One of the UK’s biggest car park operators has entered administration, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. National Car Parks (NCP) manages a whopping 340 car parks across the UK and 682 staff, covering everything from major towns and city centres to airports and hospitals.
Zelf Hussain, Rachael Wilkinson and Toby Banfield of PwC have been appointed as Joint Administrators and will take steps to “stabilise the business”. Administrators will continue to trade the business for now, with all sites remaining open and employees remaining in their roles. However, the administrators explain that they will also be “assessing options for its future”.
Zelf Hussain, joint administrator and PwC partner, explained: “NCP has faced a challenging trading environment over several years, with changing consumer behaviours impacting volumes, and a high fixed cost-base leading to trading losses.
“Our priority on appointment is to ensure continuity of service while we undertake a detailed review of the business. All sites are open, staff remain in post, and trading continues as normal.
“We will be engaging with landlords, employees and other stakeholders as we explore all options, including the potential sale of all or part of the business, to secure the best possible outcome for creditors.”
According to PwC, the performance of NCP car parks has “deteriorated over a number of years”. They explained that demand for parking has not recovered to historic levels since the coronavirus pandemic, particularly in city centres and commuter areas.
They explained that shifts in commuting have impacted site occupancy, leading to a high concentration of long-term, inflexible leases, which have prevented the company from reducing costs in line with revenue.
Park24, NCP’s parent company, also explained that higher energy prices due to the war in Ukraine had also put pressure on the business. Park24 also explained that NCP had “pursued new car park developments to support revenue growth” and had implemented cost-cutting measures.
But they stressed that “structural losses continued”, while “no prospect of improvement in its cash‑flow position could be identified”.
Express.co.uk has contacted the British Parking Association (BPA) for comment.
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