A huge UK car park operator is at risk of collapse as administrators have been appointed.
National Car Parks (NCP) is a private car park operator with car parks in towns and cities across the country.
It also runs car parks at airports, London Underground and National Rail stations.
However, the company has confirmed that it has insufficient cash available to meet its financial obligations.
NCP operates hundreds of car parks across the UK (Image: Getty Images)
UK car park company NCP at risk as administrators appointed
NCP filed a Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators today (March 16).
This is a formal legal document filed at court by a company’s directors or a creditor stating their intent to place the company into administration.
A company then typically has 10 days of protection from creditors taking action, such as filing winding-up petitions, enabling directors to put together a rescue plan.
Zelf Hussain, Rachael Wilkinson and Toby Banfield of PwC have been appointed as Joint Administrators of NCP, which says it 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, managing around 340 car parks across the country, and employing close to 700 people.
The company was founded in 1931 and in the late-1990s was bought by US-based property and travel services provider Cendant.
NCP was sold to 3i in 2005 and, in 2007, was acquired by Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund.
Since 2017, NCP has been owned by Japanese company Park24, which is a global parking operator with more than 19,000 sites across eight countries.
NCP says that its performance has deteriorated over the years following COVID-19, with demand for parking not recovering to historic levels, particularly across city-centre and commuter locations.
Due to this, NCP has been unable to reduce costs in line with revenue or to exit loss-making sites, resulting in ongoing trading losses.
A post shared by National Car Parks (@nationalcarparks1)
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.
Other companies that have gone into administration recently
Several businesses have entered administration so far this year, with others forced to shut stores.
Major high street retailers, including River Island and Poundland, have already been forced to close stores in 2026, while Revolution and BrewDog have shut the doors to 21 and 38 pubs, respectively.
Poundland is one of many retailers that have been forced to shut stores due to financial struggles (Image: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)
Several other retailers have fallen into administration recently, including:
Russell & Bromley
Moores
Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop
Quiz
LK Bennett
This year has also seen a difficult period for the travel industry, with travel companies and airlines also struggling.
Royal Air Philippines, a budget airline which first began operations in 2018, recently entered administration with more than 4,000 flights cancelled.
UK-based company EcoJet Airlines , which was billed as “the world’s first Electric Airline”, has also entered liquidation after just three years, resulting in the cancellation of all planned flights.
What has a nose, wings and runs off of hydrogen? Ecojet 😎 pic.twitter.com/y8QGiBdFe2
— ecotricity (@ecotricity) July 17, 2023
Meanwhile, four UK travel companies have closed down in 2026 (so far):
Regen Central Ltd
Gold Crest Holidays
Asiara UK Ltd
Simply Florida Travel Ltd
All four have ceased trading, according to Companies House, and have lost their Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL).
However, despite many closures and businesses struggling, several major brands have announced new store openings for 2026, including Aldi, M&S, Superdrug, and Lidl.
Which recent business closure has affected you the most? Let us know in the comments.