TIDMSAFE
RNS Number : 4940I
Safestore Holdings plc
02 April 2020
2 April 2020
Safestore Holdings plc
("Safestore", "the Company" or "the Group")
Update on Covid-19
Further to the Company's announcement on 18 March 2020,
Safestore provides the following update.
At Safestore, the health and well-being of our customers and
colleagues is our absolute priority. Following governments' recent
announcements regarding restrictions of movement, we have
implemented strict safeguarding measures across our portfolio, in
line with government guidance in each geography, to maintain social
distancing and ensure we can operate safely, protect our staff, and
allow necessary access for our customers.
All our stores in the UK, Paris, Barcelona and the Netherlands
are currently open or accessible but the reception areas are
closed, the staffing and opening hours have been reduced and we
have removed the provision of services that involve
person-to-person contact. Access to our stores is largely automated
and, in general, the premises have relatively low footfall. We are
supporting our employees with alternative means of transport to
work where public transport continues to be a challenge.
The process for new enquiries remains unchanged with customers
able to enquire via our website or phone, and we have adjusted the
new let process so that ID checks will now take place
electronically. In addition, we have intensified the daily cleaning
levels of our stores, especially commonly touched areas.
It is our intention to continue to pay all our employees'
salaries as usual throughout the crisis.
In line with UK Government guidance relating to storage and
points of delivery facilities, our UK stores remain open as they
provide important support to small business customers and companies
engaged in key supply chains including healthcare, food industry
suppliers and infrastructure support such as electrical and
mechanical repair providers.
While COVID-19 continues to create uncertainty, we are
monitoring developments daily to ensure we adhere to government
advice in each of our geographies and continue to ensure the safety
of our staff and customers.
Trading and operational update
Since the Company's AGM and update on 18 March 2020, the Group's
key trading performance indicators continue to see a relatively
limited impact with 4.92 million square feet of occupied space
across the portfolio, a reduction of 0.8% since our first quarter
ended on 31 January 2020.
Gearing and capital structure
Following shareholder approval at the Company's Annual General
Meeting on 18 March 2020, the Company confirms the final dividend
of 12.0 pence per share will be paid to shareholders on the
register at close of business on 6 March 2020 on 9 April 2020.
Safestore is well-capitalised with a strong balance sheet. After
payment of the 2019 final dividend, the Company will have undrawn
debt facilities of c. GBP151million. None of the facilities are due
for renewal before June 2023 and the average cost of debt of the
Group is 2.3%. The Group Loan to Value ratio will be c. 32% after
the dividend payment and the Interest Cover Ratio is c. 8.8x.
Capital Projects
During the financial year to date, Safestore has opened a 40,000
square feet freehold store at Carshalton and a 38,000 square feet
long leasehold (130 years) store in Gateshead. Building works
relating to the scheduled openings for the remainder of the year in
Sheffield (April 2020) and Paris Magenta (December 2020) have been
paused in the interests of the safety of staff and site
contractors. The remaining capital expenditure relating to the
outstanding 2020 pipeline projects is c. GBP12m and the projects
will resume when further clarity on the COVID-19 situation
allows.
Hedging
Given the recent volatility in the Sterling:Euro exchange rate,
the Group has taken out average rate FX forward contracts to hedge
the majority of the Group's exposure to the translation of Euro
denominated earnings for the next three years. The value of the
contracts are EUR6.5m for the second half of the 2020 financial
year, EUR14.5m and EUR16m for the 2021 and 2022 financial years
respectively and EUR8.5m for the first half of the 2023 financial
year. These contracts have the effect of fixing the rate at which
the majority of the Euro earnings are translated at a rate of
EUR1.0751 to GBP1.
The Board continues to monitor the rapidly evolving COVID-19
situation closely and the Company will continue to update the
market as appropriate.
For further information, please contact:
Safestore Holdings plc
Frederic Vecchiolli - Chief Executive Officer
Andy Jones - Chief Financial Officer
www.safestore.com 020 8732 1500
Instinctif Partners
Guy Scarborough
Catherine Wickman 020 7457 2020
Notes to editors:
-- Safestore is the UK's largest self-storage group with 158
stores, comprising 126 wholly owned stores in the UK (including 71
in London and the South East with the remainder in key metropolitan
areas such as Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow,
Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol). In Paris, the Group has 28
wholly owned stores and recently acquired 4 stores in Barcelona. In
addition, the Group operates 6 stores in the Netherlands under a
joint venture agreement with Carlyle.
-- Safestore operates more self-storage sites inside the M25 and
in central Paris than any competitor providing more proximity to
customers in the wealthiest and densest UK and French markets.
-- Safestore was founded in the UK in 1998. It acquired the
French business "Une Pièce en Plus" ("UPP") in 2004 which was
founded in 1998 by the current Safestore Group CEO Frederic
Vecchioli.
-- Safestore has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since
2007. It entered the FTSE 250 index in October 2015.
-- The Group provides storage to around 76,000 personal and
business customers in the UK, Paris, Barcelona and the
Netherlands.
-- As at 31 January 2020, Safestore had a maximum lettable area
("MLA") of 6.71 million sq ft (excluding the expansion pipeline
stores) of which 4.96 million sq ft was occupied.
-- Safestore employs around 680 people in the UK, Paris and Barcelona.
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END
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