With rising labor and product costs as well as a customer base that is watching their spending more carefully, economic problems have also seeped into the automotive industry at every level.
California-based off-road racing car manufacturer Alumicraft, auto parts giant Marelli Holdings Co. and auto parts company First Brands Group are some of the U.S. companies that filed for bankruptcy protection in the last year.
Over in the United Kingdom, car park operator National Car Parks (NCP) has became the latest to file a notice expressing its intent to go into administration. The latter is a process similar to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. with the key difference being that administrators are given control of restructuring the business.
National Car Parks to go into administration, company behind 340 airport car lots
The NCP operates over 340 car parks across the country, including ones at many major airports such as Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham. As first reported by local outlets, “shifts in commuting and customer driving patterns” have led to it consistently failing to bring in the necessary revenue.
Global audit company PricewaterhouseCoopers has been assigned as the administrator overseeing the case. While the statement put out by the company promises that it will “engage with landlords” and “make changes to the business designed to improve the viability of as many of the sites as possible,” the administration puts the future of the 680 people employed by NCP at risk given its precarious position.
Related: After Chapter 11 bankruptcy, airline makes surprising comeback
The 800 parking sites, including airport lots, operating across the UK are going to stay open for the time being. Along with airports, NCP operates long-term parking lots at transit hubs like the London Underground and National Rail system.
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“The company now has insufficient cash available to meet its financial obligations”
“The Company’s performance has deteriorated over a number of years post COVID-19 as demand for parking has not recovered to historic levels, particularly across city-centre and commuter locations,” jointly-appointed administrators Zelf Hussain, Rachael Wilkinson and Toby Banfield said in a statement. “Continued shifts in commuting and customer driving patterns have impacted site occupancy, while the high concentration of long-term, inflexible leases has meant the Company has been unable to reduce costs in line with revenue or to exit loss-making sites, resulting in ongoing trading losses. The Company now has insufficient cash available to meet its financial obligations and the Directors have therefore taken the decision to appoint administrators.”
These airlines filed for bankruptcy in 2025:
- Spirit Airlines (Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc.): Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time on August 29, 2025.
- Ravn Alaska: Ceased operations in August 2025 after earlier Chapter 11 proceedings; shut down flights and folded into other operations such as New Pacific.
- Corporate Air: Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (restructuring) in September 2025 as part of a planned sale, according to Bondoro.
- Play Airlines: The Reykjavik-based airline shut down operations and entered involuntary bankruptcy in September 2025.
- Braathens Airlines:The airline was forced to file for bankruptcy and canceled all of its flights in September 2025.
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NCP was established in 1931 and has gone through multiple changes of owners in the period since. Current Japanese owner Park24 last reported debts of over £305 million ($405 million USD) greater than the total of its assets.
While filing for administration in the UK gives a company 10 days to present a restructuring plan before administrators can take action, early reports show that a collapse could be imminent.
Related: International travel company shuts down in bankruptcy, travelers stranded
