B.C. billionaire mall owner Ruby Liu is predicting that she will prevail in her battle to buy 25 more Hudson’s Bay Company leases.

Liu will head back to court in Toronto on Thursday, when the fate of the former Bay stores in B.C., Alberta and Ontario could be determined. The odds are clearly stacked against Liu, but she continues to express confidence that a proposed new department-store chain bearing her name will become a reality.

“I believe I will win,” she told The Toronto Star, speaking in Mandarin. “I also trust that the judge will rule according to the law, and I have confidence that Canada is a country governed by the rule of law.”

Most of the properties’ landlords, including Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties, Morguard and QuadReal, strongly oppose the proposed acquisition. The majority of Bay lenders, except Pathlight Capital, have also voiced strong objections to it.

Monitor Alvarez & Marsal has also advised the court to reject the proposed deal due largely to Liu’s company’s fledgling status, her lack of retail experience and concerns about how her chain would procure merchandise, among other factors.

Alvarez & Marsal’s position is a potential deal breaker, given that Judge Peter Osborne could base his ruling largely on it in accordance with bankruptcy law and precedents.

But in her interview with the Star, Liu continued to dismiss the landlords’ concerns, reiterating that mall owners are keen to reclaim the long-term leases, which are well below today’s market value, and redevelop the spaces into lucrative mixed-use assets. Liu told the Star that Alvarez & Marsal should focus on the legality of the lease-sale process rather than her business capabilities.

Liu has already secured three Bay leases at B.C. malls that she owns. Her proposed $69.1-million price for the remaining 25 leases would cover a fraction of the defunct chain’s $1.1-billion debt.

Pictured: Closed Bay store in Kitchener, Ont., that is part of Liu’s proposed lease-purchase agreement.

Photo: Shutterstock