It’s easy to understand why company is flourishing as you stroll through the endless hallways of Apple Storage in downtown Toronto.

Hundreds of candles are being packaged and prepared for shipping around the globe behind one metal shutter, while an e-bike repair shop fixes transportation for the hundreds of delivery riders in the city behind another.

There’s even a lockbox full of bitcoin ATMs, a device that allows bitcoin owners to convert their virtual money into cash or vice versa that is illegal in the UK but legal in Canada.

One of the owners, David Allan, takes me around the long, brightly illuminated hallways that are lined with dozens of closed metal doors. Businesses occupy 70% of this facility, according to him.

“Prior to the Covid pandemic, office rentals were approximately C$60 ($44; £34) per foot, but storage was only $30 per foot at the time.”Because self-storage facilities were half the price or less than interior offices, businesses moved there to store their files and free up their offices for more productive uses.

It’s a global phenomenon. Storage businesses are snatching up empty shopfronts left over from the outbreak. Meanwhile, businesses and individuals are searching for less expensive storage choices as rates climb.

One million square feet more of space was added to the Canadian landscape last year with the opening of sixteen new facilities. Rents have increased as well, on average by 12% since 2023, according to industry data tracker StorTrack.

According to a survey from the Self Storage Association and commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, the business in the UK generated more than a billion pounds last year for the first time.

The “side-hustle culture” is reportedly promoting growth in several Asian countries, according to Helen Ng, CEO of the Self Storage Association Asia (SSAA).

According to her, doing a second job is more typical in Singapore and typically entails maintaining inventory for an online store.

Nearly half of the renters at Ms. Ng’s two self-storage facilities in Singapore are utilising the units for a side business.

The sector has attracted so many investors that it has given rise to many podcasts offering advice to aspiring business titans on how to enter the market.

Among them is the businessman Dean Booty of Beverley, East Yorkshire.

It was a terrible period for my wife and I when my restaurant venture collapsed. It was in the middle of the town where I was employed. It seriously damaged my ego.

According to Booty, this served as motivation for him to tell others about his success with self-storage.

He says that about 15,000 people listen to his podcast, Hacking Self Storage, each month. “I had no idea there was that many people interested in self-storage, which is incredible,” he says.

Just under 100,000 square feet are used by Booty for storage over five sites in England, Scotland, and Wales.

By the time he turns 50, the 42-year-old father says he wants to retire.

“The industry is receiving a significant influx of capital, which will inevitably lead to increased competition. However, at present, demand in the UK is exceeding supply, which is highly encouraging,” he continues.

However, not everybody is as excited as Booty is.

“It’s an indictment of our housing crisis. Space shouldn’t be a luxury in terms of living space,” says Ben Twomey Chief executive of housing campaign group Generation Rent.

“Making lots of money from people not having room in their homes,” he charges the business of doing.

“Not just to keep their belongings, but to live their lives and take care of any mental health issues they may have as a result of living in a small or crowded home.”

Once again, we enter Apple Storage in Toronto and find ourselves in a spacious, well-lit locker with two electric bikes mounted on work stands and tools hanging from the walls.

Mechanics are working diligently. One of them, Kevin Tsui, claims that the e-bike maintenance company has many units in the building.

“It is relatively cheaper than having like a retail store to just do this sort of work. The reason our company chose this storage area was that we actually own a store that got demolished for condos. This was just an easy next step for us.”

Tsui, who is originally from Hong Kong, says that most of the stores in malls there resemble storage lockers.

“We’re making the most of our abundance of space in Canada, but it’s gradually dwindling in the major cities. This is perfect if you want adequate room to accomplish what you need to.

In agreement, Helen Ng says that “urbanisation is just a fact of life.” It’s not really realistic to expect everyone to store their belongings at home, in my opinion.

(Adapted from BBC.com)

Categories: Economy & Finance, Regulations & Legal, Strategy