Jackson wraps up waterfont block buy
One of Wellington’s worst-kept secrets has been spilled with Sir Peter Jackson revealed as the buyer of the E tu¯ union building in Rongotai.
Last week the Herald on Sunday reported the Miramar-based billionaire had progressively acquired nearly every property in a waterfront block adjoining Wellington Airport over the past six months.
Company LB HC — understood to stand for Lyall Bay Holding Company and directed by Jackson and partner Dame Fran Walsh with their Wingnut company as ultimate shareholder — acquired seven of eight properties in the block bordered by Kingsford Smith St, Lyall Parade, Tirangi Rd and McGregor St.
The final piece of the puzzle, 7 McGregor St, became the centre of a horseshoe of Jackson-owned properties. It was owned by E tu¯ union and, until earlier this month, had been used as its headquarters.
A sale agreement had been signed, but all parties were tight-lipped as to the identity of the buyer.
The deal settled on September 11 and property records now show the new owner is LB HC.
E tu¯ appears to have secured a tidy premium when selling, with Jackson recorded as paying $4.2 million for the 933-square-metre site and office building. Its rateable value is listed at $2.52m and the union’s 2022 annual accounts filed to the Companies Register recorded its value as $2.68m.
E tu¯ national secretary Bill Newson said in a statement: “We have been exploring the option of moving for some time, as a more central location makes us more accessible to our members across the Wellington region. The sale was approved by our member-led national executive, and our members have been informed about the move.”
The combined block now wholly owned by Jackson has a land area of
6238sq m and a rateable value of $20m.
Questions sent to a representative of Jackson and Walsh regarding their plans for the site were not answered.
Former owners on the block have speculated the site might be used to develop the film-makers’ long-sought movie museum.
The block purchase is part of a flurry of real estate activity by Jackson since his $1.355 billion windfall in late
2021 when technology developed by his Weta Digital special effects business was sold to software giant Unity.
Earlier this year, Jackson spent $8.5m on a Queenstown holiday home and adjoining section, extending his string of holdings in Closeburn to 34 hectares.
A Herald investigation into his property holdings — both personal homes and movie business premises — found that, after recent appreciation and acquisitions, they now total $350m, up from $150m in 2018.
Last month Jackson and Walsh bought the controversial Shelly Bay site in Wellington for an undisclosed sum, after having spent nearly a decade backing opponents of developers who wanted to build 350 homes on the former navy base.