Self storage facilities first appeared in the United States in the 1960’s and since that time the industry has grown to account for nearly 53,000 facilities across the country.
Self storage arrived in Europe early in 1980. There are approximately 4,290 self storage facilities across Europe providing over 9.9 million m2 of storage space.
The industry continues to grow steadily across Europe fuelled by the growth of multi-site operators as well as smaller businesses looking to diversify into the sector. The self storage industry is a resilient industry that has proven itself even in times of economic instability.
There are a number of reasons why both consumers and businesses are increasingly turning to self storage. 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 archive, stock or office equipment.
In addition to this, public awareness of the industry (often because of high visibility centres found on major arterial roads around most of the country’s leading cities and towns) has also contributed to its growth.