Member Article

U Hold the Key expands Stockton and Darlington self-storage sites following sustained surge in demand

Leading North East self-storage company U Hold The Key is investing in the expansion of its Stockton (A19) and Darlington (A66) sites, with a total of 90 new storage units being added across both following a surge in demand. The business, which is headquartered in Sedgefield, has seen both sites at full capacity in recent weeks and is adding the new stores ahead of another expected rise in enquiries and bookings during the summer months.

U Hold The Key is one of the UK’s leading self-storage firms, and is a division of the Parsons Containers Group. The company currently has around 1,500 container stores, offering secure 24/7 access for customers, on sites throughout the North East. In addition to its Stockton-on-Tees, A19 site (under the Tees flyover) and its location on the A66 near Darlington, U Hold The Key operates out of Mainsforth (near Ferryhill), Bishop Auckland, Sunderland, Birtley, Newcastle upon Tyne, Alnwick and close to Gateshead Metrocentre. The company also has a site in Middlesbrough that is accessible from 7:00am to 7:00pm and also operates from a location in Grantham, Lincolnshire. A new U Hold The Key site in South Shields has just opened for business.

The latest expansion involves the addition of 60 new units to the U Hold The Key Stockton A19 site, extending capacity to a total of 150 containers following a sustained period of increased demand. Another 30 new units will be made available in Darlington after a surge in interest following the site’s repositioning to a more visible roadside location in September 2020. The majority of the new stores at both sites will be large 20ft containers with some additional 10ft standard sized units available in Darlington. Groundworks will begin imminently at both locations, overseen by the company’s operations team.

U Hold The Key attributes the surge in demand to the continued buoyant housing market, which has seen an influx of interest from individuals and removal firms with a need to put items into storage. There has also been a rise in the number of customers seeking to use self-storage during home renovations, as well as businesses needing secure space to house overflow stock.

Ean Parsons, CEO of the Parsons Containers Group, comments: “We have continued to experience increased demand for self-storage and high occupancy rates in Stockton and Darlington, and across all of our sites, and this trend is showing no sign of slowing. As a business, we continue to strategically plan ahead so that we can continue to meet customer demand and the latest site expansions pre-empt an expected increase in enquiries and bookings during the spring and summer months, a time when we have previously experienced more demand for storage to support house moves. The investment in 90 stores in our most popular 20ft and 10ft sizes will ensure that we have the capacity to meet the current and future needs of our growing customer base.”

U Hold The Key has increased the number of site managers over the past four months to manage the high demand for storage bookings. It has also experienced a rise in bookings across its other sites, where it will continue a programme of adding new units and store upgrades over the coming months.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chris Lines .