Wildstone announces groundbreaking sale and leaseback agreement in first Australian deal
Melbourne, 16 October 2024
Europe’s leading OOH infrastructure owner in first-of-a-kind agreement with Alliance Outdoor Media Group

Wildstone has entered into an agreement to fund two new digital spectacular sites in Melbourne’s outer suburbs for billboard media provider Alliance Outdoor Media Group.

The agreement is the first signed by Wildstone since it entered Australia’s OOH market in May, appointing industry veteran Noel Cook to head up its operations in the country. Cook has more than 30 years’ experience in Australia’s OOH sector, including over 25 years at oOh! Media - Australia and New Zealand's leading OOH advertising company with a network of more than 35,000 locations.

Wildstone is the leading owner of outdoor media infrastructure across the UK and Europe, where an important strand to the business involves acquiring OOH infrastructure from media operators, before leasing the assets back to the operators on a long-term basis. This approach enhances operational efficiency for media operators and allows them to focus on their core business of selling OOH advertising, while benefiting from high-quality, well-maintained advertising assets.

It entered the Australian market with a plan to adopt a similar model, and it has recently joined the Outdoor Media Association as an asset owner member. The deal it has now struck with Alliance Outdoor is the first of its kind in the Australian market.

Under the terms of the deal, Wildstone will take over two sites previously owned by Alliance, fund the provision of digital boards and then lease the sites back to Alliance Outdoor, which will manage media sales.

The first site is located in Nunawading, where a single-sided digital measuring 19.99m x 4.60m will be facing the busy intersection of Maroondah Highway and Springvale Road.

The second location, a monopole site on the Craigieburn Bypass in Epping, will host a digital spectacular measuring 18.99m x 4.57m.

“We’re really excited to have completed our first deal in the market and the very first of this nature in the Australian market. Based on discussions we’ve been having with billboard owners across the states, we believe it is just the first of many and look forward to playing a significant role in the digitisation of the country’s outdoor advertising market” 

said Noel Cook, Managing Director for Wildstone Australia

Mark Buckley, General Manager at AllianceOutdoor Media Group, said:

“Dealing with the Wildstone Australia team was seamless, especially because of their deep knowledge of the industry and professionalism. We hope to do many more deals with them.”