More lease deals reached for Hudson’s Bay locations

A person checks out the store closing advertising at the Hudson's Bay in Toronto, on Friday, May 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO — Hudson’s Bay has reached deals to sell the leases of six store locations as legal wrangling continues on work to close a deal to sell up to 25 leases to B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu.

Legal filings show clothing retailer YM Inc., which owns brands such as Urban Planet, Bluenotes, West49 and Suzy Shier, has struck a deal to buy five leases for $5.03 million. The documents show it was unable to secure landlord approvals for three other locations.

The five leases include Vaughan Mills in Vaughan, Ont., Tanger Outlet in Kanata, Ont., Outlet Collection in Winnipeg, CrossIron Mills in Rocky View, Alta., and Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills, Ont.

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YM had also sought to buy the leases at Pickering Town Center in Pickering, Ont., Skyview Power Centre in Edmonton, and Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon for $1 million, but landlord waivers weren’t secured for those properties.

Separately, Ivanhoe Realties Inc. has agreed to pay $20,000 for a lease at Metrotown in Burnaby, B.C., that its parent company Ivanhoe Cambridge owns. 

The deals, which require court approval before any leases can be transferred, mark the Bay’s latest attempt at recouping money for its lenders and hundreds of creditors owed almost $1 billion collectively.

Hudson’s Bay put its leases up for sale earlier this year, after it filed for creditor protection and closed its 80 stores and 16 under its sister Saks banners.

A dozen bidders made offers on a collective 39 properties.

One of the bidders who wanted those spaces was B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu. 

She paid $6 million for three leases at malls she owns — Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo, Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria and Tsawwassen Mills in Delta. That deal got court approval last month and the leases were transferred back to Liu.

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Liu was also chosen by the Bay to buy 25 more leases but landlords are fighting that sale because they say she has not filed a business plan that is credible nor realistic.

Court filings show Hudson’s Bay is also looking for more time to close the YM and IC transactions, seek approval of the Liu deal, conduct an auction of art holdings, and other measures aimed at maximizing returns to stakeholders.

It’s seeking an extension of creditor protection from the July 31 deadline to Oct. 31 to complete the efforts.  

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Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press

With files from Tara Deschamps in Toronto. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.