Excel Parking: Bosses surprised by record financial results as government prepares clampdown on industry
Excel Parking has enjoyed record financial results again - even surprising bosses - as the government prepares to clamp down on the industry.
The Sheffield firm saw profit before tax hit £5.4m last year, a rise of 33 per cent on 2023, which was double the year before.
Boss Simon Renshaw-Smith gave himself a £108,846 pay rise, taking his income to £761,846. Wife Karen Gillott is company secretary.
The firm is also sitting on £15.6m cash, up from £11.1m in 2023. It has no borrowings.
A report indicates its financial results were a surprise, revealing: “The group performed ahead of expectations.”
The Tinsley-based company issues £100 demands to drivers who break car park rules - including not paying within five, or 10, minutes of arrival. It follows them up with legal letters and county court action.
It sent 150,657 Parking Charge Notices in the first six months of last year, according to DVLA data, and is on track to hit 300,000 for the full year. This would be a 50 per cent increase on 2023, which was a rise of 42 per cent on the year previous.
Excel Parking’s practices have been questioned across the country, including by motorists in Darlington and Derby.
In December, 11 MPs, including Abtisam Mohamed of Sheffield, wrote to communities minister Alex Norris calling for the private parking code of practice to be introduced.
Their letter said private parking firms should not regulate themselves and urged the government to bring in the code.
A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said they were aware of the strength of feeling.
They said: “Motorists must be protected when using private car parks and we are determined to drive up standards in the industry.
“We know how much of an issue this is for drivers, which is why we will set out further details on the private parking code of practice as soon as possible.”
Excel is a member of trade body Independent Parking Community which acts as a regulator and runs a PCN appeal service.
Parking companies pay a percentage of their turnover in membership fees and Excel’s year-on-year gains will have given the IPC a financial boost.
Excel Parking boss Simon Renshaw Smith also sits on the IPC steering committee “ensuring standards in the industry are continually monitored, reviewed and raised.”
In the last two years, the IPC has failed to respond to nine concerns - eight about Excel - raised by The Star.
We asked the DVLA to investigate the IPC’s apparent lack of scrutiny.
It said the industry was “self-regulated” and the DVLA “cannot influence” the way parking firms operate.
It said it only sold addresses to firms that were a member of trade associations such as the IPC, which it relied on to “promote fair treatment of motorists.”
Excel’s results also state it prides itself on contributing to charity and participates in events and activities monthly to raise funds.
No amounts or charities were disclosed.
In Sheffield, Abtisam Mohamed MP intervened at Excel Parking’s Broomhill Rooftop site claiming some drivers find it “almost impossible” to avoid receiving a £100 demand. It gives drivers 10 minutes to pay after arrival.
The firm has refused to bring in more driver-friendly rules, like those seen at rival Bank Park’s Ecclesall Road site.
Bank Park gives drivers the first half-hour free and they can pay at any time within two hours.
In January, Excel said it would only make changes if it could be compensated “for the loss of parking revenue” it would suffer.
Excel Parking Services Ltd is based at 7 Europa View in Tinsley and includes subsidiary Vehicle Control Services VCS.
Stanley Luckhurst, who beat Excel Parking in court in 2023, said: “Excel’s good fortune has been brought about in large measure by Government failure to enact the private parking Code of Practice Act passed in 2019.
“This is drafted to cap parking fines at £50, ban aggressive debt collection and create a truly independent appeals system.”
Nationally, the number of PCNs issued by private firms rose sharply to almost 41,000-a-day in 2024, according to analysis by the RAC Foundation. That compares with about 24,000-a-day five years ago.
In December, RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “It’s blatantly apparent drivers continue to have severe misgivings about the way private parking companies operate and are therefore very frustrated that the official government-backed code of practice has still not been introduced more than five years after it became law.”
Private parking firms send Parking Charge Notices, which sound similar to Penalty Charge Notices issued by the council and police, they also have the same initials: PCN.
But many argue they are simply invoices for allegedly breaching a parking company’s terms and conditions.
Ageco.co.uk, part of charity Age UK, states: "Although parking charge notices are sometimes referred to as ‘fines’, it is often argued it is simply an invoice requesting payment in what has been perceived as a breach of agreement between a car park operator and the driver.
"This means that it can be disputed directly with the owners of the car park, and it’s possible that you may even find that you have no obligation to pay them anything at all."
A Facebook group has helped a growing number of drivers successfully challenge Excel Parking.