National Car Parks Limited (NCP) - in administration

Zelf Hussain, Rachael Wilkinson and Toby Banfield of PwC have been appointed as Joint Administrators of National Car Parks Limited, (“NCP” or “the Company”) and will now take steps to stabilise the business while assessing options for its future.

NCP is one of the UK’s largest car park operators, employing 682 people and managing approximately 340 car parks nationwide, including in major towns and city centres, airports, hospitals and transport hubs. 

The Joint Administrators will continue to trade the business for the time being while undertaking an assessment of the options for the business. For now, all sites remain open, employees will continue to be employed in their roles and customers will see no immediate changes to the day‑to‑day operations. 

The Company’s performance has deteriorated over a number of years post COVID-19 as demand for parking has not recovered to historic levels, particularly across city-centre and commuter locations. Continued shifts in commuting and customer driving patterns have impacted site occupancy, while the high concentration of long-term, inflexible leases has meant the Company has been unable to reduce costs in line with revenue or to exit loss-making sites, resulting in ongoing trading losses. The Company now has insufficient cash available to meet its financial obligations and the Directors have therefore taken the decision to appoint administrators.

As part of the administration, the Joint Administrators will engage with landlords and other stakeholders to assess and, where necessary, make changes to the business designed to improve the viability of as many of the sites as possible. A sale of all or part of the business will be explored as one of the options to secure the best outcome for creditors. The Administrators will continually review the viability of each location, and depending on the outcome of discussions with stakeholders, there may need to be site closures as part of the process.

Zelf Hussain, Joint Administrator and PwC partner, said:

“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.”

The Joint Administrators will now begin their statutory duties, including communicating with employees, landlords and suppliers, and issuing an initial creditors’ update in due course.

Ends