Peter McUtchen

INNOVATIVE building systems provider Parkd Ltd, chaired by former AHG boss Bronte Howson and now ready to expand into the eastern states from its Perth base, has been one of the stock market’s more fortunate children with its late-2017 listing twice oversubscribed.

The company is now building a two-level car park for City Subaru in Perth with 49 bays. The structure can also be enclosed to act as a showroom.

Management has told GoAutoNews Premium that after raising $6 million on the ASX, it is actively looking at the eastern states with future plans targeting Asia.

Parkd Ltd managing director and founder Peter McUtchen said the plans to look at the eastern states was triggered by the price of land in and around Melbourne and Sydney.

“The cost of land in these cities is out of control and that has created a huge problem for the automotive industry that needs land to park its vehicles,” he said.

“Car dealerships are all about car storage. A dealership needs space to store cars that are being serviced, are to be sold, and are going through pre-delivery.

“So because space is critical, our 17-metre span means there are a lot less columns so vehicles can be parked top-to-tail which is more efficient.”

Mr McUtchen said his company also sees opportunities in Asia, particularly Japan.

“Our systems are designed for earthquake conditions. That, plus the saving on space, particularly in densely populated cities such as Tokyo, makes Parkd suit the Japanese car market for commercial and residential applications.”

He said the patented building system has spans of 17m and can be built as high as six storeys with external ramps for access.

Though the investment industry and some automotive groups are aware of Parkd’s product, it will not be until the Perth dealership project is completed that the company will have a tangible example of its attributes.

“The Subaru car park is a couple of months away from completion,” Mr McUtchen said.

“It will be built over open space and allow a covered showroom with lighting to showroom specification – that’s 300 lux. It is creating the car park as the showroom.

“The use of the space is not of concern to us – that’s up to the dealership.”

The idea for Parkd came about 10 years ago because Mr McUtchen said a solution had to be found for very long spans.

“We came up with a 17m span beam which is the key attribute to having a very open car parking area with minimal columns,” he said.

“Because the designs are demountable, it became the permanent solution that is temporary.

“So we have an effective and efficient construction technique that we can unbolt and move to another site when necessary. It’s also a much, much quicker way to build. It’s a new way at looking at structures.”

Parkd includes the option for six storeys with a standard ceiling height of three metres but can extend as high as five metres.

Mr McUtchen said there are alternative uses including storage and for leisure centres “but we see the main role in automotive dealerships as a solution for storing vehicles”.

“With only three primary elements, the Parkd system is easy to install by contracted builders and designed to be assembled in a variety of configurations,” he said.

“That means our system is easily scalable across Australia.”

He said that the car parks can be deconstructed, relocated and reused in a new location. They also have the flexibility to add and remove levels in response to parking demand over time.

By Neil Dowling