For investors and first-time operators
How to Start a Self Storage Business: From Building to Opening Day
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 7 min read
The short answer
To start a self storage business in the UK, prove local demand, secure a building that suits storage, confirm the planning position, then convert or build and fit it out.
- The building decides the rentable area and the cost, so choose it first.
- Planning and fire are the two approvals that delay openings.
- A conversion of an existing industrial building is often the quicker route.
To start a self storage business in the UK, prove demand in your catchment, secure a building that suits storage, and confirm its planning use. Then convert or build, fit out the units and open. The building is the part most guides skip.
This guide is for investors, landlords and first-time operators who have, or are buying, a building. Our self storage construction and conversion team surveys sheds and costs the work. Looking at a building now? Get a free site feasibility and cost plan.
Start a self storage business with local demand
Self storage is a property business first. Rent comes from floor area, so the building and its catchment decide the return. Start by finding out who is already renting storage near your site and at what price.
Take rents and occupancy from the market, not from a brochure. Count the stores within a drive, ask what they charge and see how full they look. Then compare that with the national picture.
These are national averages from the industry body's 2026 report. Your catchment will differ. Cushman & Wakefield, who produce the report with the Self Storage Association UK, put revenue at £27.40 per sq ft, ex VAT.
Notice the gap between 74.5% and 79.6%. New stores take time to fill, so your plan needs to carry the empty months.
Our construction work starts at £100,000. So this guide assumes you already have a building, or a funded plan to buy one.
Choose the right building
The building decides how much rentable space you get and what it costs to create. A bad shed cannot be fixed by good marketing. A good one is a head start.
Many stores open in existing industrial buildings, because the shell, roof and floor are already there. Test any candidate against this list.
- Location and access. Visible, near housing and businesses, with van access and room to park and load.
- Clear height. Enough for a mezzanine level, or enough floor area to work without one. Read our guide to warehouse mezzanine floor regulations.
- Slab and structure. Unit walls, stock and mezzanine columns all load the floor. Survey it before you exchange.
- Column grid and layout. The grid sets how well units, corridors and stairs fit.
- Services. Power, water, drainage and data, with room for fire-fighting access.
- Lawful use. Storage already, or a clear route to it. Planning is covered below.
Buying land or a building is a larger decision than the fit-out. Our due diligence checklist lists what to check before you exchange.
Already shortlisted a shed? Our self storage construction and conversion team tests height, floor and fire strategy before you commit.
Planning permission and use class B8
Self storage falls in Use Class B8. The Use Classes Order defines B8 as "use for storage or as a distribution centre". Confirm the lawful use of your building with the council before you rely on it.
Three starting points decide the planning route.
- The building is already in storage use. A change within the same use class is not development, so a B8 shed often needs no permission to become self storage. Old permissions matter, because a condition can tie a building to one use.
- The building is general industrial (B2). Permitted development allows B2 to B8 if the change relates to no more than 500 m² of floor space. Anything larger needs an application.
- The building is a shop, gym or office. These sit in other use classes, so a move to storage normally needs planning permission. Our guide to the Class E use class shows what Class E covers.
A new building needs permission. So do changes to the outside, such as new doors, cladding or a loading yard, if they are not covered by a right.
Permissions often come with conditions on opening hours and vehicle movements. Ask what the council will expect, because a store open to the public late and early has different traffic from a warehouse.
Convert a warehouse, build new or use containers
There are three ways to open a store. Conversion is usually the cheaper and quicker one, when the building suits. New build wins where no suitable building exists.
| Factor | Convert a building | Build new | Container yard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build cost, Laxton's 2026 | £500 to £1,000 per m² | £1,100 to £1,550 per m² | No price book line |
| Planning | Often none if already storage | A full application | Normally an application |
| Programme | Shorter, the shell exists | Longer, groundworks and frame first | Quick to place, approvals first |
| Main risk | Defects in slab, roof and drainage | Ground, conditions and steel lead times | Security, fire and a weaker customer offer |
| Suits | A tall, sound industrial shed | A site with services and consent | Land with no suitable building |
The rates are for the building only, before land, fees and VAT. No UK price book has a self storage line, so these are the nearest industrial rows. The full breakdown sits in our cost to build self storage guide.
