Apax on brink of £800m NCP deal

VENTURE capitalist Apax is on the brink of buying National Car Parks from US conglomerate Cendant for £800m, leaving the seller poised to unleash a major European tourism expansion.

Apax is thought to have beaten rival private equity firm BC Partners after BC suddenly decided it had bid too much. Cendant said it would spend the proceeds largely on building up its tourism interests in Britain and continental Europe.

Speculation has been rife that Cendant will become the leading consolidator of European tour operators since it splashed out £1.23bn for the Galileo airline booking operator last year. Airtours, now called MyTravel, and First Choice have been cited by some analysts as possible acquisition targets.

Henry Silverman, chairman of the vast company which also owns Avis car rentals, Ramada hotels and Century 21 estate agents, pledged to double its 33,000 stock of holiday cottages, increasing its share of the market from 5% to 10%.

Cendant bought NCP for £801m in 1998 and sold the operation's Green Flag roadside recovery business for £260m in 1999.