Lock up investment in self-storage land and business

One of the biggest self-storage businesses in the Upper South Island has been placed on the market for sale – including the land and buildings which sustain its operations.

Trading as AA Secure Storage, the secure complex in Blenheim’s southern suburb of Witherlea contains 169 individual storage units – comprising a total of 2124-sqm of floor space sitting on 5326 sqm of industrial-zoned freehold land.

Now the wedge-shaped property at 20 Woodmor Road, along with the going concern AA Secure self-storage unit business, is for sale by deadline private treaty through Bayleys Blenheim, with offers closing on December 3.

Salesperson Grant Baxter said the AA Secure Storage lockable units were tenanted by a mix of private and commercial clients.

Encircled by a 2.3-metre-high security fence, the AA Secure Storage self-storage hub comprises five rows of buildings with individual stowage facilities ranging in size from entrylevel 4.25-sqm units, and domestic garage-sized units of between 12.50 and 15.60-sqm, up to large semicommercial spaces of approximately 31-sqm.

Weekly rental rate for units starts at $24 for the smaller lock-up-andleave cells, up to $87.50 for the more spacious garages.

When fully tenanted, the Witherlea business generates annual net income of $241,967 plus GST and outgoings. Trading records show that the units have an average occupancy term of 3.95 years.

Sitting on the corner of Woodmor Road, Taylor Pass Road, and George Conroy Drive, the rectangular-shaped units are constructed of prefabricated

module steel framing with Colorsteel roofing, and feature roller doors facing inward onto a large, sealed yard with ample space between the rows for loading and unloading vehicles.

Tenant access to the AA Secure Storage self-storage units is via two gates – one off Woodmor Road and the other from Taylor Pass Road. Both security gates are operated with a card system, with additional security monitoring on each individual unit.

Baxter said the AA Secure Storage operation would attract both investors looking for a relatively hands-off business opportunity, and owner-occupiers seeking storage space for their own possessions and supplies. Four of the units have higher studs allowing for the storage of cabin boats or smaller commercial vehicles.

‘‘The current owners have engaged

the services of a part-time manager working between eight and ten hours a week - answering phone enquiries, ‘meeting and greeting’ both new and departing tenants, and undertaking primary property maintenance,’’ he said.

‘‘The location of AA Secure Storage in a suburban industrial location means tenants can access their units at any time of the day or week.’’

Baxter said self-storage has been a constantly growing industry in New Zealand over the past two decades. An AA Insurance survey found that five per cent of the Kiwis they surveyed paid for off-site storage.

‘‘For storage business owners and operators, that’s certainly a cornerstone block of tenants within the rental book which would give confidence to forecast revenues.’’