The land, infrastructure, and going concern business operating as a well-patronised self-storage complex comprising space-efficient shipping containers in one of the Coromandel Peninsula’s most prosperous seaside towns have been placed on the market for sale.

Operating as Container It, the secure self-storage location in suburban Whitianga comprises a total of 840-square metres of self-storage space sitting on approximately 5,084 square metres of industrial-zoned freehold land.

Unlike conventional self-storage facilities where customers rent individual terraced style lock up garages, Container It predominantly comprises 35 three-metre long containers and 85 six-metre long double-ended shipping containers – with 18 containers stacked on top of each other.

Established some eight years ago and regularly booked at near total occupancy, the secure Container It self-storage hub is configured in three rows of structures consisting of 120 shipping containers which rent for different rates depending on size. A smaller block of roller door garages and two small warehouse style permanent units – delivering a total fixed floor space of 450-square metres – complete the storage Whitianga offering.

Ample vehicle access running between each of the rows allows container transportation trucks with cranes to deliver and remove containers atop of other containers, and for container hirers to efficiently and easily load up and unload their possessions.

Tenant access to the sealed Container It shipping container yard is via secured gates – through an electronically-controlled main central gate. When fully tenanted, the Container It business generates annual revenues of more than $100,000 plus GST.

Now the property at 17 Moewai Road in Whitianga, along with the going concern Container It containerised self-storage unit business, is up for sale by tender through Bayleys Hamilton, with tenders submissions closing on June 6. Salesperson Josh Smith said the Container It self-storage containers were utilised by a mix of private and commercial clients who all took advantage of the venue’s convenient location on the edge of town in Whitianga’s industrial precinct away from residential dwellings.

Smith said the Container It business for sale could appeal to either investors looking for a relatively hands-off opportunity, or for owner-occupiers – such as the current owner – looking for convenient cost-efficient storage space for their own possessions… with the potential for earning revenues from the site’s wider business activities.

The Moewai Road property is fully enclosed with wire fencing to ensure the security of tenants’ possessions stored within the individual containers. The suburban site is monitored by security cameras on a 24/7 basis. Each containerised unit allows for the storage of household furniture and business paraphernalia, as well as ‘boys’ toys’ such as small boats or dinghies, motorcycles, quadbikes, kyaks, and jet skis.

“The fact that Container It is in an industrial location means tenants can access their units at any time of the day or week without disturbance to neighbours in the immediate vicinity,” he said.

“Off-site storage for New Zealand businesses really came to the fore during the Covd-19 period of 2020, and well into early 2022 when many small businesses grappled to deal with supply chain continuity of product – the most public of which was of course the gib board shortage which saw supply of the building product become intermittent, and forced tradies to stockpile gib as and when they could source it,” Smith said.

“Self-storage is also now a fairly standard dynamic amongst one-man band tradies such as electricians and plumbers who operate from their van with a mobile phone, but need somewhere to store supplies which can be easily accessed after hours or on weekends to respond to emergency callouts for example. Containers within Container It are already utilised for this purpose.”

Smith said self-storage has been a constantly growing industry in New Zealand over the past two decades as leisure habits and pursuits increased, or as businesses made the most efficient use of their premises by storing equipment and stock off-site.

A survey by AA Insurance found that five percent of the 1,100 Kiwis they surveyed paid for off-site storage of their goods and possessions. The survey highlighted that furniture and household items were the most common items kept in storage by Kiwis – as indicated by 67 percent of respondents, followed by sports equipment at 34 percent, and tools and equipment indicated by 30 percent of respondents. The AA Insurance survey also noted that a substantial proportion of storage unit users – some 30 percent – utilised the service for more than three years.

“The existing positioning of the containers within Container It allows for the potential to add additional containers – either at ground level as there is a portion of underutilised yard space, or by taking advantage of the stacked format,” Smith said.

The Moewai Road location sits adjacent to Whitianga’s existing urban limit – having a minimal impact on the closest residential dwellings to the inland location some distance away.

Click here for more information on the listing.