Companies That You Expect to Disappear Soon

[Peter Mugridge]

I went into TG Jones today in Newcastle around 11am just to cash in £22 in lotto scratchcards, and was told she was unable to do it as they didn't have the cash in the till. She checked the two tills that were open and she said she had "about a tenner" combined. Don't they have a float?

That's very poor going; it's part of the terms and conditions of having the lottery available in store that retailers are required to pay prizes of up to £100 in cash. I'd complain about that to Allwyn if it was me...

 

[styles]

I went into TG Jones today in Newcastle around 11am just to cash in £22 in lotto scratchcards, and was told she was unable to do it as they didn't have the cash in the till. She checked the two tills that were open and she said she had "about a tenner" combined. Don't they have a float?

Not specific to TGJ specifically, but I seldom play scratchcards, but often when I do the first question is, "Do you want it back in more cards?", so they may even have been taken aback by the radical idea that you'd like the cash winnings!

 

[Djgr]

I’m not sure why people get so excited about the prospect of legacy retailers closing down

If we’ve learnt anything over the last few years, it’s that they won’t be replaced by anything better. So many Wilko & Debenhams stores up and down the country are still empty eyesores. You might get a vape shop or some community art installation at best.

I don't think people are excited...but Smith's have really gone out of their way over the past few decades to lose their customer base.

 

[contrex]

NCP (National Car Parks) have gone into administration.

NCP, one of the UK’s largest car park operators, has entered administration, placing 682 jobs in jeopardy.

The company, which manages approximately 340 sites nationwide, has struggled with declining occupancy and mounting losses since the Covid-19 pandemic.

PwC has been appointed as administrator for the business.

Despite the move, all NCP car parks will continue to operate as normal, and staff will remain employed while administrators assess the company’s options.

The firm’s financial difficulties stem from a significant post-pandemic drop in demand for parking, which has failed to rebound to pre-Covid levels.

This downturn has been particularly acute in city centre and commuter locations, attributed to shifts in commuting and consumer driving patterns, which have affected car park occupancy.

NCP also cited challenges posed by the high costs associated with long-term inflexible leases on sites that have become unprofitable.

Major UK car park firm collapses into administration

Hundreds of jobs at risk as NCP car parks may be put up for sale

www.independent.co.uk

 

[SteveHFC]

BBC News are reporting that NCP (National Car Parks) has collapsed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2e48zl4j7ko

National Car Parks (NCP) has gone into administration, putting 682 jobs at risk.
The administrator, PwC, said demand for parking had not recovered to pre-Covid levels, pointing to "shifts in commuting and customer driving patterns".
It said after consistently losing cash, NCP could no longer afford to pay its creditors and was unable to scrap "long-term, inflexible" leases on loss-making sites.
PwC is looking to sell the business as the "best outcome" for those NCP owes money to. "All sites are open, staff remain in post, and trading continues as normal," PwC added.
"We will be engaging with landlords, employees, and other stakeholders as we explore all options."
NCP is one of the biggest car park operators in the UK, running 340 car parks across the country, including in airports, hospitals and transport hubs.
The firm's debts were £305m greater than the value of its assets, as of 30 September last year, according to a filing from its parent company, external.
PwC said NCP had a "high concentration" of inflexible leases that prevented it from reducing costs or scrapping unprofitable car parks.
Zelf Hussain, joint administrator and PwC partner, said the company had faced "a challenging trading environment" in recent years.
"Our priority on appointment is to ensure continuity of service while we undertake a detailed review of the business."
NCP's parent company, Park24, said higher energy prices as a result of the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 also put pressure on the business, adding to its operating costs.
It said NCP "pursued new car park developments to support revenue growth", as well as implementing cost-cutting measures, but "structural losses continued".
The company concluded that "no prospect of improvement in its cash‑flow position could be identified".
BBC News has contacted the British Parking Association, which represents car park operators, for comment.

 

[m0ffy]

BBC News are reporting that NCP (National Car Parks) has collapsed.

But their business plan was rock solid:
1. Dingy lighting
2. Narrow spaces and tight corners
3. A junky in every stairwell
4. Pee in every corner
5. The most expensive parking in town

 

[wilbers]

But their business plan was rock solid:
1. Dingy lighting
2. Narrow spaces and tight corners
3. A junky in every stairwell
4. Pee in every corner
5. The most expensive parking in town

missed one, previously owned by Macquarie, i.e. same ones that loaded Thames Water with debt.

