Newport-based self-storage specialists, Storage Giant, have now supported more than 1000 SMEs at their Welsh sites alone, after seeing a marked spike in start-ups at their sites during the pandemic. The CEO has paid tribute to forward-thinking entrepreneurs for seizing start-up opportunities during these testing times for businesses.
Storage Giant has helped incubate 1,000+ small businesses under its roof in Newport, Cardiff, Cwmbran, Swansea, and Llanelli, and the firm is set to open new office space at its site in Bristol, too.
Storage Giant MD, Simon Williams, said: “We are very proud to have reached this milestone of incubating over 1,000 start-ups and smes under the Storage Giant roof in Wales and it says a lot about the entrepreneurial spirit in this country. Clearly the ongoing pandemic has had negative impacts upon businesses of all kinds, and upon workforces, but we have also seen, and we continue to see, scores of new businesses thrive and grow. We continue to see many SMEs take up office space or warehousing space with us, with entrepreneurs finding new opportunities in this changed market.
“This milestone isn’t just a positive one for us and for the smes involved, but it also bodes well, I think, for the post-pandemic economic recovery in Wales, since we are seeing responding to the unique needs that have emerged during lockdown – a trend that is being replicated across the UK, according to lasts data. We have seen furloughed staff setting up cottage industries in office furniture for their homes, bicycle repair workshops and more, and turning to us for warehousing and office space since we can offer the flexibility they need to expand or to downsize according to the changing needs of the business.
We are also seeing some big-name retailers adjusting their business model and, in some cases, moving away from large brick and mortar sites and towards seamless e-commerce, or towards setting up satellite offices, both of which we can help with.”
Storage Giant operates throughout Wales and the UK and is the largest private self-store provider in Wales. The company opened its flagship Bristol site amid the pandemic, in June 2020, and has a further seven sites in the pipeline.