Let's make parking great again!

Guy Watson, managing director of Apex Parking, talks about his vision of a more positive approach to the management of parking

Providing a positive parking experience and bringing customers back into car parks are two key missions for Guy Watson.

After starting his parking career in Australia, Watson has worked in the UK parking sector for nearly a decade.

Watson has been managing director of Apex Parking since it was founded in 2021 to be a boutique operator that can provide town centre and retail car parks with the strategic focus required to breathe life back into them following COVID-19 lockdowns, increased home working and supressed shopping patterns.

He chatted with Mark Moran, editor of Parking Review, about all things parking.

MARK MORAN: What were your entry points into the world of parking - as a driver and as a professional?
GUY WATSON: Coming from Australia, parking as a consumer was generally straightforward. Large malls and shopping centres offered plenty of spaces, with most providing four hours free, which removed the “grudge purchase” aspect of parking. However, in the central business district (CBD), parking could be very expensive if you didn’t know where to find the best deals.

Professionally, I began my career in parking with Secure Parking Australia, based in New South Wales (NSW), selling season tickets in Sydney’s CBD. My time in sales was short-lived – I wasn’t particularly good at it! – so I made the transition to commercial operations, which immediately felt like the right fit.

Does Apex Parking have a particular approach running car parks?
Apex Parking specialises in uncovering value where others necessarily don’t – and maximising value where they do – by focusing on three key pillars: product, price, and service.

We drive sustainable revenue growth through customer acquisition and retention, delivering a customer-centric experience with a tailored range of products for each car park.

As specialists in car park turnaround and recovery, we understand what it takes to rebuild revenues and foster customer loyalty – transforming underperforming sites into high-value assets.

What can car park operators do to improve the service they provide to both clients (site owners) and customers (drivers)?
At Apex Parking, our focus is on bringing customers back into our car parks, rebuilding relationships with landlords and clients, and staying true to our core as a service provider.

We never take our customers or clients for granted. Instead, we prioritise making their lives easier through competitive pricing, the right products, and open, honest communication.

Do you believe parking management is under-appreciated as a business sector by society at large?
A seamless and invisible parking experience requires a great deal of unseen effort. I have no illusions that parking will ever be a welcomed part of the customer journey – but being unremarkable and unnoticed? That’s the goal.

Our industry faces real challenges, from anti-social behaviour, rising costs, to the push for car-free cities. However, there are many great people with innovative ideas driving change, and I believe the future looks very bright for our industry for those of us that can adapt and innovate.

Many private car parks seem to be run using an enforcement model rather than controlled access. Is there an alternative?
There are always alternatives to any solution, and enforcement is a particularly emotive subject – not just within our industry but in wider public opinion as well.

Personally, I believe enforcement should be used to ensure compliance with terms and conditions that keep car parks safe and functioning properly. However, when it shifts towards pure revenue generation, we risk crossing a line that can damage public trust and perception.

At Apex, we don’t follow a one-size-fits-all model. We focus on finding the right solution for each site. If going barrierless with enforcement presents a commercial advantage, such as increasing turnover of spaces and improving efficiency, then that’s the route we’ll take. However, if a site requires greater income protection and enforcement risks deterring repeat customers, a barriered solution may be the better approach. Our priority is always balancing revenue growth with long-term customer retention.

Car parks are increasingly providing electric vehicle charging services. To what extent is this a challenge and an opportunity?
Electric vehicles is another highly emotive topic, and in my view, there are still many unanswered questions about their true lifespan, sustainability, and affordability.

Retrofitting car parks with the necessary electrical infrastructure to support growing EV demand can be extremely costly and also raises challenges around structural integrity and safety requirements.

We also can’t ignore the potential rise of alternative technologies like hydrogen, which, in my opinion, seems like a more sustainable and practical long-term solution. As far as I’m concerned, EVs feel a bit like Blu-ray discs—promising at first, but ultimately at risk of being overtaken by a superior technology, just as streaming rendered Blu-ray obsolete.

What kinds of other activities can car parks offer as a way of increasing use, turnover and ambience?
It’s all about providing the right products and services in the most seamless way possible while adapting to the needs of an evolving customer base. Take season tickets, for example, were once a staple product before 2021/2022. But with the rise of remote working, customers now need a more flexible alternative that suits their new routines.

I also believe in the importance of rewarding and appreciating customers, ensuring they never feel taken for granted. They have a choice in where they park, and it’s up to us to show that we value their loyalty and business.

How does the parking business in Australia differ from the UK?
The shift from the Australian parking market to the UK was a bit of a culture shock! In Australia, the market was very competitive, dominated by the big players like Secure Parking and Wilsons, with a lot of rivalry between them. It was an intense environment, especially with both businesses fighting for every customer.

There were some rather colourful moments in Australia too like when the sales and marketing manager was detained by the police over an altercation with a mascot – sounds like something straight out of a comedy sketch!

Not to mention the different leasing structures from Australia to the UK, Australia had short term (3-5 year) leases with only cosmetic repairs and maintenance with UK having 30 years plus with fully repairing and insuring.

The UK, on the other hand, has a much wider variety of car park operators, from large corporations to small family-run businesses. That alone has made things feel different with a much less aggressive marketplace.

Guy Watson will be delivering a keynote talk at the NORTH EAST PARKING SHOW 2025, which takes place at Civic Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne on 5 March.

To find out more about the event click here