APCOA Parking annual business results for 2014 show strong new business performance

Following the successful conclusion of its financial restructuring measures, APCOA PARKING Group, Europe’s leading car park management company, can look back on a successful year of trading in operational terms as well.

"We were able to continue to expand our business in 2014," said Ralf Bender, CEO of the APCOA PARKING Group. "In a year of refinancing, that is a particularly gratifying result," he added. APCOA has succeeded in strengthening its leading position in a whole range of countries. It has also opened another 1,029 parking sites, bringing the total number of sites it operates in Europe to 8,442, a growth of 13.9%, and intensifying its presence on the ground.

Business growth was particularly marked in Germany. Car park management on private premises (PARK&CONTROL) achieved notably positive results. The number of PARK&CONTROL sites trebled, reaching more than 150. "We are expecting further significant growth in 2015," Bender stated.

The company’s business in Sweden also showed positive developments, marking up a record turnover for 2014. Here the Group increased its market share from 36% to 38% in the private sector. APCOA is already the market leader for railway station car parks in Great Britain, and last year the company made further advances. In close partnership with a railway company, APCOA will be improving station car parks by introducing new technology. This will entail the automated number plate recognition at 13 stations.

In the field of airport parking, APCOA renewed its contracts with London’s Heathrow airport (UK) and Bergamo airport (Italy). A new contract was concluded for the management of a third multi-storey car park at Posen Airport (Poland). This shows APCOA continuing to build on its position of European market leadership in the airports sector.

The E-Solutions business unit, which provides car park booking over the internet, also developed auspiciously. In Norway the E-Solutions team set up two further innovative booking platforms for the international airports of Oslo and Sandefjord. After the introduction of five new booking platforms in just six months, the APCOA PARKING Group is leading the field for online bookings at airport car parks.

Totalling around 666 million euros, the Group turnover in the year 2014 was slightly below the corresponding figure from the previous year. As a provider of parking services to partners under contract, the group of companies realised an additional external turnover of around 385 million euros which is not included in the Group turnover. The entire volume of turnover for the year 2014 thus again came to just over one billion euros (1,051 billion euros).

Taking the restructuring costs of the APCOA PARKING Group out of the equation, the Group’s operative yield for the year 2014 improved significantly. The EBITDA (R) thus increased by 43.6%, from 38.21 million to 54.86 million euros.

In the course of the amicable financial restructuring involving the majority shareholder Centerbridge Partners and others, the liabilities of the APCOA PARKING Group were reduced by around 444 million euros. In addition, around 80 million euros were made available to the group for investment programmes and future growth. With the support of the new proprietors, APCOA now wants to accelerate its profitable growth.

About APCOA

APCOA PARKING was established in 1971 as a parking management company, and became the first company in the UK to provide on-street parking enforcement in 1986.  APCOA currently employs over 2,000 staff in the UK and a further 2,500 staff across 11 other European countries.

To date, APCOA is the largest full-service parking management company in Europe, providing a wide range of on and off-street services on behalf of local authorities, and clients at airports, rail stations, shopping centres, town and city centres, hotels, hospitals and universities.