 

[Russel]

BBC News are reporting that NCP (National Car Parks) has collapsed.

Just, HOW?

They are almost always the most expensive option, spend nothing on maintenance and cleaning and have minimal staffing costs, it should be a licence to print money!

 

[Kite159]

But their business plan was rock solid:
1. Dingy lighting
2. Narrow spaces and tight corners
3. A junky in every stairwell
4. Pee in every corner
5. The most expensive parking in town

6 - Have an early lock-up time to make them useless if you want to visit town to watch a show/concert

 

[wilbers]

https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/trade-unions-protest-at-ncp-pass-the-parcel-20070315

Car park operator NCP, which 3i is selling to Australian bank Macquarie, is passing into the hands of private equity for a third time in less than five years amid growing trade union concerns of "venture capitalist asset stripping".

Exceptionally easy to run an operating profit, but lot harder when lots of interest payments to make on large debts
£600M debt added to NCP between 2002-2005
Can't quickly find out how much debt Macquarie left it with from 2007-2017

 

[gswindale]

Have used our local one a few times. Mostly on a Sunday when, according to their website, it is closed! It also appears to close earlier than the gym linked to it, who have the upper floors of the car park.

 

[Djgr]

6 - Have an early lock-up time to make them useless if you want to visit town to watch a show/concert

7-Having a really dodgy app

 

[65477]

ink to railways in that NacP run many station parks, including all my local ones- Greater Anglia

 

[SuspectUsual]

Presumably the rise of working from home has reduced demand for car parking in town and city centres?

 

[WesternLancer]

One problem, as shown on this topic, is that people can't recall the new name correctly!!

Yes, has anyone ever heard of TG Jones before? Would people have much idea what they actually sold? - Good or bad I think most people had some idea what WH Smith was actually for....

 

[styles]

Yes, has anyone ever heard of TG Jones before? Would people have much idea what they actually sold? - Good or bad I think most people had some idea what WH Smith was actually for....

Well they won't have heard of TG Jones before because the name was made up during the WHSmith acquisition (and meant to sounds similar to WHSmith).

 

[WesternLancer]

Part of their problem is the quality of the products! We purchased 2 x 28 piece sets in Jan 2012 and we've managed to chip 1 plate ever so slightly in that time.

Indeed - it's built to last IMHO - that stuff made from the genuine Denby area clay seam? - which is 'stoneware' I believe. I've always found that pretty unchippable!

They have in recent years diversified into china / maybe also porcelain - which I think may be imported finished product tho I'm not so sure, it looks white in unglazed areas as opposed to the more beige denby clay - that china ware might be more easily chipped.

I've dropped traditional Denby stoneware on the kitchen vinyl floor from worktop height and it's survived the fall.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Mar 2026 ==

Well they won't have heard of TG Jones before because the name was made up during the WHSmith acquisition (and meant to sounds similar to WHSmith).

Thanks for that - a fairly bonkers idea IMHO then - unless you have a major rebranding plan / campaign and transform the shop interiors too

 

[styles]

Thanks for that - a fairly bonkers idea IMHO then - unless you have a major rebranding plan / campaign and transform the shop interiors too

Yep. The buyers must have some sort of plan for the high street shops because without any change, it'll be reduced to the ones which manage a Post Office relationship I expect. Their branding is only marginally different from WHSmith, in that they chose a new font. Same colours (maybe even the exact same colours), same interior, same offering, etc.

 

[WesternLancer]

Now that is a shame. I wonder if this is just a cost of living consequence. Too expensive for many at the moment, but not quite premium enough for those with more cash on the hip who may go for say Wedgwood.

Of course he energy costs of making china / pottery - operating a lot of kilns - must have gone off the scale since the invasion of Ukraine - this can't have helped at all - and it's going to get worse now.

 

[styles]

Of course he energy costs of making china / pottery - operating a lot of kilns - must have gone off the same since the invasion of Ukraine - this can't have helped at all - and it's going to get worse now.

This is very true.

It'll be a real shame. I visited the Wedgwood factory just a couple of years ago for a tour and it seemed like a genuinely good place to work. Can't imagine the treatment of workers making the same products in China will be remotely the same. I imagine Denby have similar work environments in the UK to the likes of Wedgwood.

 

[WesternLancer]

Edit: Just seen the post above, and that seems about right; no real market existing between the basic functional John Lewis level and the premium level.

It's a while since I've looked at it but isn't the John Lewis own brand ranges imported from either cheaper European production countries (southern Europe for ceramics) or perhaps the far east.

Stuff I encounter everywhere is Ikea crockery (and also their cutlery) - almost certainly cheap production from far east. When you don't like it or proportion of it gets chipped / scratched / dull from dishwasher - just chuck it and replace I suspect.

 

[duffield]

...

Thanks for that - a fairly bonkers idea IMHO then - unless you have a major rebranding plan / campaign and transform the shop interiors too

I wouldn't say it's exactly bonkers. I've found it very easy to remember because of the similarity, so if I saw one in a strange town I'd know immediately what it was (not that I'd be any more likely to actually buy something there though!)

 

[WesternLancer]

This is very true.

It'll be a real shame. I visited the Wedgwood factory just a couple of years ago for a tour and it seemed like a genuinely good place to work. Can't imagine the treatment of workers making the same products in China will be remotely the same. I imagine Denby have similar work environments in the UK to the likes of Wedgwood.

Denby looks like a reasonable place to work when I went on a factory tour maybe 8+ years ago - it's quality manufacturing industry providing skilled jobs. Will be grim for the area if it closes or downsizes massively. Had a former colleague who worked there in IT once and don't recall her complaining now I think about it.

Denby can't really be just a 'brand' (tho it could be of course as anything can end up that way) as the whole point of it is that the product is manufactured form an on site clay seem that is what gives it it's distinctive feel, quality and character.

Wedegwood has a history dating back a long time to I think enlightened employment - one of the reasons they moved to their out of city site that is there today in the 1940s. But I did factory tours there about 6 years ago and about 20 years ago (that time c20 years ago arriving at the on site railway station! - now bustitutted IIRC - or closed even?) and 6 years ago the site was a shadow of what I recall 20 years ago - due to mass off shoring of production of much of the more common 'everyday' (well not everyday obviously) designs. Much of the site was being redeveloped as a housing estate c6 years ago visit.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Mar 2026 ==

I wouldn't say it's exactly bonkers. I've found it very easy to remember because of the similarity, so if I saw one in a strange town I'd know immediately what it was (not that I'd be any more likely to actually buy something there though!)

maybe I should have said 'misguided'

 

[gswindale]

Well they won't have heard of TG Jones before because the name was made up during the WHSmith acquisition (and meant to sounds similar to WHSmith).

And for me, it sounds very similar to TJ Hughes, which is a completely different retail offering.

I do wonder who currently has the rights to the John Menzies brand? Would it be WH Smith or Menzies Aviation?

 

[styles]

And for me, it sounds very similar to TJ Hughes, which is a completely different retail offering.

Yes I have this issue somewhat as well. I think it's the similarity of format and the fact that both are quite common Welsh surnames!

 

[Ashley Hill]

I do wonder who currently has the rights to the John Menzies brand? Would it be WH Smith or Menzies Aviation?

I do think that a revival of the John Menzies brand would have been much stronger than TG Jones which sounds meaningless.

 

[WesternLancer]

I do think that a revival of the John Menzies brand would have been much stronger than TG Jones which sounds meaningless.

Yes. Seems obvious to me, that idea.

 

[Backroom_boy]

Yes i think TG Jones has not been the best rebranding; could well be an interim while the estate is 'restructured' and something like john menzies is substituted. TG Jones may always be a pale imitation reminding consumers of the glory days of WHS

I do wonder who currently has the rights to the John Menzies brand? Would it be WH Smith or Menzies Aviation?

 

[Andyh82]

And for me, it sounds very similar to TJ Hughes, which is a completely different retail offering.

I do wonder who currently has the rights to the John Menzies brand? Would it be WH Smith or Menzies Aviation?

The issue there is that weren’t John Menzies just in the travel locations outside of Scotland, the very part of the business they haven’t acquired. It would only make sense in Scotland.

The TG Jones branding looking very similar to WHSmith is probably deliberate, so people think it’s the same shop, which it is. At least the signs are vibrant blue now rather than faded washed out blue that the WHSmith signs generally were.

 

[Ashley Hill]

The issue there is that weren’t John Menzies just in the travel locations outside of Scotland, the very part of the business they haven’t acquired.

There was one in Torquay town centre.