With demand rising faster than supply, it may pay to assist households to look after their ‘stuff’

Self storage is a growing £540 million market in the UK and can offer a viable diversification opportunity for farm businesses in the right location.

In 2016, UK self-storage occupancy levels rose 2% to 76%, according to the Self Storage Association (SSA), and occupancy growth indicates that demand is rising faster than supply.

Average UK rental rates rose 2% to £22.68/sq feet in 2016 with confidence particularly strong in Scotland. Factors driving rising demand for storage include greater numbers of households due to a growing population, family separation and longer life expectancy.

The level of property transactions is also important and this has picked up. People are also holding on to more ‘stuff’ than they have room for at home. This all means households are having to find somewhere to store their belongings more regularly and for longer. Storage in converted buildings dominates, but there has been a recent trend for purpose-built capacity. Farm locations with greater available space are particularly suited to standalone container facilities – either purpose-built or adapted.

Factors to consider inlude: Location – proximity to urban centres is essential, with 70% of self-storage users living within 20 minutes and roadside visibility being the main driver of store awareness, according to the SSA

Buildings and planning – can you refurbish and adapt existing buildings or would off-the-shelf design and build be better? Much will depend on planning permission and whether change of use can be obtained for existing buildings or if new build would be permitted. Mobile structures may be quicker to erect given that all that is needed is an area of hard standing for ready-made units to be unloaded and used straight away

Security and insurance – security is paramount and considerable expense may be required for fencing, CCTV, alarms and security coded locks. Comprehensive insurance is essential, adding costs

Labour and servicing: the more accessible the containers, the greater the demand, particularly at weekends and after hours. For small sites this can place a burden on staff availability. Combining self storage with other enterprises such as a farm shop or a horse livery where staff are in attendance much of the time anyway eases the cost and inconvenience. Alternatively, electronic locks and customer codes can enable out-of-hours access.

Rates: as a change of use away from agriculture, the site will be subject to business rates.

Viability: the costs of building and operating the site must be balanced against the likely level of use and charges. Maximising occupancy is a key determinant of profitability.

In summary, do your research and fully understand the costs, returns and commitments involved. Be confident that self storage will add to and not detract from your other farming or diversification activities.