Former Wilson Parking boss sabotaged contracts to benefit his new company, court told

Tuesday, 16 June 2026

Wilson Parking NZ chief executive Ryan Orchard gives evidence at the Employment Court on Tuesday.

Wilson Parking NZ’s chief executive says he “had no reason to suspect” a former employee-turned-rival was undermining the business and plotting to steal clients, as the company alleges.

Ryan Orchard says Peter Turner, founder of Christchurch-based Mainland Parking, was a “very capable” and “hard worker” who had become one of his most trusted employees in the decade Turner worked for Wilson.

“I considered him a friend,” Orchard told Employment Court Judge Helen Doyle on Tuesday, referencing years of mentoring, dinners, and a concert they once attended.

Orchard told the court he considered ex-colleague Peter Turner “a friend”.

The day prior, Wilson Parking lawyer Rachael Reed, KC, spoke during the opening of a four-week trial of allegations of several contract breaches, including a breach of Turner’s 12-month restraint of trade, but also of sabotaging client contracts and relationships before resigning.

After leaving the company, Turner is alleged to have continued conspiring with a senior Wilson employee, who has name suppression, over a burner phone Turner destroyed, despite Wilson’s lawyers telling him to keep evidence.

As Employment Court proceedings begin with the plaintiff and its evidence, the court may not hear Turner’s side of the story for weeks. However, his and Mainland’s lawyers will get an opportunity to cross-examine Orchard on Wednesday.

Peter Turner, owner-operator of Mainland Parking, left, and his wife Gaynor Turner, right, arrive at the Employment Court for the start of a four-week hearing.

On Tuesday, Orchard told Judge Doyle that Turner had been groomed for leadership since being hired in 2013. Orchard, then Wilson’s Auckland regional manager, was sent down to train him personally.

Turner was promoted to Southern regional manager in 2018, while Orchard was chief operating officer.

But Turner regularly spoke about not being paid enough, Orchard said. He recalled one phone conversation where Turner was so stressed about money Orchard offered to personally loan him money.

“He was clearly having financial challenges,” Orchard said.

When Turner resigned, Orchard offered him a significant amount of money and a pathway to a strategic position within the company to convince him to stay. Orchard kept in touch over text, hoping Turner would return.

Ryan Orchard said he “had no reason to suspect” his former employee-turned-rival was undermining the business and plotting to steal clients, as the company alleges.

Orchard said when he learned Turner’s new company was taking over a major client – the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch – in late November 2024, he texted Turner his disappointment in not being informed, but said he looked forward to competing.

At this point in time Turner’s restraint of trade had ended. It was only when another staff member noticed a trend of early termination clauses in Wilson contracts with measly notice periods that the company began to investigate.

The clauses allowed for landlords to terminate “for any reason”, which Orchard said Wilson would have never approved because it “fundamentally” undermined the security and stability of the portfolio.

Wilson then began losing landlords at an unprecedented rate, he said.

A property in Marshland owned by Peter Turner, owner-operator of Mainland Parking. The Employment Court has heard claims it was partially paid for by money which was subject to a freezing order.

Orchard shared a number of commercially sensitive details which The Press cannot report, but Wilson lost hundreds of parking bays over a short time period. The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch alone had hundreds of bays, Orchard said.

Some clients had already received tens of thousands of dollars worth of upgrades to meet resource consent requirements, paid for by Wilson as part of the contracts. Wilson spent more than $100,000 on one client, who then left for Mainland, across multiple sites.

Orchard said he had no reason to suspect that Turner would put them in a position where a client could leave for no reason and before the company could recoup the value of upgrades.

“He ran and managed the southern region as he thought best,” Orchard said.

He said when he challenged Turner and the unnamed senior executive on the tenure of some contracts, they would say it was due to owners requiring flexibility for redevelopment or because they were unavailable.

“I believed them,” he said.

As of March 2026, Wilson managed 5872 individual car park bays in Christchurch, just over 10% of its New Zealand portfolio. Orchard said they pumped tens of millions of dollars into the economy through rent revenue to property owners.

The case continues.