History of the Industry

Self Storage facilities first appeared in the United States of America in the 1960’s and since that time the industry has grown to account for nearly 53,000 facilities across the country.

Self Storage did not arrive in the United Kingdom until the early 1980s, initially in the London area, but today there are more than 750 facilities found across the country.  The industry continues to grow steadily in the UK and for the last five years has recorded growth rates of between 8% and 15%, fuelled by the growth of multi-site operators as well as smaller businesses looking to diversify into the sector. 

There are a number of reasons why both consumers and businesses are increasingly turning to self storage, but the primary reasons remain social factors such as moving home, marriage, divorce, retirement and for businesses self storage proves useful for a number of reasons including; storing archives, stock or office equipment.  In addition to this, public awareness of the industry (often because of the high visibility centres found on major arterial roads around most of the country’s leading cities and towns) has also contributed to its growth.

All interested parties are welcomed by the Association and it is expected that the business will continue to go from strength to strength in the coming years.