A HAMPSHIRE-BASED self-storage company has announced expansion after announcing a half-year profit growth.

Farnborough based Lok’n’Store Group which have stores in Millbrook and Fareham has reported a pre-tax revenue of £8.34m for the last six months till the 31 January 2017, an increase of 4.5 per cent from £7.99m in the same period last year while adjusted pre-tax profit increased by 13.5 per cent to £2.1m.

Andrew Jacobs, chief executive said: “With strong trading Lok'nStore's profits continue to grow, as interest costs and taxation also come down.”

"Our new store development programme continues to change the balance of our stores with new and purpose built stores accounting for 64 per cent of the portfolio.”

The group are now looking at opening four new stores in Wellingborough, Broadstairs, Gillingham and Hemel Hempstead are set to open in 2017, with a further four new sites identified

He added: "The three new stores we opened in 2016 are all trading well and the four sites acquired last year for new stores will open in 2017 increasing space by a further 18 per cent and adding impetus to sales and earnings growth.

"Our objective is to open more landmark self-storage centres while remaining conservatively leveraged to deliver robust, predictable growing cash flow and dividends from an expanding asset base."