Storage company Big Yellow hikes its dividend after a year of surging profits
The self-storage company Big Yellow boasted strong profits today after expanding its property portfolio this year.
The company intends to up its storage space in the south east and has snapped-up prime sites in London for development, along with stores in Surrey and Kent.
Big Yellow's revenue grew 20 per cent year-on-year, up to £101.4m at the end of March from £84.3m at the same point last year.
On the back of the strong revenue performance, the company raised its full-year dividend by 15 per cent to 24.9p.
Pre-tax profits increased by seven per cent to £112.2m due to the value of its investment properties being revised upwards, adding £58m to Big Yellow's bottom line.
The group opened two new stores at Cambridge and Enfield, and plans to build a centre in Guilford. It also purchased sites in London's Kings Cross and Camberwell, which will provide a combined space of over 155,000 sq ft.
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Nicholas Vetch, executive chairman of Big Yellow, said: "We will continue to innovate, by improving our digital platform and operations to grow our market share and leverage our market leading brand.
"Our focus will remain on London and the South East and large regional cities where barriers to entry are at their highest, and supply remains very constrained."