Spark among investors adding $4.6m to parking app Parkable

Friday, 30 August 2019

Telco Spark has invested in Parkable as part of a $4.6 million funding round for the parking app.

The app matches people with parking spaces to rent with those who need somewhere to park.

The funds will be used to increase Parkable's presence in Australia and China and explore new markets.

In addition to Spark, new investors include Peter Beguely and Rowan Simpson, and early-stage investors and advisory board members Jason Kilgour and David Brain have both increased their holdings.

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Co-founder and chief executive Toby Littin said the company would put the money to work immediately.

'We will be putting the funds to work immediately and I hope our loyal and growing number of parkers and hosts will have even better parking experiences because of that.

'We believe our Parkable for Business product is the best corporate parking optimisation solution in the world. We want to push that very hard now, both in our existing markets in New Zealand, Australia and China, and in new markets where we know there is increasing parking scarcity.'

Co-founder and chief technology officer Brody Nelson said Spark would offer internet of things (IoT) experience to help customers to get better and more useful data.

'We also look forward to being part of Spark's solution for corporate and small and medium-sized businesses, and to have access to their wisdom and experience for the benefit of our team and customers.'

Spark future of connectivity lead Renee Mataparae said it was a strategic investment for the company.

'The Parkable platform offers a unique value proposition in this space for our customers across many industries. It truly demonstrates one of the early use-cases for IoT technology – providing a valuable service for consumers and businesses alike and allowing for better asset utilisation.'

Parkable recently announced a joint venture in China and in February acquired Brisbane-based parking solutions business Park Genie, which it has subsequently rebranded and integrated onto the Parkable platform. Parkable is now operating in three Australian cities as well as in its Shanghai, China base.