How Economic Growth Is Driving Self-Storage Industry In Asia

Self storage Bristol provides storage units for households, businesses and students for short term or long term lease. The storage units are spotlessly clean with one door and a padlock where the lessee holds the one and only key. Storage units differ in sizes so that it will suitable for the amount of stuff that will be stored. There are lockers intended for student storage and storage rooms that can accommodate a boat or an RV.

The growth of self-storage in Asia is very apparent in Hong Kong and Tokyo as well as new markets like China and Singapore. Investors are starting to be attracted by the opportunities present in Asia and Self Storage Association Asia (SSAA) is starting to receive calls from investors asking for information about the self-storage market.

In July 2013, storage operator Big Orange was acquired by StorHub for approximately $64 million. In March 2015, Hong Kong-based MiniCo Self Storage was acquired by investment group Blackstone for approximately $54 million. Self-storage demands rents that are 4 times higher than if the land was used for factories, Grade C office space and warehouses. Investors are attracted by the internal rates of return when a sub-leased underutilized space is turned into self-storage. The rates of return can range from 23% in Hong Kong to 30.4% in Singapore.

Since the self-storage sector in Asia is relatively new, they have become more than just ordinary units where stuff can be stored. MiniCo in Hong Kong owns a 25-story building where the first floor is used for leased daytime car parking and the other floors which are accessible through elevators are full of state of the art metal lockers. Storage operator Box in Tokyo is located in a residential area and customers can literally walk to the facility.

Today’s self-storage customers prefer to use technology when making a search for facilities. A 2015 study by Ipsos revealed that 71% of non-users will look for self-storage through the internet and not phone books or ads. Operators of self-storage are also becoming increasingly sophisticated and they use cutting edge software in managing their properties and tracking tenants instead of spreadsheets.