Containers draw a lot of search interest, but they are not a planning shortcut. Putting containers on land to rent for storage is a use of land. The Town and Country Planning Act treats a material change of use as development. Ask the council before you buy a single unit.
Craftex carried out a warehouse fit-out for us, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. The space has been completely transformed into a highly organized and efficient environment that makes our daily operations much smoother. The team was professional but also very approachable — I always felt comfortable asking questions or giving feedback. They came up with smart, practical solutions that worked perfectly for our setup, and everything was explained clearly along the way. The best part was how they stuck to the agreed timeline, finishing on schedule without cutting corners. It’s rare to get both quality and reliability, but Craftex delivered both.
Fit-out, fire safety and security
After the shell, a store is built from layers. Each has its own design, price and approval.
- Mezzanine decks. Extra floors double the lettable area in a tall shed. They are building work, so building control applies.
- Unit partitions and doors. Built to your unit mix, from lockers to drive-up units.
- Corridors, stairs and lifts. Width, loading and escape routes decide them.
- Fire detection, alarm and emergency lighting. Laid out to the fire strategy.
- Access control and CCTV. Gate and door entry, cameras and alarms.
- Reception, signage and external works. The customer area, loading and parking.
Prices for each layer are in our cost guide. The work follows the same logic as any warehouse fit-out.
Fire strategy needs the most care. Approved Document B Volume 2 puts "the rental of storage space to the public" in purpose group 4, shop and commercial. Its compartment limits are 2,000 m² per storey without sprinklers and 4,000 m² with them, for a multi-storey building. A fire engineer decides which row applies to your design.
Two more points matter. Your insurer may ask for more than the Approved Document says, so ask before the design is fixed. Once open, you are likely to be the responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. That means a fire risk assessment, kept under review.
From keys to opening day
Opening on time is a sequence, and each step waits on the one before. Plan it backwards from the date you want to take your first customers.
- Survey. Slab, roof, drainage, height and services, before you commit.
- Design and approvals. Layout, fire strategy, planning if needed, and building control.
- Shell works. Roof, floor, doors, drainage and any external changes.
- Fit-out. Mezzanines, partitions, doors, fire protection, access control and CCTV.
- Sign-off and opening. Building control, the fire risk assessment, then the first lets.
Three things stretch the programme most: the planning route, the lead times for steel and doors, and a fire strategy that changes late. Decide all three early.
Business rates during the works
Business rates also begin to bite. Warehouses are rated, and government relief for an empty property runs for 3 months, plus 3 for industrial premises. A long conversion can outlast it. Tell the Valuation Office if the building cannot be used while it is refurbished.
What we have built
Warehouse conversion is our work. At Banbury we built 148 sq m inside a live warehouse in four weeks. At Drake's we fitted out a 500 sq m railway arch in eight weeks.
At Portsoken House we converted an abandoned warehouse of 1,550 sq m in seven months. None of these is a self storage store. They show how we survey a shed and plan the work around it.
Send us your particulars and get a free site feasibility and cost plan. Already have a quote? Send it to us. We'll beat it.
Before you buy or lease a building for self storage
- Demand and rents checked in the catchment, with the nearest stores counted
- The lawful use and any planning conditions, confirmed with the council
- A survey of the slab, roof, drainage and clear height
- A fire strategy and compartment size, so you know whether sprinklers are needed
- Your insurer's requirements, asked before the design is fixed
- Conversion and new build priced on the same basis, ex VAT, with fees and external works added
- Business rates during the works, with relief and the Valuation Office checked
- A build cost that fits the business plan, with contingency held
