BCP joins growing Q-Park group

Q-Park is Europe's fifth largest car park operator and only this month
changed the name of its UK operations from Universal Parking to Q-Park Ltd.It is market leader in its home base of Holland and has expanded into Germany, Belgium, France and, most recently, Ireland. Q-Park Group's interests in the UK began with the acquisition of Universal Parking's city centre and airport car parks in 2001 and, within the last 12 months, it has purchased Ringway Airparks, the largest off-airport car park at Manchester Airport, and secured a new site adjoining Heathrow Airport.

BCP owns the largest off-airport car park at Gatwick and its 5,000 spaces will form a strategically important addition to Q-Park's five airport car parks - two at Heathrow, two at Manchester and one at Newcastle. BCP's booking service will be strengthened by access to customers at Q-Park's city centre and airport car parks in the UK and to the substantial resources of the Q-Park Group.

Alan Ashbee, Q-Park Ltd's Chief Executive said, "This is a very significant acquisition for the Q-Park Group adding Gatwick's biggest and best off-airport car park to our airport interests and bringing with it, in BCP,the strongest and most respected brand name in the airport parking booking business. I am particularly pleased that Stephen Moss, Eric Campus and their whole management team will be joining Q-Park to assist us with our development plans in the UK."

Celebrating 25 years in Airport Parking at Gatwick, Stephen Moss, BCP's
Managing Director added, "I am proud of the growth that we have achieved at BCP and the goodwill we have built up over the years with the public and with all our colleagues in the travel trade and airport parking industries. In the short term it's very much business as usual but joining up with Q-Park gives us the opportunity to develop the business further and to continue to enhance what is on offer to our clients and customers."