Business as usual at marina amid $16M debt, receivership
The company acting as receiver for Victoria International Marina in Victoria Harbour says it will be business as usual at the marina while it searches for a new owner.
In its first posting on the file since the marina and its related companies were put into bankruptcy, Alvarez and Marsal Canada said the intended plan of action is to “continue operations at the marina and conduct a sales process of the property.”
Alvarez and Marsal noted Community Marine Concepts, Victoria International Marina, Eternaland Yuheng Investment Holding and 0736657 B.C. owe a total of $16.5 million to 48 creditors.
The receiver estimates the company’s total assets to be just under $36 million based on $301,700 in cash, about $20,000 in accounts receivable, and property and equipment worth $35.6 million.
The receiver notes the book value of the company’s assets may be “materially different” from that estimate.
No date has been set for the first meeting of creditors and, according to the receiver, until a court approves a claims procedure, creditors will not be required to file a proof of claim with Alvarez and Marsal.
The single largest creditor is the Bank of Nova Scotia, which is owed just over $15.5 million, followed by the City of Victoria which is owed $299,274, the Canada Revenue Agency is in line for $196,958, and the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations are each owed $51,423. The City of Victoria said the outstanding debt is for property taxes.
The marina has struggled since it opened in 2018, and the pandemic only made things worse. Facing a second year of empty slips, the owners of the marina put it on the market in the spring of this year.
The property includes the marina’s 28 slips for vessels between 65 and 165 feet in length, nearly 3,000 linear feet of concrete-and-steel floats, and amenities including a restaurant and a marina building.
There are also 48 underground parking spots and leases with the provincial and federal governments.
The marina was built at a cost of about $35 million, and opened with limited operation in 2018. In 2019, when it was fully operational, it hosted about 90 vessels.