Safestore (SAFE) Trading Update summary

Trading performance and financial highlights

• Q4 2024 group revenue grew 1.8% year-on-year at constant exchange rates, excluding insurance premium tax, with full-year revenue up 1.1% on the same basis.

• Like-for-like group revenue returned to growth in Q4, up 0.7% at CER, with closing occupancy at 78.8%, broadly in line with the prior year.

• UK trading improved, driven by domestic customer demand, with occupied space up 4.3% year-on-year, offset by softer business customer demand.

• Expansion markets (Spain, Netherlands, Belgium) delivered 29.0% total revenue growth for FY 2024, with 12.9% like-for-like growth and strong contributions from new stores.

• Diluted EPRA Earnings per Share for the full year are expected to be broadly in line with consensus forecasts.

Operational developments and expansion

• Seven new stores and extensions added 386,000 sq ft of MLA in FY 2024, representing 5% of the starting portfolio.

• Development pipeline includes 31 projects expected to add 1.6 million sq ft (19% of portfolio MLA) in FY 2025 and beyond.

• Acquisitions in Q4 included a 19,800 sq ft property in Chelsea, London, and freeholds in Manchester and Paris.

• Store partitioning in the UK aims to shift the domestic/business customer mix closer to the group average, targeting smaller units for domestic customers.

• As of 26 November 2024, Safestore operates 203 stores across the UK, Paris, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, and a JV in Germany.

Regional performance insights

• UK like-for-like revenue was flat in Q4, with domestic customer occupancy up but business customer space down 6% year-on-year.

• Paris saw 1.4% like-for-like revenue growth in Q4, driven by higher rental rates but offset by a 2ppt decline in occupancy.

• Spain achieved 3.7% like-for-like revenue growth in Q4, Netherlands 10.3%, and Belgium 22.2%, all benefiting from improved rates and/or occupancy.

• New store openings in expansion markets, especially Spain, contributed €3.2m in additional revenue for the year.

• The group now operates 15 stores in Spain, 14 in the Netherlands, and 6 in Belgium, a 25% increase from 2023.