Lok'n Store is performing better than half-year figures suggest. In fact, add back depreciation and one-off costs relating to bank loan refinancing, and cash profits rose 12.6 per cent to £1.93m. Shareholders also benefit from a trebling of the half-year dividend to 1p a share, and with the shares still trading at a hefty discount to net asset value, we remain buyers.
Two key developments during the first half were the proposed imposition of VAT next October on self storage. Lok'nStore already pays VAT but its competitors do not. The group's project partner, Lidl, also secured planning consent for a new self-storage facility near Maidenhead, with potential footfall likely to be boosted by the inclusion of a new Lidl supermarket on the site.