Big Yellow Group (LSE:BYG), the UK's brand leader in self storage, said total revenue for the quarter ended 30 June rose 3% to £53.2 million from £51.5 million a year earlier.
Like-for-like store revenue, which strips out four stores opened in the past 12 months, increased 2% to £52.2 million.
Occupancy across all 113 stores grew by 161,000 square feet in the quarter, more than three times the 47,000 square foot gain in the same period last year.
Like-for-like closing occupancy rose 2.2 percentage points to 79.2% from 31 March, though it remains 0.2 percentage points below the year-earlier level.
Closing net achieved rent per square foot reached £36.45, up 2% year-on-year, with average rate up 3%.
The group expects like-for-like store operating costs to rise 4% in the first half before easing in the second, delivering a full-year increase of 3%, as automation and energy efficiency savings partly offset higher property rates following the 2026 Rating Revaluation.
Big Yellow acquired a freehold site in Acton, London during the quarter, taking its development pipeline to 12 stores, six of which are on site and expected to add roughly 356,000 square feet of capacity.
Proceeds from the £38.4 million sale of its Harrow industrial estate in June will help fund the pipeline, which the company said is expected to generate £35 million of net operating income on a proforma basis, a 16.5% return on its £212 million cost to complete.
"We have delivered a resilient performance in the first quarter, despite the challenges in the wider operating environment," said chief executive Jim Gibson, adding that fiscal and budgetary uncertainty is unlikely to clarify until the autumn.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Big Yellow delivered 3% revenue growth to £53.2m in Q1 with occupancy expansion accelerating sharply—161,000 sq ft gained versus 47,000 sq ft a year prior—though like-for-like occupancy remains marginally below prior year at 79.2%. The company is funding a 12-store pipeline (£212m to complete, targeting 16.5% returns) with proceeds from its £38.4m Harrow estate sale, but management flagged fiscal uncertainty persisting until autumn, tempering near-term visibility.
Occupancy momentum and pricing power (average rates +3%) offset modest like-for-like revenue growth, but the pipeline's return profile and £38.4m Harrow proceeds provide a medium-term growth lever. Cost inflation (4% H1, 3% full-year) and macro caution limit upside surprise in the near term.
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eToro notes sentiment headwinds
eToro analyst Mark Crouch described it as a resilient quarter with 3% revenue growth, firmer rental rates and materially stronger occupancy momentum.
Yet, he noted investor sentiment remains subdued amid higher interest rates and UK property valuation concerns.
The analyst, in a note, highlighted management's use of capital recycling to fund new stores alongside investments in automation and energy-efficiency as factors to underpin the group's long-term growth profile.
He flagged, meanwhile, that if inflation and borrowing costs begin to ease, sentiment could pivot and market focus may shift back to the operational progress outlined in the update.
