Wilson Parking competitor offered better terms and was more trusted, lawyer says

Wednesday, 17 June 2026

The head of Wilson Parking NZ was asked if it was possible his former employee-turned-competitor was winning contracts because of better terms and relationships, rather than through nefarious means.

Ryan Orchard, Wilson’s chief executive officer, was cross examined in Employment Court on Wednesday by the lawyers of his former South Island manager, Peter Turner.

Turner, whose Christchurch-based company Mainland Parking began operating in December 2024, is facing several allegations of contract breaches and of sabotaging client contracts and relationships before he resigned.

Turner won’t get his day in court for weeks, as Employment Court proceedings begin with the plaintiff and its evidence. Wilson has previously said it is seeking $25 million in remedies, but may adjust its claim before the trial ends.

On day three of a four week trial before Judge Helen Doyle, Turner’s and Mainland’s lawyers, Dean Russ and Glenn Jones, challenged Orchard on the extent and existence of confidential information Turner was alleged to have misused.

Orchard had referred to a massive spreadsheet which had Wilson’s most sensitive client data from the Southern region, including site locations, value, and when contracts were due to expire.

Turner was accused of taking and using it to start his company and undercut Wilson’s terms, but the spreadsheet was not discovered during a search order of Turner’s property and devices.

Russ asked Orchard if he was suggesting Turner had committed the substantial amount of information to memory.

“It may be, as you say, he memorised all of that information,” Orchard said, before conceding that would be hard to do.

Russ continued to put to Orchard that landlords ultimately decide to go with an operator based on two things: the deal on offer and the trust they have in the operator.

Orchard agreed trust was fundamental, but was adamant Turner’s knowledge was not based on his decade of experience in the industry. Referring to evidence which would be explored later in the trial, he alleged Turner kept commercially sensitive information hidden from a search order.

Jones was more confrontational in his questioning, which Orchard met with growing frustration.

Orchard accused Turner of significantly damaging the Southern region’s value through secret unauthorised early termination clauses with short notice periods. However, Jones pulled up financial records from 2022 which pre-dated Turner’s alleged wrongdoing and showed the Southern region in a worse state.

He said despite Wilson’s case that Turner had done “something untoward” by inserting the clauses, the value rating of the Southern region’s portfolio doubled between 2022 and early 2025, based on Wilson’s own internal calculator.

Most of Wilson’s contracts had one month termination clauses in 2022, Jones put to a visibly upset Orchard.

Jones pulled up statements from witnesses due to be heard later in the trial who claimed 30 days notice periods were common in Christchurch to preserve development opportunities.

One landlord said the clauses he agreed to were his requirement, and not suggested or encouraged by Turner, contrary to Wilson’s allegations of sabotage.

Another landlord reportedly said they found Turner good to deal with and they trusted him, which Jones said “clearly” showed Mainland had won sites because of valued relationships.

Orchard said Wilson would not have approved of a number of early termination clauses Turner agreed to, had it known, as it risked the stability of Wilson’s portfolio, but he acknowledged the landlords of post-earthquake central Christchurch were in a unique position.

“It’s not the highest [yielding] and best use of land,” Orchard said of using vacant land for car parking.

Orchard had previously told Judge Helen Doyle how he himself once left Wilson Parking and, after a year of travelling, co-founded rival firm Centre Park in Auckland. It was part of why he could not believe Mainland could be so successful so quickly without illicit activity.

It was the 2000s, and Orchard had about three years experience in the industry. After less than three years of hard work and draining his savings, Centre Park was sold to Wilson and Orchard rejoined the multinational.

In response to Jones’ questioning, Orchard conceded he started Centre Park at least partially with the help of knowledge he gained while working for Wilson.

“And there was nothing wrong with that, was there?” Jones asked.

Orchard described the rate at which Mainland Parking picked up clients as unprecedented. Mainland Parking gained about 21 sites within six months, achieving what took Orchard two years in his rival company.

Jones asked if it was possible Turner’s decade of experience and a stronger reputation with potential landlords could be a logical explanation.

“He was a bigger fish in a smaller pond than you were,” Jones said.