NCP, Britain’s largest commercial car park operator, was yesterday sold to 3i Group, the FTSE 100 venture capitalist, for £555 million.

The deal, 3i’s largest solo transaction to date, valued the combined stake of NCP’s seven most senior managers, led by its chief executive, Bob Macnaughton, at about £40 million. They are selling a small portion of their shares, but their overall holding will rise significantly under an incentive scheme introduced by 3i. About 90 other managers own small stakes in the company.

3i said it aims to continue the strategy begun by Cinven, the seller, to transform NCP from an off-street car park operator to a more general transport services business. Jonathan Russell, 3i’s head of buyouts, said: “There is an increasing trend towards local government outsourcing management of parking. This represents significant growth opportunities and outweighs the threat posed by congestion charges.”

Under Cinven’s ownership, NCP has sold and leased back about £600 million of car parks and property, expanded its “on-street” parking operations and introduced new services such as bus lane enforcement.

Cinven, which bought NCP in 2002, made a profit of about £280 million on its original £140 million equity investment.

NCP was founded by Sir Donald Gosling, a former Royal Navy officer, and opened its first car park on a bombsite in Holborn, London, just after the Second World War. Sir Donald sold the business in 1998 to Cendant, the US group, which four years later sold it to Cinven.

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