My Perfect Sunday: Nick Sandy, Cardok UK Limited

For those of you who haven’t heard of Cardok, you soon will! They provide car parking solutions which are proving increasingly popular with developers building houses and/or flats on tight urban sites. You can read more about their products here  http://www.cardok.com/en/our-products

Nick told us that “As CEO I handle the customer’s purchase from initial enquiry through to finished installation, make the coffee and lock up last thing. I have worked in property development all my life and have an understanding of buildings and how to make things fit and work. Work with some great people and we have a fantastic team that make it all worthwhile.”

I've worked in the construction sector since: I bought my first flat at 19, which I lived in refurbished and then sold it for a profit! I then did it again and again and have been involved in property/ planning and development ever since!

The best thing about my job is: the problem solving, the excitement of the design and concept, thinking out of the box and now Cardok with its range of products and parking solutions: it really is life fulfilling stuff. You have a space and need to fit in an installation - how best to do it? I love the design teams to engage with the architects who get on board with the products we have, the developments we do, changing the perception and opening new horizons, possibilities: it’s great.

The worst thing about my job is: Architects who don’t engage and changing their mind and not realising that moving a pillar or a wall just a few centimetres can affect the whole job / installation / workings of one of our products. But then RIBA does stand for “remember I’m the B****y Architect” so we should all respect their work as they do have to deal with the bigger picture so can’t complain too much.

The first album I ever bought was: Hole in the Ground by Bernard Cribbins. I was very young, and it is amusing now we are putting parking systems in big holes in the ground.

My favourite holiday was to: South Africa on my honeymoon: Cape Town, then up to Victoria Falls on the Zambezi river.  I love train travel and have travelled across Europe by train - Bath to Istanbul, across Russia, across Australia, and looking forward to a train trip in South America this November.

My favourite bar/restaurant is: With so much choice here in Bath where we live and our Head Office is based, this is a challenging question as there is such a wide and varied choice. Having a dog ‘Monti’ he rather defines where we go and where he gets spoiled the most and is allowed to sit on the bar stools, is at Hall and Woodhouse as he always gets water and biscuits there and a big fuss. As for restaurants, Woods restaurant and the Circus Restaurant are favourites, although Monti’s favourite is Brasserie Blanc as he is allowed in; I could go on… we have some great restaurants in Bath.

Make mine a (e.g., pint of something/rum&coke/glass of champagne): On a hot summer day you cannot beat a good pint and on a cold winters night a pint is always acceptable. My dad always used to say there is no bad beer, some are just better than others.

In 2016…. Exciting times in the Cardok world with some rather innovative products coming to market. High expectations for the business to grow and there’s also always a development on the go and the ones we are putting through planning now all have Cardok elements to them, plus being green and eco-friendly of course.

My perfect Sunday would be: I always get up at the same time everyday so Sunday is no different in that respect. I can then have a sneaky check on work and what Monday might throw up, check I am ready and prepared, all before anyone else is around. Then I like to get and then read the papers over a leisurely breakfast / coffee, the Archers; pottering in the garden maybe, walk Monti. I love to cook; so cooking a proper Sunday roast, i.e. rib of beef rolled and stuffed with smoked oysters, a glass of a decent red and maybe a desert wine as I do puddings as well. Surrounded by family and friends, good food, that’s a great Sunday.

These notes have been prepared for the purpose of articles only. They should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice.