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Stor-Age reports strong growth in 2025 driven by gains in occupancy and rental rates
Stor-Age Property REIT, the largest self-storage company in South Africa, continued to deliver a strong performance in the year ended March 31, 2025.
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Stor-Age Property REIT, the largest self-storage company in South Africa, continued to deliver a strong performance in the year ended March 31, 2025 driven by gains in occupancy and rental rates, lifting distributable income per share by 4.1% and a dividend of 53.56c was declared.
Rental income and net property operating income increased by 8.3% and 8.0%, respectively. Same-store rental income increased 10.2% in South Africa SA and by 6.5% in the UK. Net property operating income up 11.1% SA and 5.0% UK.
Closing occupancy was 91.8% higher in South Africa up 94.0%and the UK 83.9%.
The investment property value was up 6.0% to R12 billion. The number of trading properties increased from 99 to 108, with the total portfolio including developments now exceeding 700 000m² gross leasable area. The loan-to-value ratio was at 31.3% and 84.2% of net debt was subject to interest rate hedging
"In 2015 we brought to market a highly specialised self storage REIT, the first self storage REIT to be listed on an emerging market exchange globally and the first, and still only, of the real estate 'alternatives' to be listed on the JSE," Stor-Age CEO Gavin Lucas said. "After a decade of consistent performance, we are pleased to have delivered another strong set of trading results, driven by gains in occupancy and rental rates. While continuing to maintain a conservative balance sheet, we've also grown the number of trading properties in our portfolio from 99 to 108."
Stor-Age said over the past two years, the company has completed 12 new developments, six each in South Africa and the UK. Each of these developments were completed in joint venture (JV) structures, where Stor-Age partners with institutional or private equity capital, enabling the Company to acquire, develop, operate and manage assets across multiple locations.
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In 2025 Stor-Age opened two new developments in South Africa, one in Century City in Cape Town and another in Kramerville in Johannesburg, and one development in the UK, located in Leyton in East London. In addition, the company added four new third-party managed properties in the UK and acquired an existing operator in South Africa, Extra Attic, located near Cape Town Airport.
Post year-end, in June 2025 Stor-Age opened a new £25 million (R604.4m) property in Acton, West London in its JV with Moorfield. In addition, following Stor-Age entering into a third-party management agreement with Hines earlier in the year to manage the acquisition of a three-property portfolio in the UK, the two companies have now also partnered on five additional development projects. Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment manager overseeing $90 billion (R1.6 trillion) in assets across multiple property sectors. Stor-Age's development pipeline at year-end consisted of 18 active projects at various stages of planning and completion, amounting to over 83 000m² GLA (Gross Leasable Area).
Lucas said, 'We continue to evaluate new on-balance sheet developments, including extensions to existing properties, and also exploring opportunities to continue partnering with institutional and private equity capital. These partnerships may take the form of joint ventures or sit within our third-party management platform, which enables us to generate additional revenue with minimal capital outlay. This flexible approach has proven successful in the UK where the portfolio has expanded from 26 properties two years ago to 45 today.'
Lucas said over the past decade Stor-Age has consistently demonstrated its resilience and the ability to deliver robust financial and operational performance despite encountering challenging macroeconomic headwinds in both markets.
"We will continue to deploy capital strategically, adding quality and scale to our high-quality portfolio on a select basis and in line with our strict investment criteria," he said.
Looking ahead, Lucas said in South Africa, an improved inflation outlook, a stabilising political climate and recent interest rate cuts have created a favourable environment for further growth. Stor-Age expects the UK self storage sector to remain resilient, with moderate revenue growth supported by operational efficiencies.
