Hudson’s Bay Lender Asks Court to Terminate Retailer’s Deal With Billionaire Ruby Liu

Billionaire Ruby Liu listens during an interview at a former Hudson's Bay-owned Saks Off 5th department store after a "handover ceremony" where she received the keys to the space at Tsawwassen Mills shopping mall that she owns, in Tsawwassen, B.C., on June 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A Hudson’s Bay lender is asking a court to cancel the retailer’s plan to sell more than 20 store leases to a B.C. billionaire, arguing that strong opposition from landlords and the high cost of securing their approval reflect mismanagement of the Bay’s wind-down.

Investment manager ReStore Capital LLC, one of the Bay’s biggest lenders, filed a court motion on July 8 seeking to terminate a deal the retailer reached in May to assign up to 28 store leases to B.C. mall owner Ruby Liu.

ReStore argues that efforts to secure landlord approvals for that deal have been costly and unproductive, and it is asking the court to appoint a “super monitor” to manage the liquidation of the remaining assets.

“HBC has incurred exorbitant rent costs and professional fees in trying to obtain the necessary landlord consents with nothing to show for it, despite the landlords having indicated long ago that no consent will be provided,” ReStore’s motion says.

Liu signed two deals with the Bay in May. The first, a $6 million transaction involving three leases in B.C. malls that Liu owns, was approved by a court last month.

The second, which the Bay has yet to seek approval for, involves up to 25 leases in Alberta, B.C., and Ontario, where landlords have objected to taking on Liu as tenant, saying she has not provided a practical business plan. Liu has said she plans to launch a new department store in the former Hudson’s Bay spaces.

Several landlords have said in court they have been “very troubled” by their interactions with Liu and have had “no productive discussions, no meaningful disclosure,” while Liu has said landlords will warm to her and her business plans if she is handed the leases.

Liu is a Chinese national who owns the Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria, Tsawwassen Mills in Delta, B.C., and Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo, B.C., through her real estate business, Central Walk.

Liu, who immigrated to Canada in 2014, has also been a member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body in China. Liu said in a 2023 interview with 56 Below TV that she became a member of the committee because she realized she needed “power” to make it in China’s real estate industry.

The Epoch Times reached out to Liu for comment on the lenders’ request but didn’t immediately hear back.

In its filing, ReStore points to the projected costs the Bay will incur between June 30 and Aug. 15 in connection with its deal with Liu. That includes $7.5 million in rent costs in addition to professional fees as it pursues the transaction, according to the court document.

The lender argues the Bay has “frittered away” its collateral “without any clear path or plan towards realizing any benefit for [the Bay’s] stakeholders.”

Hudson’s Bay spokesperson Tiffany Bourré told The Epoch Times the retailer “continues to manage the monetization of its assets and the wind-up of its affairs in a responsible and diligent manner.”

Bourré said the Bay is “appropriately balancing the interests of various stakeholders” in compliance with Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act court orders and under the supervision of the court-appointed monitor.

“The first lien secured creditor has filed court materials to advance its own interests and Hudson’s Bay will fully respond in due course,” she said in a statement.

The Bay filed for creditor protection in March and has since liquidated all 80 of its stores.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.