Q-Park Wins Bid to Take Over 14 Car Parks in London

MAASTRICHT, The Netherlands, February 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Q-Park, an international parking company, has won the bid to take over 14 car parks in the heart of London. Q-Park has been granted the 25-year lease by Westminster City Council, leaving behind strong competition from across Europe by demonstrating its proven quality, outstanding operations, sustainable financial performance and after promising to invest GBP 10 million in an extensive refurbishment programme. Q-Park will take over operation of the car parks on 1 February 2011.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20110201/435035 )

The 14 car parks which provide 4,200 car parking spaces and 900 motorcycle bays serve multiple customer groups with different economic, residential and leisure needs. For these customers, business partners and the local community, Q-Park seeks to increase the accessibility of Westminster, to improve safety for car drivers and pedestrians and to enhance the quality of public space. Very popular tourist destinations are located close by, such as the Houses of Parliament, Leicester Square, Oxford Street, Soho, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Knightsbridge and Lords cricket ground.

The 14 car parks are; Abingdon, Broadley, Chinatown, Church Street, Cramer Street, Harley Street, Knightsbridge, Oxford Street, Park Lane, Pimlico, Queensway, Soho, St John's Wood and Trafalgar.

Besides the investment of GBP 10 million to support local economic, mobility and quality needs, Q-Park's social responsibility policy will address fair pricing schemes, and will minimise traffic searching for a place to park, thus reducing CO2 emissions. It will also include sustainable and functional car park refurbishment and maintenance, and will support Westminster City Council with its integrated mobility-restricting policy.

Adam Bidder, Managing Director of Q-Park Great Britain: "We are delighted to have been chosen to work in partnership with Westminster City Council. We look forward to completing the process and investing in the car parks to the benefit of our customers. We believe this provides a framework for other local authorities to provide quality parking facilities which we hope to build on for the future"

Ward Vleugels, CEO of Q-Park NV: "We are delighted to be entrusted by the Westminster Council to provide a number of quality car parks across central London. This new partnership will enrich the parking experience of residents and visitors by offering quality facilities in a customer focused environment."

About Q-Park

Q-Park is one of the three leading providers of parking facilities in Europe, whether wholly-owned, leased, managed or in a hybrid business model. Q-Park is notable for its quality approach and has a portfolio comprising over 800 000 parking spaces and office accommodation in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

About the City of Westminster (extract from Wikipedia)

City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London including most of the West End. It is located to the west of the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and its southern boundary is the River Thames. Aside from a number of large parks and open spaces, the density of the district is high. Many sites thought of as being in London are actually in Westminster, including Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and 10 Downing Street. The city is divided into a number of localities including the ancient political district of Westminster; the shopping areas around Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Bond Street; and the night time entertainment district of Soho.

SOURCE Q-Park