Wilson buys Opera House carpark
The Wilson Group is confident it has hit the right note with the $80 million purchase of the Sydney Opera House carpark.
The 1176-bay site is regarded as an important, long-term asset for the company, with the number of parking bays in the City of Sydney tipped to fall.
The carpark has been in the hands of receivers KordaMentha since 2011 after the collapse of an unlisted real estate investment company managed by Mariner Financial.
Real estate agents had touted a sale of more than $100 million based on estimated annual net income of $7.6 million.
Wilson Parking vice-chairman Gary Koch said the carpark - sub-leased by Wilson since 2005 - played an important role in access to one of Australia's most popular tourist precincts and the wider Sydney CBD.
"The carpark is special for many reasons, one of which being that it actually sits beneath the Botanical Gardens and Government House," Mr Koch said.
"It attracts close to 750,000 vehicles a year. The site also provides direct undercover pedestrian access to the Opera House."
Mr Koch said Wilson planned a number of improvements, including new access control equipment, better lighting and the introduction of licence plate technology for vehicle identification.
Wilson recently added health services to its carparking and security businesses by acquiring WA-based medical training and ambulance provider Medic One.
