11th Jul 2007 07:00
Big Yellow Group PLC11 July 2007 11 July 2007 Big Yellow Group PLC ("Big Yellow" or "the Company") Interim Management Statement The Board of Big Yellow Group PLC, the FTSE 250 self storage company, is pleasedto provide the following update on trading for the quarter ending 30 June 2007.In addition, Big Yellow Group is holding its Annual General Meeting today at10.00 am. Quarterly highlights • Revenue for the quarter was £13.5 million - Up 16% from £11.6 million for the same quarter last year - Up 6% from £12.7 million (*) for the quarter to 31 March 2007 • Annualised revenue (**) at 30 June was £55.3 million - Up 16% from £47.6 million at the same time last year - Up 9% from £50.9 million at 31 March 2007 • 1,931,000 sq ft occupied at the quarter end, 96,000 sq ft added in the quarter (up 41% from 68,000 sq ft last year) - Up 11% from 1,740,000 sq ft at the same time last year - Up 5%, from 1,835,000 sq ft occupied at 31 March 2007 • Rent increases in May were 4.2% on average across the portfolio Store update We have opened one new centre in the quarter, a 70,000 sq ft store in Sutton. During the quarter we closed the 25,000 sq ft Sheen store (an existing centreacquired from Nationwide Self Storage in June 2005) in preparation for redevelopment into a larger 60,000 sq ft store. Demolition has now started and we expect the store to reopen in Summer 2008. As a result there will be a reduction in revenue in the current year of approximately £0.4 million. We now have 43 stores open with a total self storage capacity of 2.6 m sq ft. Since announcing our year end results in May, we have acquired four new freeholdsites (Gypsy Corner and New Cross in London, Edinburgh and Sheffield) bringing the total number of sites acquired in the current financial year to seven: +---------------------+---------------------------+-----------------------+ |Location |Estimated net lettable area| Estimated opening date| +---------------------+---------------------------+-----------------------+ |Reading | 60,000 sq ft| Spring 2009| +---------------------+---------------------------+-----------------------+ |Birmingham | 60,000 sq ft| Spring 2009| +---------------------+---------------------------+-----------------------+ |Camberley | 65,000 sq ft| Summer 2009| +---------------------+---------------------------+-----------------------+ |Sheffield Queens Road| 60,000 sq ft| Summer 2009| +---------------------+---------------------------+-----------------------+ |Gypsy Corner, London | 80,000 sq ft| Autumn 2009| +---------------------+---------------------------+-----------------------+ |Edinburgh | 60,000 sq ft| Spring/Summer 2009| +---------------------+---------------------------+-----------------------+ |New Cross, London | 60,000 sq ft| Winter 2009| +---------------------+---------------------------+-----------------------+ |Total | 445,000 sq ft| | +---------------------+---------------------------+-----------------------+ The number of stores open and sites in planning or under development now total 70. Of the 27 sites in development, six have planning permission and are being constructed, with a further six applications submitted, which we expect to proceedto planning committee in the next three months. We expect to submit a further five planning applications within the next eight weeks, with the remainder, including the four sites more recently acquired, being submitted by the end of the current financial year. One site remains the subject of an appeal for whichwe are awaiting a date for the hearing. At our site in Water Street, Manchester, we have entered into a conditional agreement with Crosby Lend Lease for the sale of the site, subject to planning and other conditions. Subject to satisfaction of the conditions, Crosby Homes will develop a substantial mixed use development on the five acre site in the heart of Manchester, incorporating residential, offices and retail and a fully constructed, but not fitted out 80,000 net sq ft self storage centre for Big Yellow, held under a long lease. It is anticipated that a detailed planning application will be submitted towards the end of this year. The balance sheet continues to remain conservative with net debt of £200.9 millionat 30 June 2007. The ratio based on net debt to gross property assets based on the 31 March 2007 valuations is 29%, with 12 month rolling net operating incomecover of 2.4 times interest. The Company has available bank facilities of £275 million. James Gibson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We have enjoyed strong trading in the first quarter of our financial year wherewe are seeing the benefits of our new, award winning marketing campaign, led by a new TV advert, which was launched in mid April. "We continue to focus on acquiring high quality prominent freehold sites and we are pleased with the progress so far this year in building our development pipeline, with seven properties already acquired. A key objective remains to secure the remaining planning permissions for the new store pipeline." * Revenue excludes £1.2m surrender premium received March 2007** Based on revenue at the end of the period in respect of storage and other related income only For further information, please contact: Big Yellow Group PLC 01276 477 811Nicholas Vetch, ChairmanJames Gibson, Chief Executive Officer Weber Shandwick Financial 020 7067 0700Louise Robson/ John Moriarty/ Charlie Hooper Notes to EditorsBig Yellow Group PLC is one of the leading and most dynamic self-storage groupsin the UK. It was founded in 1998 by Nicholas Vetch, Philip Burks and JamesGibson and listed on AIM in May 2000, moving to the Official List of the LondonStock Exchange in 2002. Big Yellow has expanded rapidly and now operates from 43 stores in London andthe South, and one in Leeds, with a further 27 stores in development and of the70, 58 are held freehold and three long leasehold. All the stores have thedistinct yellow branding, in accessible main road locations, with the majoritybeing within the M25 or in strong urban conurbations. When fully built out theportfolio will provide approximately 4.4 million sq ft of flexible storagespace. The Group has pioneered the development of the latest generation of self-storagefacilities, which utilise state of the art technology and are located in highprofile, main road locations. Its focus on the location and visibility of itsbuildings, coupled with excellent customer service, has created the mostrecognised brand name in the UK self-storage industry. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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