Storers’ Den Champion Announced at Live Event

Five self storage operators took to the stage at the Mercure Telford Centre Hotel on the evening of Monday 15th April to present their ambitions business plans to a panel of six industry experts.

Storers’ Den, an exclusive event hosted by Cleveland Containers, Stora and Approved Business Finance (ABF) was a competition open to self storage businesses that had been operating for less than three years. 

The finalists were: StoreEase, Ancoats Storage, Norbreck Self Storage, Hoylake Storage and Storage Den who all pitched their businesses and their plans to the panel in front of a live audience of over 100 people who attended to show their support.

The ‘dragons’ who quizzed the five finalists on the night were Lewis Pennicott (Cleveland Containers), Gavin Shields (Stora), Rory Dunn (ABF), Laura Moxham (YBA PPC), Anthony Adams (Engage Management Services) and Dean Booty (StoreMore).

Following five excellent and diverse presentations, the judges had a tough decision to make, ultimately championing StoreEase as the worthy winner of Storers’ Den 2024. Neal Smitheringale, Founder of StoreEase based in Middlesbrough, wins a self storage support package provided by all six dragons worth over £50,000 to help accelerate the growth of his new venture.

I am shocked and honoured to have been chosen as the winner of Storers’ Den. My jaw dropped when my name was announced. Thank you so much to the ‘Dragons’ for choosing StoreEase, it has given us all hope and taken some of the pressure off me that I’ve been feeling. To know that I have this incredible support from the best in the business is unbelievable.

Neal Smitheringale, Founder of StoreEase

Myself and all of the other ‘Dragons’ were mind blown by the five presentations and the efforts that the individuals had gone to. We saw a diverse mix of stories and backgrounds from the finalists which was great to see. All five have fantastic potential and exciting plans.

Understandably, it was difficult for us to come to a decision on who to offer the prize to as they all would have been worthy winners but we opted for the business that would benefit the most from the support package up for grabs. Congratulations to StoreEase on their win, we all look forward to working with the team to support their growth.

Gavin Shields, CEO of Stora and Compère of Storers' Den

What do StoreEase win?

• Cleveland Containers: Marketing Content - Photography, video, social media graphics, flyer design and website content creation.
  
  
• Stora: Two Years Free - Stora Pro account for unlimited sites with eight hours of free onboarding.
  
  
• Approved Business Finance: Business Finance and Strategy - Fee-free business finance and free business consultation, financial strategy and budget forecast and projections.
  
  
• YBA PPC: Google Ads Review and Strategy - Consultation on Google Ads and Google Business analysing current performance, and researching and implementing a campaign build.
  
  
• Engage Management Services: Business Analysis and Consultancy - In-depth business review covering sales, operations and marketing, as well as remote support.
  
  
• Dean Booty - Three Months Coaching: One hour a month with Mr Self Storage to cover all areas of the business.