For over 75 years, the initials NCP have signified a safe haven for drivers. Its 230,000 on-and off-street spaces in the UK make it the clear UK leader in parking services.
NCP manages or leases some 850 car parks. It also provides a range of parking-related services to clients including local government authorities, airports, rail companies and property companies.
In recent years NCP has expanded rapidly into new areas, particularly by providing outsourced parking services to local authorities, and now delivers a much wider range of services than pure town and city centre car park management.
These services include the provision of parking attendants, clamping and removal services, bus lane monitoring, back office processing and rail and airport car park monitoring. NCP is exceptionally well positioned to continue to build on this success and become one of the leading suppliers of outsourcing services to local authorities - a market forecast to grow rapidly.
Why 3i?
3i identified NCP as a highly attractive business and worked hard to develop a strong relationship with the team many months ahead of the formal sale process, identifying synergies and developing a proprietary investment case.
NCP's management and shareholders were not only impressed by 3i's level of engagement but also its in-depth knowledge of the support services sector and experience in private and public sector outsourcing. 3i has stakes in companies such as Keolis, Williams Lea and Capita that are active in this market.
3i's sector knowledge and commitment to securing the deal also enabled it to move faster than competing trade bidders in the final stages of the auction. 3i's experienced and international deal team included Chris Williams, David Holligon, Wolf Wolfsteiner, Oscar Gomez and Tom Salmon.
The strength of NCP's core business and continued high growth potential of local authority outsourcing underpinned 3i's decision to acquire the business. "NCP's market dominance, growth prospects and ability to capitalise on the trend towards local authority outsourcing provides a great opportunity to grow value," says 3i Partner, Chris Williams.
"We are buying a genuine market-leading business," says Jonathan Russell, Head of 3i's Buyouts business. "It has high quality earnings backed by long-term contracts and significant opportunities for further growth."
New opportunities
Having invested in 2005, 3i oversaw a period of rapid expansion in new areas of transport services and successfully invested in the growing NCP Services business, resulting in a 18% increase in staff numbers by 2007. The decision was made to de-merge the business into traditional car parking services (NCP) and the outsourced services business (NCP Services). NCP was sold in 2007 to a consortium and 3i has refinanced and retained NCP Services.
NCP Services is the market leader in the provision of traffic enforcement and transport management services to local authorities. The business continues to make strong progress and is well positioned to win new contracts as local authorities continue to expand the range of activities that they wish to outsource.