Hudson's Bay landlords don't want Ruby Liu to move in, but retailer still has a shot

Tara Deschamps · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 28, 2025 4:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

A radical of Hudson's Bay's landlords don't privation to transportation much than 2 twelve leases to B.C. billionaire Weihong (Ruby) Liu, but the section store inactive has a accidental to get its way.

The Bay, which filed for creditor extortion successful March, ran a process implicit the past respective months to find buyers for leases belonging to it and Saks Canada. It agreed to merchantability up to 28 spaces to Liu.

Three leases were transferred to her without immoderate hiccups due to the fact that they're successful B.C. malls she owns, but different 25 are astatine properties held by a who's who of Canadian commercialized existent property firms.

Landlords for 23 of those sites reason the transfer. Several person said successful tribunal they've been "very troubled" with their interactions with Liu and person had "no productive discussions, nary meaningful disclosure." Liu insists if the tribunal hands her the leases, landlords volition lukewarm to her and her program to unfastened a caller section store successful their properties.

While the disagreement could service arsenic a roadblock to the Bay closing connected its statement with Liu, lawyers not progressive successful the lawsuit accidental the retailer has different way it tin instrumentality to get a woody done.

That way lies successful changes to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) — Canada's main insolvency instrumentality — made successful 2009, said Jeff Lee, a Saskatoon-based spouse astatine MLT Aikins LLP. 

The changes laid retired 3 criteria courts indispensable see erstwhile asked to delegate leases to a caller tenant.

WATCH | Who is Ruby Liu? 

The archetypal is whether oregon not the merchantability has the enactment of the monitor, a court-appointed, autarkic 3rd enactment which helps usher businesses done creditor protection.

In the Bay's case, the show is Alvarez & Marsal. It has yet to uncover whether it supports the Liu deal and did not respond to requests for comment.

"Before immoderate tribunal exertion is brought forward, typically the institution volition trial that retired with them," Lee said. "They're not going to conscionable benignant of alert successful unsighted and anticipation for the best."

The 2nd facet for the tribunal to mull is whether the projected caller tenant is suitable. Lee said that's determined by looking astatine whether they tin execute the duties of the tenant and wage rent.

Liu, who made her wealth successful Chinese existent estate, appears to person heavy pockets but her acquisition comes from being a landlord alternatively than a tenant.

The last facet the tribunal volition see is whether a transportation of a lease to Liu is "appropriate."

Lee said radical should deliberation of it arsenic asking this question: "Is what's projected for this post-assignment lease narration what radical signed up for, oregon are they seeking to rewrite the lease oregon alteration the playing tract truthful radically that it's not appropriate?"

WATCH | What went incorrect for Hudson's Bay: 

That's wherever overmuch of the hostility could prevarication successful the Bay case.

"You can't spell into CCAA arsenic a tenant and past unit your landlords to renegotiate their leases arsenic a result," said Peter Tolensky, a Vancouver-based spouse astatine Lawson Lundell LLP.

The Canadian Press obtained a papers past week that Liu's lawyer sent landlords outlining her plans. It says she volition instrumentality connected the leases connected an "as is, wherever is" ground but doesn't notation the dining, entertainment, children's and fittingness experiences she's told media she'd similar to see successful her section stores.

It's unclear whether the leases let for uses different than a Bay-like section store.

Some lenders owed much than $100M

A tribunal faced with a petition to reassign leases volition measurement this discourse and deliberation astir whether "the landlord's satellite is being turned upside down by having this caller tenant," said Geoffrey Dabbs, a B.C.-based founding spouse astatine Gehlen Dabbs Cash.

"The much it's a insignificant inconvenience for the landlord, the much apt the justice volition bid it," helium said. 

While the Bay hasn't said whether it volition question an assignment, it's apt due to the fact that immoderate institution successful creditor extortion has a work to amusement the tribunal it's doing its champion to wage backmost companies and radical it owes wealth to, Dabbs said. The Bay has a 26-page database of creditors, with immoderate lenders owed much than $100 cardinal each.

Liquidation income and a woody to merchantability the Bay trademarks to Canadian Tire for $30 cardinal person enactment a dent successful what's owed but selling leases to Liu would besides help.

Anyone who made an connection for leases had to marque a deposit of 10 per cent of their estimated acquisition price. Court documents show Liu made a deposit of $9.4 million, successful summation to $6 cardinal for the 3 approved leases, which would equate to a acquisition terms of $100 cardinal for 28 leases.

When a woody similar this is reached, Dabbs said a institution typically seeks landlord consent due to the fact that commercialized leases thin to person provisions stopping anyone from transferring a lease without a spot proprietor agreeing. 

It's not uncommon for landlords to entity due to the fact that immoderate leases that can't beryllium sold and aren't assigned get turned backmost implicit to spot owners who tin take however to capable them and nether what terms.

These are anchor leases, Tolensky noted.

"So they're astir apt precise favourable to the Bay oregon to the tenant successful a batch of respects," Tolensky said, alluding to the information that anchor tenants are often fixed charismatic rents oregon terms.

Thus, it's much advantageous for landlords to get their properties back, said Monica Beffa, laminitis of an Oakville, Ont., instrumentality firm. If they do, they tin past complaint higher rents, make them for wholly caller uses specified arsenic residential units oregon interruption them up into smaller parcels that tin beryllium rented by a wide array of tenants.

If they don't and a tribunal assigns the leases to Liu, landlords volition apt beryllium watching her intimately to guarantee she doesn't interruption immoderate presumption of the agreement. 

Dabbs said: "The landlord whitethorn beryllium cranky, if the tenant breaches, but enactment it this way, they don't privation to trust connected that.

"If they don't privation this lease being assigned, they volition combat it close up front."