HUNDREDS of retail businesses are being run from self-storage units as some firms leave the high street and others grow from home businesses, it is claimed.

Bournemouth-based Store & Secure says many more retailers have taken space at its sites in the past five years and the number has risen dramatically since Covid.

Almost a third of all retail sales are now made over the internet and the figure is expected to continue growing.

The family-run business said start-ups that had begun in “dining rooms and spare bedrooms” were increasingly joining its mix of customers.

Store & Secure, run by sisters Lucy and Sophie Maidman, opened its first branch in Yeomans Way, Bournemouth, in 2010.

Lucy said: “The growth in this part of the business has been dramatic and we will be able to help lots more online retailers and start-ups when we open new facilities.

“We’ve got former shopkeepers and market stall holders who have moved into our units.

“And many start-ups that have grown out of their dining rooms and spare bedrooms are taking space with us as they get bigger.

“Many people will come in the mornings before their full-time jobs, pack up orders and get them sent off before doing a day’s work.

“We receive deliveries for them and let them know they’ve arrived – a service that is all included in the cost.

“All manner of things are sold from our sites including vinyl records, sealed sweets, furniture, baskets, phone accessories, books and clothing. We have different size units available, and clients move in and out of them depending on stock levels and other requirements.

“It is like having a high street in our facilities and each morning and evening as clients get their orders out.

“Some people have built successful businesses in our units and have since moved out into their own larger premises.

“An increasing number of clients are those who started online trading during lockdown.

“The trading element of our business was something we didn’t really anticipate when we opened, but in the last five years it has developed.

“We identified the trend early and encouraged that part of the business which has been massively accelerated by the lockdowns.

“There are several hundred retailers based in our Bournemouth and Basingstoke facilities.”