How much do different firms charge for self storage in South London?

For an experiment, Storage.co.uk decided to investigate how much different firms charge for self storage in the same area of South London.

This area is home to most of the major national self storage chains – including Access, Big Yellow, Shurguard and Safestore. An independent self storage company from the same area was included in our study to provide a comparison.

We wanted to know how much they would charge to rent a 40 sq ft unit for 3 months, including any special offers and ancillary costs. These were the very interesting results:

Access Self Storage – West Norwood and Acre Lane sites

Grand total: £280 for 3 months (45 sq ft unit at West Norwood site)

As Access Self Storage has two branches in the test area (West Norwood and Acre Lane), they were both included to help provide a comparison.

Access couldn’t offer a 40 sq ft unit at either site, so prices were obtained for 45 sq ft and 55 sq ft units instead.

At their West Norwood branch Access gave a quote for a 45 sq ft unit of 1p for the first month as an introductory offer, followed by £130 per month thereafter. Customers were also required to purchase insurance from the company if they wanted to store there, which was quoted at £10 per month.

The 55 sq ft unit cost £15 per month more, giving a 3-month cost of £330. Interestingly, the 45 sq ft unit at their Acre Lane site was £159 per month, meaning it was £29 more expensive for exactly the same size of unit (suggesting this branch has fewer units to spare).

Big Yellow – West Norwood site

Grand total: £332 for 3 months (40 sq ft unit)

Unlike the branch of Access Self Storage which is located nearby, Big Yellow’s West Norwood self storage facility didn’t offer the first month for 1p. The absence of special offers meant that they charged the full price in all three months, which, when added to the quote of £10 per month for insurance, resulted in the relatively high total of £332.

They quoted for a unit of the required size – 40 sq ft (smaller than the Access unit). There there were no extra charges for padlocks.

Shurguard – Forest Hill site

Grand total: £385 for 3 months (30 sq ft unit)

Shurguard Self Storage didn’t offer any 40 sq ft units at all, meaning they could only provide quotes for 30 sq ft and 50 sq ft units. The price of £385 for 3 months in such a small unit makes them seem very expensive compared to their nearby competitors.

It’s worth adding that the 50 sq ft unit was actually cheaper – at £331 for 3 months – because of an introductory offer that meant the first month was only £1, compared to half-price for the 30 sq ft one. Neither price included any insurance, either, but they do include the £10 cost of a padlock, as customers have to purchase their own.

Safestore – Clapham site

Grand total: £388 for 3 months (35 sq ft unit)

Safestore was the company which included the most ancillary charges, as they charge both £10 per month for insurance and £10 upfront for a new padlock.

At 35 sq ft, this unit is also slightly smaller than the cheaper ones offered by competitors.

Independent self storage company – Dulwich

Grand total: £220 for 3 months (40 sq ft unit)

The independent self storage company which was chosen for comparison purposes uses containers rather than purpose-built units — and offers the cheapest price of all those who were surveyed. No extra costs for insurance or padlocks were included in their offer.

Final Analysis

The grand totals can be ranked as follows, starting with the cheapest:

1. Independent self storage company – Dulwich

2. Access Self Storage – West Norwood

3. Big Yellow – West Norwood

4. Shurguard – Forest Hill

5. Safestore – Clapham

All prices were correct at the time of publication. However, they are liable to change over time.

3 Responses to “How much do different firms charge for self storage in South London?”

1. Shaff says:

   July 8, 2012 at 11:21 pm

   Worth mentioning that Storemates.co.uk the storage sharing site based in South London charges under £200 for 3 months (looking at average listings). So would come out the cheapest…!

2. Movingeverywhere Manchester Removals says:

   October 4, 2012 at 11:49 pm

   The cost of storage in London is so high compared to Manchester – we pay £176.00 pcm for a 125sq ft room – for business useage. Then £9.60 per week for container storage.
   In London container storage is around £13.00 per week.

3. Nick Sims says:

   April 4, 2016 at 8:49 am

   The quality of the storage offered varies so much from containers based on open land to high tech 24 hour access