Companies news First UK hospital to install solar car park Solar car park specialist 3ti has worked with sustainable resource management company Veolia to bring renewable electricity generation to Eastbourne District General Hospital, with funding support from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. The hospital is the first in the UK to install a new solar car park that will help lower CO2 emissions by 222 tonnes in the first year. The new array comprises more than 2,400 solar panels across eight canopies, which cover 400 parking spaces. It also has 10 solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints for staff. Connected Kerb and AppyWay partnership Intelligent parking and kerbside management company AppyWay has announced its strategic partnership with Connected Kerb, an industryleading provider of EV charging infrastructure. This collaboration aims to reshape EV charging and parking solutions, enhancing convenience and accessibility for drivers, while helping local authorities unlock the insights they need to meet net-zero targets. VivaCity heads to the Emerald Isle VivaCity, the transport technology scale-up transforming cities into smarter, more efficient places to live and work, is expanding into Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to transform transport infrastructure. Irish towns are on a mission to boost road safety and promote active travel. VivaCity sensors gather highly accurate, anonymous, multimodal road-use data on traffic flow, travel patterns and behaviours. In addition, VivaCity offers near miss and smart signal control technology for proactive road safety management and network optimisation. From left: Colin Arthur, Paul Kyte and John Mason have joined the APN Group Inset: Mike Marrs has been appointed as CEO New acquisition and faces for APN Group Recently launched APN Group has acquired Trace Enforcement Group, one of the fastest-growing providers of debt recovery and enforcement services in the private and public parking sectors. It has also announced the appointment of industry-leading figures to its senior ranks: Mike Marrs, former development director at Marston Holdings and former BPA President, as its CEO; John Mason, former director of CDER Group, as managing director; Colin Arthur, previously at Debt Recovery Plus, as transformation director; and Paul Kyte, previously at Bristow and Sutor, as client director. The three founding directors of Trace Enforcement Group Chloe Barnes, Louis Ellis and David Jarvis remain shareholders, and have taken up active roles within the APN Group. The acquisition follows the announcement that RingGo founder Harry Clarke has joined APN Group as chair. Non-executive Clarke joins the board in support of executive directors Tom Clough, group general counsel and company secretary, and Eddie Harrison, chief operating officer. Marrs said: Im stoked to be back building relationships in the parking, debt and enforcement world that I love. Everyone who knows me knows Im not your typical corporate exec but at APN Group were leaning into what makes us different. Thats how well use our collective expertise to bring the industry exactly what it wants and has been waiting for. Harrison added: APN Group is bringing together expertise in both the private and public parking sectors with a genuine understanding of data, process and technology to create something new and meaningful. EasyPark set to buy Flowbird EasyPark Group aspires to become the leading mobility platform provider in the world by acquiring the Flowbird Group, a global mobility player offering integrated parking and transportation solutions. EasyPark Group mobile-paid parking serves tens of millions of people in Europe, North America and Australia. Flowbird Group has been operational for more than 40 years, and has been a long-term partner to thousands of cities and municipalities in more than 80 countries. Cameron Clayton, EasyPark Group CEO, said: Our intended acquisition of Flowbird Group will strengthen our offerings, with a shared commitment to customer satisfaction and driving long-term growth and innovation. Combined, we aim to take greater responsibility for the digitalisation of urban mobility. Frdric Beylier, Flowbird Group CEO, said: We look forward to joining forces with EasyPark. This complementary combination aims to create an integrated player in the mobility space, enabling new multimodal mobility solutions for travellers. 8 PN Dec 2023 pp08-09 Companies News.indd 8 01/12/2023 10:47