Commercial broker Steven Hook on how Parkable helps him get deals across the line

The ability to sublease parking space with ease and flexibility “adds great value” for both businesses and landlords

Last year, we caught up with commercial broker Steven Hook to see how parking affects him and his clients.

Steven told us that parking is a common problem for brokers trying to place businesses into office spaces, both because of parking scarcity and because growing companies need to lease more parking spots than they initially need.

Businesses will usually sign a property lease for five years, but within that time, their workforce can grow rapidly. That means signing a lease for a space larger than they need, and paying to lease parking spots that lie empty for months or even years.

While businesses can offer extra office space to small businesses or freelancers under a coworking model, the issue of what to do with unused parking space has traditionally been more difficult to solve.

That meant that when Steven found out about Parkable, he was relieved to find that there was a solution to the problem.

By enabling businesses to sublease their parking spots either to other tenants or to the public, the Parkable platform prevents Steven’s clients from losing money on unused real estate. Plus, the flexibility to take parking spots off the platform at any time means that his clients have immediate access to their parks as soon as they need them, effectively future-proofing themselves.

“When we have a client who needs ten car parks in the future but only a couple now, and they need to tide over that time, Parkable is able to come in and not only relieve them of the monetary commitment of those car parks, but also potentially make them money.”
- Steven Hook

According to Steven, the ability to sublease parking spots on a short-term or flexible basis is also of great benefit to landlords.

“A problem for our landlords is when the offices are vacant, naturally the car parks are also vacant. They want to have the flexibility to be able to draw an income from that car park, and also have the ability to lease it out when they find a new tenant.

“That’s where I think Parkable adds a lot of value, because they’re so flexible and there are lots of arrangements that Parkable is able to come to with landlords, whether it be profit-share or managing, and they’re able to move very quickly.”

The bottom line?

“It makes me feel really good that I can pass on a contact like Parkable that adds value to the client. The client will thank me for the introduction and for adding value to their business, and that helps me to build relationships.”