The reason, says Gavin Lucas, MD of SASSI, is quite simple:  middle class South Africans have become some of the most acquisitive people in the world today and are among the most reluctant to discard or sell off equipment and furniture, even when they are used very little.  As a result they need extra storage space, especially if they live in one of today’s typically chic but spatially limited urban fringe sectional title apartment blocks

The need for extra space can, said Lucas, be exacerbated by the average South African’s many sporting pursuits:  some, he said, have an impressive list of sporting equipment including bicycles, surfboards, aqualungs, kayaks, rubber ducks, canoes, rackets, bats, golf clubs and the rest.  Again, there is, he says, often a reluctance to part with these goods.

Domestic users in general occupy some 65 to 70% of SASSI’s space (the ratio varies depending on the site of the project).  The remainder is always taken up by commercial and industrial hirers and/or owners.  Such people, says Lucas, may need space for document storage or to accommodate fluctuating stock levels.  Those in the building sector frequently need to store goods temporarily before they are installed.  The availability of such temporary space for many businesses, says Lucas, can genuinely be a lifeline.

This year SASSI has brought an extra 470 units to the West Rand (where the full project will be completed by June 2010), 300 units to Sea Point, Cape Town and a further 420 units to a massive store in Tokai. 

Plans for 2010/2011 include new stores in Johannesburg, Durban, Bloemfontein, East London and Port Elizabeth. 

The company’s primary development model, says Lucas, is based on that of a sectional title scheme.  It enables investors both large and small to participate by co-owning individual sectional title units within each of the stores developed.  The investors partner as co-owners of the facility developed, with a minimum investment of just R52,500.

“To date, the model has proved to be very successful,” says Lucas, “as it allows people to enter the commercial property market with a low value buy-in, in which their investment is fully managed and has no time constraints – they can sell when they wish to.  Each unit has a rental pool, which is, in turn, managed by SASSI’s management company and brand, Stor-Age Self Storage. Cash yields are particularly good, the projected yields for the new West Rand store, for example, being 13%.

“One of the secrets of success in schemes of this kind,” added Lucas, “is to keep them meticulously neat, clean, well lit and secure.  We have dedicated staff on site 24 hours a day and we strictly control the entrance and exit.  CCTV surveillance is in operation throughout the entire scheme and is complemented by lighting that comes on as soon as a person enters an area.  This means that hirers can safely access the units at any time of the day or night.”

Nevertheless, like all investments or trends, the market can only absorb a finite amount of supply and it remains to be seen how long this storage market has to go before reaching some form of saturation.