OTHER BUSINESS
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Although home removals form the bulk of the business operation in the South-West, Mark Lane (along with brother Robert and sister Maria) has clearly identified other potential markets.
“Self storage was something that my mother and father did in the 1970s when we had the original site in Launceston,” says Mark.
“But unfortunately he was about 30 years ahead of his time and probably in the wrong location. The system is straightforward; a client rents one of many secure storage cubes for a minimum period of time and manages it themselves,” he says.
“This system of storage led to further business,” says Mark. “Once we had sold a client storage space, they would then ask where they could rent a van from. Originally we sent them to a local van hire company, but it was clear that renting out our own self-drive vans was a natural progression. So we did it.” Vans are rented in a similar way to how airlines sell seats. “The earlier you book, the less it costs the client, and we offer a discount of up to 50%. It works for the airlines and it works for us. It’s a great way to do business,” says Mark.
Britannia Lanes also offers highly secure archive storage at its Truro site. This system is for clients that want to store records and files. Again, clients rent the storage space but have their own offices on site and access to their files 24 hours a day, seven days a week.