DAVID CULLEN
David Cullen, Chief Executive of Euro Car Parks (Ireland) Ltd. talks to
Liam Keilthy
Q. How did you first become professionally
involved in the parking industry?
Like most people in the industry it was largely by accident for me. I
took a job with ECP in May 1999 really as a "filler" but quickly
realised that the company had something different to offer and saw potential
for both the company and I to prosper.
Q Was the move from shopping centre
manager and accountant to CEO of a car park management company an easy one?
As time goes by it does seem an easy one. That said, when I did start
off, with effectively no business or infrastructure, I stared at a blank wall
and wondered what the hell was I doing.
As we started to reel in our initial first few clients, I realised that
the combination of a financial background coupled with a retail background
offered several advantages. In reality anyone can manage a car park, but to run
one efficiently and drive the business forward does take some skill and
expertise and this is where these experiences have benefited me.
Q ECP stole a march on the other operators with its patrol service in
Dunnes and Tesco car parks?
When I started with ECP, we had three staff looking after three Tesco
car parks. Indeed our first Patrol Officer,
Aidan Doyle, is now our National Operations Manager. The Tesco
connection came from the UK as we manage hundreds of Tesco car parks there.
They asked that we look after a couple when they bought Quinnsworth and that's
how it all started. I had tried knocking on the door of Dunnes Stores for two
years with no success. One day out of the blue, their Finance Director rang me
and asked me to come in. He told me that he was just curious as to why we had
"wrecked" his housing estate by filling it with all day parkers that
previously parked in Dundrum Shopping Centre until we took charge. That was our
big break with Dunnes Stores and we now add numerous SuperValus and shopping
centres to our client list.
We have spent much time listening to our retail clients and coming up
with solutions that help their business. These have mainly involved
non-charging systems to ensure car parks remain free for genuine customers and
these have now effectively become partnerships where we provide their "in
house" car park advice.
Q Today you have the largest portfolio of car parks of all the
management companies operating here?
I am very pleased with our expansion throughout the country. A lot of life is luck and timing. In our
case, timing was a key. Our launching coincided largely with the emerging
property development boom, particularly outside Dublin. When I started I
realised that the Dublin market was already mature and nobody was really
serving the provincial towns that were flourishing. I managed to put up 80,000
miles on my car in our first year. Our main initial growth was in these towns
and we now manage car parks in every county in Ireland. I am pleased to have signed the contract for
our 110th car park today. I attribute our growth to having a quality and
dedicated staff on the ground. At the
end of the day, they are our ambassadors so if they don't deliver the highest
standards of service that we aspire to, the business would not be the size it
is now. Our continued growth into the future is largely a function of these
strengths and I commend all of our staff.
Q ECP runs several MSCPs around the
country from Dublin to Limerick?
It's funny but some people gauge success based on the number of MSCPs.
We have several surface car parks taking in some millions of Euro. That said, I
do like the challenges of managing multi-storeys as it brings along the
elements of property and facilities management that I have always found
interesting. It's such a pity that the double-rent relief allowances have
expired. I think the growth of new MSCPs will be severely limited as all the
tax incentives have expired and their future will largely depend on having
other elements such as retail or residential.
Q How do you see the future for ECP and
the Irish parking industry?
Five years ago I thought we would be lucky to peak at 50 car parks. Two
years ago I was hoping for 100. I have now realised that for ECP and generally,
there is going to be significant expansion of the industry for at least the
next ten years. On-street charges are spreading quickly around the country
making existing car parks more valuable and worth managing properly. Retailers,
hospitals, etc have seen the financial benefits from charging whilst also
recognising the importance of car parks for their customers. Similarly the
management of staff parking is now presenting more challenges. Significantly,
the major managing agents have realised that car park management is a separate
speciality to general property management and are becoming more likely to
outsource this element to specialist companies such as ours. I think we have
only just begun our journey in ECP and have great hopes and expectations for
expansion of our business and the industry as a whole.
Q Do you still sail big boats for fun?
Absolutely ! I am tactician on a new 50 footer this year which we will
race abroad for the season representing Ireland. I also have my own thirty
footer which I race and use as a tool to pour large amounts of money into with
no return !
Q And family...?
I married Deirdre last year on April Fools Day so I would never forget
our anniversary. I guess if I spent more time at home, I would be able to add
kids to the story but there's still time left as I barely hang on to my
thirties !
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David Cullen,
Chief Executive,
Euro Car Parks (Ireland) Ltd.
Tel : +353 (0)1 8908320
Fax : +353 (0)1 8408314
www.eurocarparks.ie
info@eurocarparks.ie
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