FEDESSA 2021; state of affairs in the self storage world

The tenth FEDESSA report again contains a wealth of interesting information for entrepreneurs and investors. The report was produced with the participation of more than 100 entrepreneurs from 18 European countries.

Some of the key findings from the report:

• It is estimated that by 2021 there were 5,173 self storage facilities on the market in Europe with a combined capacity of 11 million m2.
• The largest ten operators (Shurgard, Homebox, Safestore largest 3) in Europe represent 18% of the number of self storage sites and 37% of the available self storage capacity.
• The six main FEDESSA member countries (En, Fr, Spa, Ned, Dui, Zwe) host 78% of all self storage sites.
• The average rent in Europe is €268.74 per square meter per year, up 7% from last year.
• The average occupancy rate in Europe rose from 79.8% to 81.5%.
• Almost half of the facilities had an occupancy rate above 85%.
• The percentage of rent arrears of more than 30 days fell from 8.7% in 2020 to just 3.7%, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Operators remain optimistic about their prospects, with 86% of those surveyed expecting to make more profit in 2022 and 72% expecting higher occupancy rates.
• Construction is underway on 104 new sites, 53 are still in the planning stages.
• The number of employees per branch continues to decline. There is now an average of 1.34 full-time employees per facility, compared to 1.77 in 2015. 7% of locations are now completely unmanned.

Download the full FEDESSA report here (opens in new tab).