Westminster City Council

The Council’s 14 car parks (4000 spaces) were operated under a management contract. The Council retained responsibility for commercial aspects including pricing and maintenance. The car parks were over 40 years old. Significant investment was required to modernise them in order to optimise the value of the portfolio and safeguard an important annual revenue stream.

The Council appointed Parking Matters to help them evaluate their options (ex. leasing or selling) and implement the chosen strategy. We advised that a leasing option would be most beneficial and conducted a soft marketing exercise to confirm interest from potential bidders.

Together with property consultants Knight Frank, Parking Matters carried out an RFP for 25 year leases on a full repairing and insuring basis, including proposals for initial investment to upgrade the facilities.

The bid (not subject to OJEU) yielded 300 expressions of interest from around the world and 11 proposals. The field was narrowed to a short list of 4 from which Q-Park was selected as preferred bidder.

Results
The Council has increased its annual net revenue by £2 million with a guaranteed inflation-proofed minimum revenue for the next 25 years. Q-Park is investing £10 million to improve the quality of the facilities and the Council is no longer liable for commercial and maintenance responsibilities.

Alastair Gilchrist – Strategic Director of Resources, Westminster City Council
“Parking Matters was with us every step of the way. They helped us decide what was best for our car parks and worked in partnership with our agents Knight Frank to make it happen. Their in-depth knowledge of the parking business was key to the success of this project.”