Stor-Age has space, and scope, for even more growth
'Stor-Age is an interesting investment option with limited competition. It would perform well in economic downturns and upturns'
Stor-Age is the only specialised owner of self-storage assets listed in SA. It was formed by the Lucas family about a decade ago. The company listed its R1.3bn portfolio in November 2015.
Its listed portfolio has grown to about R2.1bn, including 31 properties. It is focused on Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein.
“Since listing, Stor-Age has outperformed the Reit sector by some 30%, conforming with the outperformance that self-storage plays have demonstrated globally,” says Chris Logan of Opportune Investments.
CEO Gavin Lucas says Stor-Age has met its prelisting goals and is on track to own 60 properties across SA’s major cities by 2020. In its most recent financial results, Stor-Age grew its dividend 10% for the year to March, following a strong trading performance across its portfolio and the acquisition of Storage RSA in February. Growth of 10% was 3.5% ahead of prospectus. “Stor-Age’s performance reflects the recession-resilient nature of our product. Demand remains strong ... The self-storage market ... is holding steady, in contrast with other property subsectors locally. It offers us a lot of scope for growth,” Lucas says.
Occupancy in the portfolio, excluding group newcomer Storage RSA, increased 4,000m² on the prior year, with a 9.4% increase in the average rental rate achieved. Stor-Age, which has a market capitalisation of R2bn, will grow as long as it can get South Africans to take up space. There are concerns that the personal storage market is relatively small in SA, b...
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