Lok'nStore is one of the leading self storage companies in the in the fast growing UK market. It has been listed on the Alternative Investment Market since June 2000, and before that was on the OFEX market since 1997.

Lok'nStore opened its first self storage centre in Horsham in February 1995 since then it has grown rapidly and currently operates from 19 sites in Southern England. 

Lok’nStore builds, buys or leases large warehouses or industrial buildings, sub-divides the space offering customers differing sized steel storage units to rent on a weekly basis. Around 60% of customers are households and 40% business customers. At present Lok’nStore has just over 920,000 square feet of net lettable space available, which is evenly split between freehold and leasehold.

Lok’nStore’s self-storage facilities are designed to offer flexible, low cost, accessible storage space for personal and business use. Customers occupy fully enclosed storage units for their exclusive use, may freely enter their storage units during business hours and control access by providing their own locks.

Lok’nStore has 24-hour security systems at all of its sites and also offers free use of trolleys and forklift trucks with qualified operators. Lok’nStore aims to give its customers a high degree of service as part of its offering. Lok’nStore’s centres are fitted out to a good standard and maintain a common design and branding. They are well located, close to major urban centres, with car parking and easy access.

As well as its core self-storage business, Lok’nStore offers its customers a number of additional services such as insurance and vehicle rental and it also sells boxes and other packaging. Lok’nStore has over 7000 customers, none of whom accounts for more than one per cent. of Lok’nStore’s turnover.

Relationships with local removal companies, van hire and “man-with-a-van” have been established at all of Lok’nStore’s sites in order to promote business.

Feb 1995     1st centre in Horsham

Apr 1997     Shares started trading on ofex at 38p, raising £1.1m

Mar 1998     2,556,265 shares issued at 60p raising £1.5m

Nov 1999     Agreement with access storage – 29% stake for £4.77m

Jun 2000     Shares admitted to AIM at £1.75

Nov 2001     Access stake placed with institutional investors

Jul   2002     £10 million placing & open offer; 6.8m shares at 155p

Apr 2004       Lok’nStore buys back 3.2m shares at 112p per share

Feb 2006       Opens first purpose built store and new head office at Farnborough

• Adjusted NAV £2.70 – up 26.5% (based on 31 July 2007 valuations) (2006: £2.13)

• Turnover £10.67 million – up 19.2% (2006: £8.95 million) (+22% excluding Kingston and Woking)

• Group EBITDA before exceptional items £2.63 million – up 65.7% (2006: £1.59 million)

• Operating profit £1.55 million – up 125.4% (2006: £686,031)

• Exceptional profit – £10.23 million from sale of Kingston and Woking stores

• New banking facility of£40 million

• Maiden dividend proposed

• Property valuation £80.1 million – up 20.3% (2006: £66.6 million)

• Total estate 1.1 million sq ft* of which 63% held freehold

• Embedded value of estate£3.57 per share

• Three new sites acquired

• Store EBITDA £4.48 million – up 45.6% (2006: £3.1 million)

• Sales growth 10.1% for established stores (>250 weeks) (2006: 9.2%)

• Overall store EBITDA margin up to 41.8% from 34.6%

• Prices for self-storage up 5.4% year-on-year

• Overall yield up 7.2% over the year Property Highlights