Building a self storage business twice: Fred de Ryckman de Betz, HOLD

Fred de Ryckman de Betz has built two London self storage businesses: Attic Self Storage, which he opened in 2008, and HOLD Self Storage, which he launched in 2023. He joins Gavin Shields to talk about brand, people, site selection and pricing, including why he never races to the bottom on price when a competitor opens, and what he changed the second time round.

He's candid about the rate increase schedule HOLD runs on existing customers, why discounts need a clear purpose, and why clustering stores in one city beats spreading across five. HOLD's first store in King's Cross was 45% occupied when Fred's team took it on in 2024. They got it to 85%, with 13 competitors within two miles.

Also: lease-up strategy, what he learned chairing SSA UK, and why he thinks AI will make good staff more valuable.

Scaling Self Storage is hosted by Gavin Shields, co-founder of Stora, the self storage software built for growth. stora.co