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Sook

Short-term rentals of retail units

21-100 employees
  • Retail
  • B2B
  • Renting
57 Rathbone Place London W1T 1JU

Company mission

Eliminate the barriers to physical retail, by letting occupiers of any kind - brands, businesses, entrepreneurs and communities - rent innovative, sustainable, and digitally-enhanced spaces across the UK.

Top investors

Otta's take

Sam Franklin headshot

Sam Franklin

CEO of Otta

By providing immensely flexible short-term rentals of retail units, Sook is poised to provide a desperately needed service for vendors who increasingly find high-street rentals too high a cost to bear.

An archetype of the sharing economy, Sook’s digitally enhanced retail units are an attractive product for a new generation of business owners who can try out a high street location without a huge commitment to rent and rates.

In order to reach truly massive scale, Sook will need to focus on increasing the number of its locations and prove its value to the more established e-commerce brands.

Benefits

  • Casual dress
  • Sookciety - Our Company events team - Monthly events alternating between IRL and Virtual. Twice yearly IRL get together for the whole company (Summer and Winter Party)
  • Company pension - Provided through Nest - 5% personal contribution followed by a 3% contribution by Sook.
  • Bike2work scheme - Sook covers the cost of the Bike and Equiptment limited to £1500 (employee repays over 12 months in the form of salary sacrifice.
  • Recruitment Referral Scheme - £750 payable once the FTE completes their Probabtionary Period of 12 Weeks.
  • Wellness programmes - Access to My Health Advantage (via app) and an opt in Wellness Benefit of £40 Per Month.
  • Work from home - The majority of our roles offer Hybrid Working (see Job Description for requirements of the role)
  • Monthly Meeting - The World According to Sook (Overview of the previous month from each function within the business and the opportunity to celebrate success, Chosen team members win a £20 Voucher)

Founders

Former Captain in the Army. Worked with retail and events spaces for a number of years including for London 2012 and as Managing Director of Sunbird Group.

Endorsements

All

Supportive management (2)

Meaningful work (1)

Nice people (1)

Hard working team (1)

Open and honest communication (1)

Flexible working (1)

Inspiring mission (1)

Growing fast (1)

People really pull together when something needs to be done, or there's a last minute launch of a space. Even though a lot of us are scattered around the country, we are all kept up-to-date with what everyone else is doing - and everyone seems super busy!

Marketing

Hard working team

Oct 2022

I enjoy meetings! My team is so friendly and down-to-earth, which makes it easy to have open conversations about the work. I feel listened to and valued, and as a result I have no problem getting stuck into whatever the task is. I haven't always worked with teams like this, and it does make a difference.

Marketing

Nice people

Oct 2022

My manager is so understanding and supportive. She always makes sure each team member is given visible credible credit for their work. The management are knowledgeable in their field, and I'd feel comfortable approaching any of them.

Marketing

Supportive management

Oct 2022

Sook is an ambitious, fast-growing company, and everything you do has the potential to positively impact on this growth. No idea is too big or too small; I feel listened to and appreciated; and there is a supportive, welcoming culture, which all members of staff are encouraged to play a part in developing. Flexible working is also part of this culture, which is hugely important to me. Finally, I really do believe in the mission and values of Sook, and how it intends to make a positive difference to the future of the high street.

Marketing

Meaningful work

Sep 2022

There is a culture of open communication between teams and management, with regular updates and monthly all-company meetings and presentations. The company is also fostering a culture that is open to all ideas and suggestions, with the CEO leading by example.

Marketing

Open and honest communication

Sep 2022

While there is a London head office and teams based around the UK, Sook gives employees the flexibility to work where they want - providing this doesn’t impact upon their ability to do their job. This is something which is hugely important to me, and supports my role as a parent to young children.

Marketing

Flexible working

Sep 2022

Sook is expanding faster than ever and revolutionising how pop-up brands and small businesses operate and gain exposure. Sook is opening more stores across the UK with new members joining the strong and driven team, it’s a pleasure to be apart of this.

Operations & Strategy

Growing fast

Sep 2022

The mission Sook has is to aid businesses with their pop-up experience. With on-hand help with setting up the shop to allowing clients to pick how they design the store. It’s a revolutionary process enabling business to gain public exposure and operate in an efficient way.

Operations & Strategy

Inspiring mission

Sep 2022

The management team is really supportive and are responsive in any help or queries you may have. Sook enables all members opinions to be valued and heard.

Operations & Strategy

Supportive management

Sep 2022

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