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Wilson Parking wants to buy more Tournament Parking assets

The proposed acquisition relates to car parking in Auckland and Wellington.

Duncan Bridgeman
Fri, 14 Aug 2015

Wilson Parking New Zealand is seeking Commerce Commission approval to acquire the leases of 10 car parking sites currently operated by Tournament Parking that it doesnt already own.

The proposed acquisition relates to car parking in Auckland and Wellington, although the commission did not specify exactly which car parks have been targeted.

Wilson Parking, which operates approximately 270 parking facilities nationwide, is part of the wider Wilson Group, which operates parking sites throughout Australia and Asia.  

Tournament is a privately owned company that currently operates 13 car parks in Auckland and Wellington.  In 2013, it sold most of its other parking operations to Wilson Parking, in a deal approved by the commission.

In March, the commission found Wilson Parking New Zealand's 2013 acquisition of those parking assets hadn't substantially crimped competition and deemed that public transport will keep a lid on any price hikes.

The antitrust regulator had investigated the purchase by Wilson, owned by Hong Kong's Kwok family, of about 60% of Tournament Parking's car parking licences and management contracts, on concern it would reduce competition.

At the time, Wilson had more than 100 sites across New Zealand, while Tournament operated more than 80 locations, making them the biggest and second-biggest car park providers respectively.

According to its 2013 financial statements lodged with the Companies Office, Wilson paid $29.4 million for Tournament's assets. The following year, Wilson reported a net profit of $2.8 million in the year ended June 30, 2014, up from $2.2 million in 2013, while sales rose 37% to $66.3 million.

Duncan Bridgeman
Fri, 14 Aug 2015
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Wilson Parking wants to buy more Tournament Parking assets
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