Safestore Holdings plc (LON:SAFE) has announced its results for the year ended 31 October 2025
Strong operational performance, investment in future growth and earnings at an inflection point
| 2025 | 2024 | Change(Total) | Change (CER)2 | |
| FINANCIAL METRICS | ||||
| Total Revenue (£’m) | 234.3 | 223.4 | 4.9% | 5.0% |
| LFL14 Revenue (£’m) | 228.7 | 221.9 | 3.1% | |
| Underlying EBITDAR4 (£’m) | 137.0 | 135.4 | 1.2% | 1.3% |
| Operating Profit (£’m) | 159.3 | 425.8 | (62.6%) | |
| Underlying Profit before Tax5 (£’m) | 92.9 | 97.0 | (4.2%) | |
| Statutory Profit before Tax (£’m) | 127.1 | 398.6 | (68.1%) | |
| Adjusted Diluted EPRA EPS11 (pence) | 40.3 | 42.3 | (4.7%) | |
| Dividend per share (pence) | 30.70 | 30.40 | 1.0% | |
| Balance Sheet Metrics | ||||
| EPRA Basic NTA13 per Share (pence) | 1,129 | 1,091 | 3.5% | |
| Net Assets (£’m) | 2,288.4 | 2,226.8 | 2.8% | |
| Net cash inflow from operating activities (£’m) | 99.9 | 95.9 | 4.2% | |
| Net debt (£’m) | 1,058.6 | 899.5 | 17.7% | |
| Loan to value ratio (LTV) %16 | 28.1% | 25.1% | 3.0ppt | |
| OPERATING METRICS | ||||
| Maximum Lettable Area (“MLA”)8 m sq ft | 9.3 | 8.6 | 8.0% | |
| Current Lettable Area (“CLA”)3 m sq ft | 8.5 | 8.2 | 3.9% | |
| Closing Occupancy7 (% of CLA) | 78.1% | 78.0% | 0.1ppt | |
| LFL Closing Occupancy (% CLA) | 81.2% | 80.0% | 1.2ppt | |
| Group REVPAF10 (£ / sq ft) | 27.47 | 27.77 | (1.1%) | (1.0%) |
| LFL REVPAF (£ / sq ft) | 28.93 | 28.12 | 2.9% |
HIGHLIGHTS
Financial and operational progress
· Group revenue at constant exchange rates (CER) up 5.0% to £234.3 million, with 3.1% LFL growth; positive LFL growth across all geographies and increasing contribution from non-LFL stores:
– UK revenue +3.3% improved through the year reaching £167.5 million, with increasing domestic occupancy, unit partitioning and higher average storage rates9 driving LFL growth of 2.4%
– Paris revenue of €52.6 million +2.5% reflects solid LFL growth of 1.3% with increasing occupancy and flat average rates
– Expansion Markets15 total revenue of €26.2 million +27.0%; strong growth in LFL (+13.5%) and non-LFL stores; Spain, Netherlands and Belgium all performed well;
· Underlying store EBITDAR increased by 3.1% to £155.9 million; inflationary cost pressures were partially offset by internal efficiencies, resulting in LFL cost of sales increase of 4.4%, broadly in line with sales and below the previously guided rise of 7-8%
· Underlying EBITDAR was £137.0 million, up 1.2%, lower growth than store EBITDAR growth due to higher administrative costs
· Operating profit down 62.6% to £159.3 million due to lower property revaluation gains of £23.1 million in FY 2025 (FY 2024: £292.2 million)
· Underlying net finance costs increased by £5.0 million to £26.4 million due to increased borrowings to support the store expansion programme
· Underlying profit before tax of £92.9 million declined by 4.2% reflecting the higher interest charge. The resulting Adjusted Diluted EPRA EPS was 40.3p, in line with consensus estimates. Statutory profit before tax of £127.1 million and Basic EPS of 50.9 pence declined 68.1% and 70.1% respectively, as a result of lower fair value gains on investment properties than in FY 2024
· Dividend per share of 30.70p, up 1%, underpinned by robust cash flow from operating activities, in line with progressive dividend policy and reflecting confidence in future prospects
· Balance sheet remained strong with £2.3 billion of net assets growing 2.8% in the year. LTV ratio of 28.1% and interest cover ratio (“ICR”)17 of 4.0x; capital structure underpinned by investment property valuation of £3.5 billion
Strategy on track, with pipeline being executed as planned
· Continued focus on REVPAF to optimise trading in our existing store portfolio where we see significant potential to drive further EBITDA growth from both LFL and non-LFL stores. Recently opened (non-LFL) stores on track to meet 10% yield on cost18 hurdle, with stores opened 2016-2021 achieving between 10%-20%
· £80 million investment in store development resulted in MLA growing by a further 8% or 0.7 million sq ft to 9.3 million sq ft in FY 2025, with the addition of 13 new stores and 1 extension, representing the largest organic space increase in our recent history. In total since FY 2023 we have added 1.5 million sq ft, a 19% uplift to MLA
· £38.9 million investment in Italy through a new 50:50 joint venture with Nuveen established in December 2024 with stores performing in line with expectations
· Further enhancement of our technology-led operating model that combines centralised efficiency and local expertise with accelerated AI integration across marketing, pricing, and sales to optimise revenue performance
· We continue to make good progress towards our target of operational net zero with a 22% reduction in emissions intensity to 0.64 kgCO2e/ m2
Outlook and guidance
· Q1 trading to date has shown a continuation of the trend in LFL growth from FY 2025 across all our markets
· FY 2026 outlook: cautiously optimistic with a return to earnings growth
o Underlying LFL cost of sales growth expected to be 3%-6%
o Underlying net finance costs projected to increase by £1-£2 million
o Capital expenditure on new stores of £86 million
o 417k sq ft of additional MLA with a further 678k sq ft MLA in FY 2027 and beyond.
· On track to deliver the £35-£40 million of incremental EBITDA from non-LFL stores and pipeline on stabilisation
Frederic Vecchioli, Safestore’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“Safestore’s performance in FY 2025 reflects strong operational execution and investment in future growth. I want to thank our teams across the business for their hard work and commitment throughout the year. We continued to drive REVPAF and optimise trading across the like-for-like estate, which remains a key engine of profit growth for the Group. We also demonstrated good cost control, and this continues to be a focus. The dividend was up 1%, an important part of the total return for our shareholders.
Our new and recently opened stores are performing well across the portfolio, and, together with the development pipeline of a further 20 stores, are expected to contribute an additional £35-£40 million of EBITDA to the Group upon stabilisation.
We have entered the new financial year with confidence, and on the back of solid trading in the first quarter to date. Safestore is now at an inflection point, where the significant investment we have made in MLA expansion is driving revenue growth and is set to translate into meaningful growth in earnings and long term value creation.”
