Evergrande’s iconic Canadian hotel to be sold after default
The 95-year-old hotel will remain open during the sale process
[NEW YORK] China Evergrande Group’s iconic log-cabin hotel in Canada has been placed in receivership after the defaulted real estate developer failed to make payments on its debt.
Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello, which has hosted luminaries including Grace Kelly and Margaret Thatcher, will be put up for sale by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the court-appointed receiver, according to documents filed this week on the accounting firm’s website.
Evergrande’s collapse was by far the biggest in a crisis that dragged down China’s economic growth for years and led to a record spate of distress among builders. The company, which first defaulted in 2021, was once the country’s largest developer by sales.
The firm’s insolvent subsidiary, Millennium Golden Jiachen Hotel Holdings, owes C$58 million (S$54 million) to creditors, including C$11 million to an affiliate of Desjardins Group. The Canadian lender filed a motion to put the hotel up for sale, according to court documents.
The 95-year-old hotel will remain open during the sale process. Billing itself as the world’s largest log cabin, the resort opened as a private club in the depth of the Great Depression and is now managed by Accor’s Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
The hotel, with more than 211 rooms and suites, is located 134 kilometres west of Montreal and includes an 18-hole golf course, a spa and a conference centre. Evergrande bought it in 2014 from Oxford Properties Group, a unit of the Omers pension plan.
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Quebec’s Superior Court appointed Philippe Jordan, a partner with PwC, to act as receiver earlier this month. The insolvency process was first reported by the Journal de Montreal.
“We are currently taking the necessary steps to contact stakeholders, including Millennium and Accor,” Jordan said. “Ultimately, the action plan will include putting the hotel up for sale.” BLOOMBERG
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