Hudson's Bay receives approval for sale of 3 leases to B.C. mall owner Ruby Liu

Tara Deschamps · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 23, 2025 2:26 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

The B.C. billionaire looking to crook Hudson's Bay's aged digs into her ain retail empire near tribunal Monday with the beginnings of her task successful manus — and a looming combat that could curtail her afloat ambitions.

Ontario Superior Court Judge Peter Osborne granted Ruby Liu support to instrumentality implicit leases for 3 Hudson's Bay properties successful malls she owns. She volition wage $6 cardinal for the acceptable of leases astatine Tsawwassen Mills successful Vancouver, Mayfair Shopping Centre in Greater Victoria and Woodgrove Centre successful Nanaimo, B.C.

"She is contributing millions of dollars of existent worth to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act process," said David Ward, a lawyer representing Liu. "She is betting connected herself."

As helium spoke, Liu and an entourage of her unit looked connected from the gallery. Earlier that morning, she arrived clad successful a stylish achromatic blazer and precocious bottommost boots, carrying a Louis Vuitton purse. She posed for photos beside the tribunal overgarment of arms and told media she was readying to determination to Toronto.

WATCH | The Bay closes its doors: 

The merchantability of immoderate Hudson's Bay leases comes aft the storied section store filed for creditor extortion successful March, a fewer months shy of its 355th birthday. In the months after, it looked for a purchaser who could support immoderate semblance of the retailer alive, but the hunt was fruitless.

By June 1, each 80 Bays and 16 stores tally nether the Saks brands closed, putting their leases up for grabs. A twelve bidders made offers connected a corporate 39 properties. 

Liu looks to open chain of modernized section stores

Liu, who made her wealth successful China's existent property market, coiled up winning the leases astatine 3 malls she runs due to the fact that her bid had a superior worth and terms, the Bay has said.

Liu wants to usage the properties to unfastened a concatenation of modernized section stores she volition sanction aft herself. She has told The Canadian Press they volition merchantability makeup, jewelry and apparel, but volition besides person play spaces for children, eating areas and amusement space.

She expects to walk much than $30 cardinal to revamp the spaces astatine her malls to accommodate her Ruby Liu stores.

And that's conscionable the beginning. The Bay has reached a woody with her for 25 much leases belonging to it and its sister Saks companies.

Anyone who made an connection for leases had to marque a deposit of 10 per cent of their estimated acquisition price. Court documents amusement 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.

"That is not truly a concern plan, that is simply a full-circle investment," Liu's lawyer Ward said successful recommending the tribunal judge the three-lease deal.

'Troubled' process: lawyer

The remaining 25 leases are successful Alberta, B.C. and Ontario properties she doesn't own. The Bay has yet to question tribunal support for the arrangement, but landlords for the spaces are overwhelmingly opposed to her moving in.

Court documents filed past week amusement landlords representing 23 leases successful a radical of 25 Liu wants to acquisition won't o.k. her plan.

"We really deliberation it is 25 of 25 that person objected," David Bish, a lawyer for landlord Cadillac Fairview, told the justice successful tribunal connected Monday.

He said his lawsuit and others person been provided with nary copies of Liu's bid and small accusation astir her plan.

"The process has been precise troubled," Bish said. 

"At immoderate point, we whitethorn discuss, if determination is simply a forced assignment, however troubled it has been."

Lawyers for Oxford Properties and Primaris echoed his comments.

Since it became wide that Liu's 25-lease transaction was facing opposition, she and her unit person been connected a charm offensive.

They launched a petition asking the nationalist to enactment their goal. It had astir 330 signatures arsenic of Monday morning.

They besides published a nationalist missive from Liu, who said her quest to ain the Bay's leases is astir reimagining retail and uncovering a mode to springiness backmost to a state that gave her a caller life.

Liu admitted her task "won't beryllium easy." She said some, including her ain family, person questioned her and whether she volition walk her full luck connected the venture.

"To me, this isn't a gamble. It's not conscionable astir wealth oregon profit," she wrote. "It's astir gathering thing meaningful — a abstraction afloat of life, wherever radical tin reconnect successful the existent world."

Liu had bid connected owning the Bay's sanction and trademarks but says she backed down aft realizing she would person to proceed to summation her connection to vie with Canadian Tire, which yet won the close to bargain the intelligence spot for $30 million.

On Friday, Osborne approved a petition to region immoderate references to Hudson's Bay and HBC from the sanction of the section store company.

The sanction alteration is modular to debar disorder successful cases wherever idiosyncratic has bought the rights to a collapsing company's name.