NCP has confirmed the closure of 29 car parks across the UK, including a location in Birmingham, following the company's collapse into administration. The Birmingham Gough Street car park was among those shut down on March 27.
Administration Process
PwC, which is managing the administration process, stated: "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."
Expert Analysis
Nick Bubb, an independent analyst, commented: "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."
Full List of Closures
Closed on Thursday, April 30
- Bradford Southgate
- Chester Browns Yard
- Kidderminster Swan Centre
- Nottingham Huntingdon Street
- Southampton Portland Terrace
Closed on Thursday, April 16
- Belfast Dublin Road
- Coventry Belgrade Plaza
- Leicester St Nicholas Circle
- Sheffield Blonk Street
Closed on Friday, March 27
- Ashford County Square
- Ashton-under-Lyne Cotton Street
- Banbury Marlborough Road
- Bexley Royal Oak Road
- Birmingham Gough Street
- Bournemouth Hinton Road (already closed)
- Bristol Nelson Street
- Bromley Travelodge
- Eastbourne Trinity Place
- Exeter Market Street
- Grantham Station 1-3
- Hinckley Britannia Shopping Centre
- Ipswich Portman Road
- Leicester Abbey Street
- Leicester East Street
- Leicester Lee Circle
- Leicester Rutland Centre
- London King's Cross St Pancras
- London Knightsbridge
- Luton Regent Street
Future of Remaining Sites
Nick Stockley, a partner at law firm Mayo Wynne Baxter, noted that more profitable sites at airports and stations are likely to continue operating under new owners, potentially saving some jobs. "It is unlikely that there will be any value in the NCP brand name," he said. "I don't think there's brand loyalty in a car park brand. People are interested in location." The remaining NCP car parks across the UK will remain open for now.
