How a storage partnership works, from first call to first customer

A storage partnership with us is a simple arrangement once it's running: you have covered space, we have customers who need it, and you invoice us once a month. Getting there takes a few steps, and this guide walks through each of them honestly, from the first form to the first customer's goods arriving at your gate. If you own a warehouse, a godown or an idle factory shed and you're wondering what you'd be signing up for, start here.

We run our own buildings in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi, and we're building a partner network beyond them in cities including Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan. In our own three cities we also take partner space for premium requirements, or when our buildings run short at peak.

The stages of a storage partnership at a glance

Step one: four fields and a reference

The first form asks for your name, your phone number, your city and the kind of space you have. That's all. It takes under a minute, and it gives you a reference that starts with USP followed by six characters. Keep it. If you send us anything later on WhatsApp, quoting that reference is how we match it to you.

We kept this step short on purpose. Plenty of good operators are on site with a phone in one hand and a labourer asking them something, and a long form is the first thing they abandon. Four fields means we can call you back even if you get no further today.

Step two: the dossier

The second step is where we learn about the building. Nobody reviews an application until this part is complete, so it's worth doing properly.

Address and map pin

A real street address and an exact pin. The easiest way is to stand at the building's gate and drop the pin from your phone. We never publish a partner's exact address or phone number; customers come to you through us.

The space

How many units, if you have separate lockable ones. How much open or covered area, if it's a hall we'd bay off ourselves. Clear ceiling height. Whether it's ground floor or has a lift, whether a truck can get to the door, and whether there's room for a trailer to turn or hard standing for a container.

Security

Your CCTV and how many days of footage the recorder keeps, your overnight guard, your gate, fire detection and extinguishers, and how you keep the place dry and free of pests. The security standards guide explains what we're looking for and why.

Rates and terms

Your rate per square foot per month, and your terms: deposit, minimum term, notice and any handling charges. We don't publish a figure for this, because every facility is different. Remember that we add our own margin before a customer sees a price. Quote us high and your space ends up the dearest option on our quote, which means it sits empty.

Photographs and the declaration

At least five recent photographs of the actual building, taken by you, from our shot list: the street exterior with any signage, the entrance or gate, the inside looking down the floor, the units or bays, the camera positions and the recorder, and the roof or ceiling. Then a short declaration that the photos are of your facility, recent, and not generated or altered.

A stock photo or a generated image gets the application closed. That's not a judgement about you. It's that the photographs are how we decide whether a visit is worth the drive, and a fake one wastes both our days.

The phone call and the site visit

Once the dossier is in, someone from our side calls you. It's a conversation, not an interview. We'll ask about anything the dossier left unclear, like how the guard is covered on his day off, or whether the side shutter onto the lane is still used. You should ask us anything you like too: how customers are booked, how often goods come and go, what happens at the end of a stay.

If it makes sense for both of us, we arrange a visit. This is the real check, and nothing is signed and no goods move before someone has stood in the building. We'll look up at the roof, play back the DVR, walk the route a Mazda truck would take down your lane, look for tide marks from the last monsoon and open a shutter or two. It's also your chance to see who you'd be dealing with.

What the written terms cover

After the visit, if we're both happy, the rates and terms go into writing and both sides sign. The document covers:

• The rate per square foot per month for the space our goods occupy.
• Minimum term and notice, on both sides.
• Damage. What happens if a unit or its contents are damaged, whether by a leak, pests or anything else, and who is responsible for what. We'll also ask whether your building carries an insurance policy.
• Handover and release. How goods are received and recorded, and the rule that nothing leaves without our written instruction naming who may collect it.
• Access. Visits on 48 hours' notice, weekends included.
• Invoicing. You invoice us monthly. We hold the agreement with each customer, so the collection risk is ours, not yours.
• Exclusivity, or the lack of it. You keep your own customers and use the rest of your building as you like. Once a customer's goods are in, that space stays theirs for the agreed term.

Starting small, then steady flow

We start every new partner with one or two customers. That gives both of us a chance to see how the intake goes, how the register is kept and how a visit on notice works in practice, before your floor fills. Once it's running smoothly, customers come as we book them.

Most of our customers are families leaving the country, so their goods tend to stay six months to two years. That's what makes the rental income from empty space steady rather than seasonal: the space you rent us doesn't turn over every few weeks.

Being listed on our site

Approved partners may be listed on their city's page on our website, and some may be featured across the site. That's our decision after approval and after the visit, not automatic, and it can be withdrawn. Your address and number stay private either way.

Who this is not for

We'd rather say this now than after a visit.

• If you want a tenant to take the whole building on a long lease and never call you, this isn't that. We'll be in touch whenever a load arrives or leaves.
• If you might need the space back at short notice, it won't work. A family abroad can't have their furniture moved because your plans changed.
• If you can't give access on 48 hours' notice at weekends, we can't place customers with you.
• If the building runs a cold store, holds food stock, or stores anything hazardous or flammable near the space, it isn't a fit. We don't offer cold storage and we can't take goods that need a fixed temperature.
• If the photographs you'd send aren't of your building, don't apply.

Where to begin

If you've read this far and your building sounds like a fit, the first step takes under a minute. Read about the programme on the storage partners page, then fill in the four fields and keep your reference handy. If your space is in an industrial town, the guide to renting out unused factory space is worth a look before the visit.