Hudson’s Bay asks court to force landlords to let B.C. billionaire take over leases

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TORONTO — Hudson’s Bay has solidified its faith in a controversial deal to sell leases to a B.C. billionaire by asking a court to force landlords critical of her to let her move in.

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A motion filed by the collapsed department store late Tuesday asked the Ontario Superior Court to reassign 25 of its leases to Ruby Liu.

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Fifteen of the leases cover properties in Ontario, including Fairview Mall, Sherway Garden, Bayshore Shopping Centre and Bramalea City Centre. The remaining 10 are split evenly between Alberta and B.C. and include West Edmonton Mall, CF Market Mall and Guildford Town Centre.

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The group of leases will cost Liu about $69 million, minus a litany of fees she has to pay as a condition of taking them on, the latest documents show.

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The Bay thinks Liu should get the leases because the deal will help it repay creditors, offer jobs to former Bay employees and fill vacant properties so landlords avoid “the visual and economic blight of a ‘dark’ or empty store for a significantly prolonged period.”

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If landlords aren’t forced to accept Liu, the company warns “significant benefits and value creation … will be lost” and it will have to turn its former stores back over to landlords.

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The filing sets up the Bay for a fight that will pit it against some of the country’s most prominent landlords, including Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties and Primaris. If it wins, Liu estimates the retailer will make a $50 million dent in the roughly $1.1 billion in debt it had when it filed for creditor protection in March.

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That process led the Bay to close all of its stores and start soliciting buyers for its leases. One dozen bidders made offers for 39 properties. Liu was designated the winner of the bulk of them.

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The Vancouver-based entrepreneur made her fortune in Chinese real estate and owns three B.C. malls, including the Woodgrove Centre and Mayfair Shopping Centre, which she is willing to sell to advance her push for the Bay leases.

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Liu inked two deals to buy a collective 28 leases that belonged to the Bay and its sister Saks stores in May. The first deal — for three leases at malls Liu owns — sailed through court with no opposition.

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The second became fraught shortly after it was announced, when landlords began meeting with Liu and found she had little information to share about her bid to open a new department store named after herself and replete with retail, dining, entertainment and recreational spaces.

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A package Liu sent landlords in early June, which was obtained by The Canadian Press, showed she thought she was capable of opening up to 20 stores within just 180 days of signing leases. It offered a vague financial budget and mentioned hiring efforts and meetings with prospective suppliers but did not name the potential vendors.

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Court records filed on Tuesday showed the initial package and meetings with Liu left Cadillac Fairview “with the strong impression that Ms. Liu is making this up as she goes.” Primaris REIT felt her plans were “predicated upon hope, optimism and not on experience.”