Rising demand for storage space sees The Store Room expand

The economic recovery means that more entrepreneurs are becoming upwardly mobile, which is boosting the fortunes of storage firms.

The Store Room has completed a major expansion of its self storage facility in Leeds, following a big rise in demand for household and business storage space in the second half of 2013.

As a result, the company’s facility on the Leeds Ring Road was left close to capacity.

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The company’s total investment at the Leeds branch is in the region of £200,000. It follows The Store Room’s expansion programme at its Leicester site, where 10,000 sq ft of new space has also been added within the last few weeks.

The new storage area in Leeds includes a range of rooms from 25 sq ft up to 1,000 sq ft.

The £2m turnover company had around 150 rooms at its Leeds base, and has added an extra 60.

The company expects the smaller rooms to be taken by householders who need storage while moving or renovating. The larger units are generally taken by business clients who use the space for equipment, stock, tools, or as a workshop.

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Jeremy Bradburn, The Store Room’s managing director, said there was an urgent need for more space at its Leeds facility.

Mr Bradburn said: “We found ourselves short of space in 2013 and we added more rooms in January of this year.

“The local economy has definitely picked up since August 2013 with local businesses and people moving house being the main growth areas. Our enquiries and customer numbers are up significantly year on year, which shows us that the local Leeds economy is starting to pick up, and this gives us great confidence for the months ahead.”

A spokesman said the Leeds operation went from 60 to 70 per cent capacity, to more than 95 per cent capacity, towards the end of last year. The Leeds site now employs two full-time staff.

The Store Room has branches in Bradford, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Preston and Rotherham.