NCP has confirmed plans to close five more car parks across the UK, following a wave of closures earlier this month. These potential closures put hundreds of jobs at risk.
Previous Closures
On April 16, the operator shut down parking locations at Belfast Dublin Road, Coventry Nelgrade Plaza, Leicester St Nicholas Circle, and Sheffield Blonk Street. Before that, on March 27, London Kings Cross St Pancras, Exeter Market Street, Leicester East Street, and Bristol Nelson Street all saw sites shut down.
New Closures
Now, just before midland on April 30, five more locations will shut. These include: Kidderminster Swan Centre, Southampton Portland, Chester Browns Yard, Bradford Southgate, and Nottingham Huntingdon.
Administrator's Statement
PwC, which has been handling the ongoing administration process, said: “Following the closure of a number of commercially unviable sites on 27 March and 16 April, it has not been possible to reach agreements to enable the continued operation of a further five loss-making sites.”
Industry Reactions
Nick Bubb, an independent analyst, says: “I can see in London that working from home post-pandemic and the congestion charge won’t have helped and that elsewhere a lot of traffic and footfall has shifted from high streets and shopping centres to retail parks out of town, but I’d still have thought that multistorey car parks were a reasonably defensive business, given the difficulty in finding parking.”
Nick Stockley, a partner at the law firm Mayo Wynne Baxter, says the more profitable sites at airports and stations are likely to remain parking venues with new owners, which should save some jobs. “It is unlikely that there will be any value in the NCP brand name,” he says. “I don’t think there’s brand loyalty in a car park brand. People are interested in location.”
The remaining car parks across the UK will remain open.
