Future outlook
Economy
Looking ahead, the European Union and the euro area are expected to experience modest but stabilising economic growth, supported by improving household incomes, recovering investment, and gradually easing financial conditions.
The euro area economy is proving to be resilient despite the challenging global environment. Domestic demand should remain the main driver of euro area growth, bolstered by rising real wages and employment, in the context of resilient labour markets with record low unemployment rates.
Additional government spending on infrastructure and defence announced in 2025, especially in Germany, alongside improved financing conditions stemming from monetary policy rate cuts since June 2024, is also expected to support the domestic economy.
The European Central Bank (ECB) projects euro area GDP growth of 1.2% in 2026, 1.4% in 2027 and 1.4% in 2028, alongside headline inflation declining to just below 2% in 2026–2027 as wage pressures and services inflation ease. And the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) inflation excluding energy is expected to fall from 2.5% in 2025 to 2.2% in 2026 and to 2.0% in 2027 and 2028.
Wage growth should continue to moderate through 2026, before stabilising at around 3%, underpinned by a resilient labour market and productivity growth just slightly below 1%.
From an expenditure perspective, private consumption is projected to grow robustly throughout the horizon, providing the largest contribution to real GDP growth. The strengthening of households’ spending is expected to be underpinned by their increasing purchasing power, reflecting robust wage and employment growth amid continued labour market resilience.
Business investment is projected to continue to rise in 2026–2028, amid increasing profit growth, supportive financing conditions, strengthening domestic and foreign demand, declining uncertainty and spillovers from defence and infrastructure spending.
The unemployment rate is expected to decline over the medium term and to reach a historically low level of 5.8% by the end of 2028, in the context of rather stable projected growth in total employment in 2026–2028 and declining labour force growth.
In 2026 the governments' overall budget position is projected to loosen, mainly on account of higher public investment. This reflects primarily large defence and infrastructure spending in Germany, over 2026–2028.
(Source: ECB projections December 2025)
Geopolitical
The European Union (EU) is evolving from an economic union into a geopolitical actor focused on strategic autonomy, security, more coordinated defence investments by 2030, and defending a rules-based order. The EU projects power through enlargement, trade agreements, and regulating global standards, while increasingly managing security, migration, and economic coercion.
Key areas of influence include aiding Ukraine, promoting green energy, and strengthening defence cooperation, although its effectiveness often relies on unity of member states.
Key challenges include navigating an unpredictable administration in the US, mitigating risks from China, and addressing high energy costs and internal economic fragmentation.
The recent escalation of the conflict in Iran underscores that geopolitics remains one of the major factors shaping the economic outlook. While the current conflict has substantial impact on the Middle East, its global economic repercussions are likely to be limited – it is estimated that a temporary increase in energy prices, weaker business and consumer sentiment, and some trade disruptions could raise euro area inflation by 0.3 pp in 2026 and reduce GDP by 0.2%. However, the situation remains fluid, and further escalation could lead to more severe consequences. If the Strait of Hormuz is blocked, triggering a persistent surge in energy prices, euro area GDP could be about 1.3% lower by 2027 relative to a no-escalation scenario, while HICP inflation could rise to around 5%. (Source: EY European economic outlook March 2025)
Q-Park performance impact
Despite these macro-economic and geopolitical developments, we do not expect the short-term uncertainties to significantly impact the overall performance of our parking business. We will continue rolling out our strategic agenda and portfolio expansion as planned.
Management agenda
Q-Park will continue to leverage its competitive advantages with technological leadership, a strong brand, diversified portfolio with local scale and predictable long-term cash flows combined with our ability to embrace and adapt to a constantly changing world.
And we will actively pursue merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities across Western Europe to strengthen our leadership position in the parking market industry.
By selectively integrating high‑value assets, building on recent acquisition momentum highlighted in our annual reporting, we aim to further diversify and reinforce our portfolio while leveraging operational efficiencies that scale across countries and city environments.
Through targeted M&A, we not only enhance our commercial capabilities but also accelerate our contribution to more sustainable, accessible, and well‑organised urban mobility ecosystems.
These investments allow us to support the cities and societies we serve with smarter infrastructure, improved services, and long‑term value creation.
Our sustainable mobility solutions and seamless parking serve a dynamic economy. We ensure quality in parking for our partners and customers with our:
Sustainable Mobility Partnership (SMP) Programme, we support urban mobility plans with an increasing number of mobility hubs and access to public transport and micro-mobility services.
EV (electric vehicle) Charging Programme, we significantly increase the number of EV charging points to serve the growing EV fleet.
Investments in our Parking as a Smart Service (PaSS) platform, we digitalise parking services to create a seamless and efficient experience for customers and mobility partners. This involves implementing advanced technologies that facilitate easy and secure parking and payment transactions.
Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) powered camera surveillance systems, we aim to enhance health and safety across our owned and operated parking facilities.
Investments in our information security programme, addressing the ‘people’, ‘process’ and ‘technology’ dimensions, we enhance our information security maturity with a focus on proactive end-to-end security. We also prioritise security monitoring and containing security incidents.
Investments in parking facilities such as:
renovation and maintenance
parking management systems
mechanical and electrical equipment, including lighting, ventilation and safety systems.
We are confident that we are able to meet our future internal and external obligations as we continue to pursue our focused strategy, maintain a robust liquidity position and apply disciplined capital allocation to drive long-term growth and value for stakeholders and society as a whole. Furthermore, we continue to monitor potential expansion opportunities in the parking market, including bolt-on mergers and acquisitions.
Financing
In the coming years, the fixed rated notes maturing in 2029 will be up for refinancing. Refinancing discussions will be initiated timely and based on market conditions, liquidity needs and financial results. Furthermore, we will analyse how best to optimise the balance sheet between available cash and debt funds.
Employees
We aim to be an employer of choice with an open inclusive culture, a place where talents from around the world can thrive. We expect stable employee retention, with no significant fluctuations in our workforce. This stability ensures continuity in our operations and maintains high performance standards, which positions us well for future growth and expansion, reinforcing our commitment to excellence and quality in parking.