 40 percent are commercial. Lok’nStore has more than 920,000 square feet of net rentable space, which is evenly split between freehold and leasehold.

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