Kennards Self Storage is an Australian

privately-owned A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

self storage Self storage (a shorthand for "self-service storage") is an industry that renting, rents storage space (such as rooms, lockers, Shipping container, shipping containers, and/or outdoor space), also known as "storage units," to tenants, usuall ...

company.

History

The company's forebears are in the establishment of

Kennards Hire Kennards Hire is an Australian private company, privately-owned Equipment rental, equipment hire company. History W Kennard Agencies In 1948 Walter Kennard founded W Kennard Agencies in Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst selling equipment an ...

, when Walter Kennard founded W Kennard Agencies in 1948 selling equipment and machinery and becoming an agent for

Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. Headquartered in Singapore, it is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as ...

Hillman Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had ...

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

and Lightburn. The concept of an equipment hire business came about when instead of a customer purchasing a concrete mixer, Kennard rented the equipment for a fee. After relocating to Sydney, Kennards Hire established Australia's first

facility at the rear of its Moorebank,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

branch in 1973. Initially branded as Kennards Mini Storage it was renamed Easi-Stor in 1979. In 1981 a derelict wool store building in

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

was purchased and redeveloped as

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

’s first self storage centre. Nine further properties were subsequently purchased in Sydney,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and

during the 1980s. In 1991, Andy and Neville Kennard who had taken over the business from their father, Walter, decided to split the business, with Andy retaining the hire equipment business and Neville taking the self storage business; renamed as Kennards Self Storage. A further 14 storage centres opened in the 1990s including the first in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. Sam Kennard was appointed CEO in 1994, then aged 24 years, taking over from his father, Neville; and Sam's brothers, Walter (junior) and James, are also shareholders in the company. In the early 2000’s the first of 20

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

storage locations opened. In 2004, 24 self storage properties were added in the $220 million acquisition of Millers Self Storage. This was completed in a 50:50

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with Valad Property Group; and in 2008, Kennards became the sole operator of Millers. The company expanded to New Zealand in 2007; and , 112 facilities were operating across Australia and New Zealand.

References

External links

* * {{cite web , author=Darren , url=https://riselocal.com.au/sam-kennard-story/ , title=From Family Business to Billion-Dollar Legacy: The Inspiring Journey of Sam Kennard and Kennards Self Storage , work=Rise Local , date=2025 , access-date=5 June 2025 Companies based in Sydney Storage companies 1973 establishments in Australia

History

See also

References

External links