Alcohol giant's $17.5M buy

The Mark Anthony Group, an alcohol conglomerate that owns Mission Hill winery and White Claw, is purchasing the former BC Tree Fruits warehouse in Kelowna.

The property at 880 Vaughan Avenue sold for $17.5 million, according to court filings related to BCTF’s bankruptcy.

The 5.2-acre industrial property with a 195,159 square foot warehouse/storage facility was initially listed for $22 million.

The Mark Anthony Group, which made the purchase under Pelecanus Real Estate Ltd., did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The sale went before a judge for approval Wednesday, alongside the District of Lake Country’s purchase of a former BCTF cold storage facility in that community.

An update from Alvarez and Marsal, the bankruptcy monitor, says the liquidation of inventory at BCTF-owned Growers Supply stores is proceeding and all those stores are expected to be closed shortly.

On-site auctions for the remainder of the inventory are planned for early December.

The court has previously approved the sale of BC Tree Fruits properties at 1200 Waddington Drive in Vernon for $3.2M and 2605 Acland Road in Kelowna for $9.5M.

The bankruptcy monitor has been attempting to sell off other BCTF assets as a bloc, but according to the recent filing, has struggled to do so.

The report says there have been a total of nine bids for the remainder of BCTFC’s assets, none of them en bloc.

“In particular, no going concern offer was presented for the packing facility located in Oliver, B.C.,” said the report.

Alvarez and Marsal says it is not prepared to advance any additional individual BCTFC asset bids.

“The monitor’s determination to not pursue the other individual offers is largely based on the potential impact to the [co-op members] and, more broadly, on the fruit packing industry in B.C., if the Oliver packing plant is left as a standalone facility with no controlled atmosphere storage capabilities,” the report said.

Alvarez and Marsal says it is assessing next steps for the remainder of BCTF’s assets and will provide an update to the courts when it is available.