The downfall of NCP: How Britain’s largest automotive park operator accrued large money owed regardless of charging £60-a-day for areas beneath Japanese possession – because it collapses into administration with practically 700 jobs in danger

Charging up to £60 per day for a parking space couldn’t save Britain’s biggest car park firm, after it accrued massive debts which have seen it collapse into administration this week.

Japanese-owned NCP employs 682 people and manages approximately 340 car parks nationwide, but after crashing into £305million of debt, its future has never been more uncertain.

From a small family firm founded almost 100 years ago, NCP has grown into a nationwide staple in the parking world.

After being sold to various owners in the last three decades, more recently it has been making headlines for extortionate prices and overzealous enforcement of parking fines. 

Now documents lodged on Monday with London’s High Court say NCP, 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.

But making no mention of prices, it blames a decline in use of its car parks since the pandemic, as well as rising energy costs as a result of the war in Ukraine.

NCP was founded in 1931 as a small, family-run firm operating parking in west London.

In 1948, entrepreneurs Ronald Hobson and Sir Donald Gosling set up Central Car Parks in the city, later acquiring the family business now known as NCP in 1959.

By the late 1990s, the firm had grown significantly and would be bought by US firm Cendant.

But this parent company would not last long amid a major accounting scandal in 1998, after Cendant merged with direct marketing firm CUC International.

Before being sold twice more in the early 2000s, NCP scored its first major partnership with Manchester City Council in 1999.

It was a sign of the company’s rapid expansion which also saw it acquire a series of car parks and petrol stations, and manage car parking contracts for third parties.

NCP was ultimately sold to Japanese firm Park24, by which time it had 150,000 parking spaces across 500 sites around the UK.

It is – for now at least – headed up by CEO Rob England and Chief Financial Officer Hideyuki Nagahiro, who joined the board at the time of the takeover by Park24.

Mr Nagahiro became responsible for revenue accounting, financial reporting and matters of tax – having worked at Japanese banks for more than 20 years.

Yet his experience in finance couldn’t save NCP, as it saw its prospects plummet in recent years. 

NCP turned over £187million for the financial year ending 2023, a 7.15 per cent drop from the previous year.

But it also recorded losses of almost £27.5million in 2022 and £26.7million in 2023. 

By the time the notice of administration was issued, its portfolio had shrunk to 340 sites and debts had mounted to £305million.

In 2024, Bolton Council wrote off almost £1.5million in debts owed by the company from during the pandemic. 

Customers have in recent years complained of high prices, with some central London car parks setting them back £60 per day.

In London’s Soho, NCP’s Brewer Street car park charges drivers £15 per hour, or £45 for up to three hours, before rising to £60 for 24 hours.

The firm has also been frequently criticised 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.

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. 

A statement issued on behalf of NCP addressing the appointment of administrators said it had not recovered from business lost in the Covid pandemic amid the rise in flexible working. 

Appointed firm PwC said NCP’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.’ 

It added: ‘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.’

NCP has also cited higher energy prices since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. 

PwC stressed that all sites remain open and all employees are currently staying in their posts.

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.’