Canada
Canada CRE News In Your Inbox.
Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.
Hudson’s Bay Company Receives Approval to Sell Six Leases
The Hudson’s Bay Company received an Ontario court’s approval Thursday to sell six leases covering the once iconic department-store chain’s former stores across Canada.
Judge Peter Osborne’s decision increases the number of approved Bay lease sales to nine.
YM is paying about $5 million for five leases of spaces at Vaughan Mills in Vaughan, Ont.; Tanger Outlet in Ottawa’s Kanata area; Outlet Collection in Winnipeg, CrossIron Mills in the secondary market of Rocky View, Alta.; and Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills, Ont.
In a separate deal, Ivanhoé Realties earned approval to purchase the lease of the former Bay store at Metropolis at Metrotown mall, a major mall, in Burnaby, B.C., for the modest sum of $20,000.
The approvals came less than a week after the deals were announced. Both YM and Ivanhoé obtained landlord waivers that allowed the transactions to proceed without property owners attempting to block them.
A court filing showed that YM also agreed to acquire three more leases of spaces at Pickering Town Center in Pickering, Ont.; Skyview Power Centre in Edmonton, and Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon for approximately $1 million, but could not secure landlord waivers. As a result, the proposed deal is not proceeding.
On the other hand, B.C. billionaire mall owner Ruby Liu is facing considerable landlord and lender opposition as she seeks to acquire 25 more leases under the Bay’s creditor-protection process. Liu has already completed the purchase of three former Bay leases at B.C. malls that she owns.
YM’s retail holdings include the Urban Planet, Bluenotes, West49 and Suzy Shier chains. The company operates about 650 locations across Canada under the leadership of entrepreneur Michael Gold.
Ivanhoé Realties is affiliated with Ivanhoé Cambridge, a division of La Caisse.
In addition to approving the lease sales on Thursday, the court extended the Bay’s stay of proceeds until October 31. The stay protects the Bay from legal action due to unpaid debts.
All Bay and Saks-branded locations in Canada closed June 1.
Pictured: Then-open Hudson’s Bay store at Metroplis at Metrotown in Burnaby, B.C.
Photo: Monte Stewart. All rights reserved. No republishing permitted.
