Storage firm Big Yellow suffers drop in occupancy due to UK coronavirus lockdown
Storage provider Big Yellow suffered a drop in occupancy after the coronavirus lockdown was announced as customers rushed to collect their belongings.
There was a spike in activity after the government imposed coronavirus lockdown measures, with a net overall occupancy loss of 23,000 sq ft in the final two weeks of March, compared to a 25,000 sq ft increase the previous year.
Between 1 April and 15 April Big Yellow reported loss of occupancy of 32,000 sq ft compared to a loss for the same period last year of 12,000 sq ft.
The business has headroom of cash and undrawn bank facilities of £76m.
Chief executive James Gibson said: “Our investment in our digital platform in the last decade and our stores which allow automated access to existing customers, has enabled us to amend our operating practices to continue to provide secure storage services in this lockdown environment.”
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He added: “Given the levels of distress in the economy it is not possible to make accurate judgements about future trading until we have improved visibility. We are self-evidently not immune from this very challenging environment, however, we believe our business model will provide the Group with a good deal of resilience.”
Big Yellow’s year-on-year revenue growth for April to date is 2.6 per cent. In the quarter ended 31 March, revenue was up 3.8 per cent, the company said this morning.
Construction on new Big Yellow sites in Battersea and Camberwell has been paused during the lockdown, while limited fit-out work is continuing at its site in Bracknell.