Britain’s biggest car park firm is set to crash into administration, the Daily Mail and This is Money can reveal.
The company employs 682 people and manages approximately 340 car parks nationwide, including in major towns and city centres, airports, hospitals and transport hubs.
But it recorded losses of almost £27.5million in 2022 and £26.7million in 2023.
It has not yet filed more recent accounts, however a statement issued on behalf of the company said it had not recovered from business lost in the Covid pandemic amid the rise in flexible working.
Documents lodged today with London’s High Court say the company, which charges up to £33 for 24 hours parking in Manchester and £60 at sites in central London, has filed an intention to appoint an administrator.
This is a formal legal step filed in court, often providing a company with 10 days’ protection from creditor legal actions.
The notice was filed at 10.01am today and is likely to shock customers and clients, which range from private landowners to councils.
NCP has filed notice of intention to appoint administrators in the High Court today
The firm has been frequently criticised in recent years for levying overzealous fines.
Last February, NCP apologised and quashed all incorrectly applied fines after a grandfather was incorrectly asked to cough up a £100 penalty charge for a 14-minute stay in Darlington, County Durham.
Signs at the car park stated parking was free for customers for 90 minutes.
In 2024, Bolton Council wrote off almost £1.5million in debts owed by the company from during the pandemic.
Reports say NCP turned over £187million for the financial year ending 2023, a 7.15 per cent drop from the previous year.
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, law firm representing the company, said it would not be commenting.
A statement issued on behalf of NCP said: ‘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 statement added: ‘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.’
Joint administrators PwC is to ‘engage with landlords’ and a sale of ‘all or part of the business’ is being considered, along with site closures.
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.’
How parking fines have soared
Private companies are hitting drivers with nearly 40,000 parking charges a day, This is Money revealed last year, while the DVLA is raking in almost £100,000 every 24 hours as a result.
The agency’s full-year figures showed requests for a record 14,371,841 vehicle ownership details from private parking firms in 2024-25.
This was an increase of 13 per cent on the year previous and 39,375 per day on average.
Charges can be issued by private parking operators to drivers for overstaying time restrictions in car parks at supermarkets, shopping centres, business parks, motorway services and restaurant locations, with charges amounting to as much as £100.
However, in order to issue parking charge notices by post, they must first request the vehicle owner’s information – including their home addresses – from the DVLA at £2.50 a time.
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