A STAR of television’s Dragons’ Den is heading to Sunderland later this month to encourage businesses to sign up with the North East business she backed on the programme.
Jenny Campbell, a former Business Woman of the Year, invested £80,000 in ParkingPerx, which rewards drivers with free parking for shopping at high street stores.
The Morpeth company has worked with Sunderland BID - the city centre improvement organisation - on trialling the project and is now holding an event where Ms Campbell and ParkingPerx founder Chris Reed will encourage businesses in the city to sign up.
Ms Campbell will also be guest speaker at a business lunch organised by the BID, where she will share the secrets of her success.
Sharon Appleby, head of business operations at Sunderland BID, said: “It’s fantastic that ParkingPerx is officially launching in Sunderland and that it will run here before being rolled out across the country.
“We have been a huge supporter of it since day one and recognised that it offered a tangible way to incentivise shoppers and boost trade.
“We hope as many businesses as possible will come along on the night to listen to Jenny and find out how signing up can benefit them.”
The ParkingPerx event will take place at The Looking Glass, on Sunderland’s Athenaeum Street, on February 27. Ms Campbell will then be speaking at the BID’s business lunch at Sunderland College’s Bistro the following day.
ParkingPerx aims to reverse the decline on UK high streets by rewarding shoppers for their loyalty to town centre businesses with discounts on parking tickets.
The app has been described as “potentially transformational for town centres” by Government tech advisor Liam Maxwell and ParkingPerx was named one of the 50 most innovative tech companies in England.
After receiving Ms Campbell’s backing on Dragons’ Den, the company also secured investment from the North East Venture Fund, which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund.
Mr Reed said: “We really believe that ParkingPerx is a game changer for the high street.
“The system uses Smart Beacon technology which sends smart messages to users when they park and shop. Retailers decide on the incentive they want to offer and these are added to the app.
“Consumers can earn ParkingPerx in any participating outlet, meaning there’s more variety than individual loyalty schemes.”
