City Centre Convenience - 13/09/11

With Birmingham home to more than 42,000 businesses*, the city centre is a pinnacle of bustling corporate and retail activity, as thousands of employees commute in to the city every day. Yet whilst a city centre location comes with many benefits, such as access to local amenities, there can be issues for employees around inconvenient public transport or lack of suitable and affordable parking.

Travel Club Elite is a leading local travel agency which has been based in Birmingham city centre for more than 26 years, and whose managing director, Colin Matthews, has recognised the benefits of taking out a parking lease at city centre mixed-use scheme, The Cube.

Colin comments: "In the years we have been based in the city centre, parking has increasingly become an issue for us, as we want parking facilities in a good location that are also clean, safe and offer good value for money.

"Over the past three years, Travel Club Elite has also doubled its staff numbers and turnover, and so we are always looking for options to make commuting into the city centre easier and more cost-effective. A city centre location is vital to our business, as this guarantees we are able to attract the best employees, and so it's important for us to have convenient and accessible car parking facilities on hand.

"Therefore, after the launch of The Cube's car park last year, we looked into car parking leases available to see how they compared to our current agreement." comments Colin.

The Cube's car parking facilities are clean and modern, and the fully-automated system parks the cars by using the UK's first stacking system. This means ultimate security as once the car is driven in, it is inaccessible until returned to its owner.

Colin explains: "Older car parks are often dirty, insecure and the spaces are not big enough to accommodate the size of modern cars. The Cube's automated parking system takes away the hassle of having to manoeuvre around a busy car park, and it's reassuring to know your car is completely secure.

"I recently attended a business meeting which ran over into dinner and a couple of glasses of wine. I knew I could leave my car parked for the night in total security, with no worries about penalty charges or vandalism."

Neil Edginton, director at The Cube, comments: "When we were initially developing ideas for the car park, we were keen create something revolutionary but also functional and affordable. We knew we had the ideal location for city centre parking, but would need to offer something unique in order to attract commuters.

"Our automated stacking system offers clean, convenient and completely secure parking from just £4 a day with a monthly pass. The Cube's car park is just a few minutes' walk from many surrounding businesses and so is often the most handy option for many of our neighbours."

Colin adds: "An added benefit of holding a parking lease at The Cube is being able to use the facilities in the evening or over the weekend. Plus, the pleasant walk along the canal side to my office every morning is a great way to start the day."

Long and short term licences are now available to anyone interested in using The Cube car park. For further information on The Cube please visit www.thecube.co.uk or call 0121 654 9400. For further information on Travel Club Elite please visit www.travelclubelite.com.

* According to Marketing Birmingham's Business Facts www.tinyurl.com/43ska5v

For media information, please call:

Kate Dawson on 0121 713 3978 or email kate.dawson@mccann.com

Katie Allsopp on 0121 713 3769 or email katie.allsopp@mccann.com