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The hotel had been placed under receivership in March 2025 following foreclosure proceedings brought by Fox Island Development, which is owed more than $113 million under a secured loan.

The original asking price in the court-ordered sale was $98 million. As of July 2024, according to BC Assessment, the property is worth $26.2 million, including $22.4 million for the buildings and $3.8 million for the land.

Versante Hotel

In an Oct. 9, 2025, letter to Deloitte, the court-appointed receiver, Colliers International — the commercial real estate firm overseeing the marketing and transaction of the court-ordered sale — shared that an initial offer to acquire the property had been made by an “established hotel operator with several assets in Ontario.” This entity submitted a bid as part of the July 29, 2025, call for offers and was ultimately selected based on the price and terms.

But on Aug. 18, 2025, just before the execution of the purchase agreement, the Ontario company decided not to proceed and requested the return of its deposit.

“Their stated concern was the recent Cowichan Tribes court ruling, which introduced uncertainty around land title ownership and potential precedent risk,” wrote Colliers. The court’s Cowichan Tribes ruling was issued just over a week earlier on Aug. 7, 2025.

In the context of the hotel sale, the controversy centres on the broader uncertainty the ruling has introduced into British Columbia’s system of fee-simple title private land ownership. Although the property was not located within the Cowichan Tribes’ claim area, the decision raised concerns about the long-term security of fee simple title, prompting hesitation from buyers and lenders. Critics say this illustrates how the emerging perception of precarious private land ownership in B.C. is already affecting real-world transactions, even well outside the boundaries of the original case.

There are also concerns about an unknown number of other Aboriginal title land claims going through the legal system, impacting other private and public lands elsewhere in the region and province.

Within the Cowichan Tribes’ southeast Richmond land claim area, it is known that private property owners are already impacted, with Montrose Properties — a major developer of industrial space — now pursuing legal action to have the decision overturned. The developer shared that lenders and potential tenants have pulled out for an upcoming project in the area, while discussions for another project have been suspended due to the ruling.

Versante Hotel

After the initial buyer pullout, Citation Property Holdings was chosen as the alternative buyer for Versante Hotel.

A sale approval hearing was held on Oct. 23, 2025, in which the court heard the proposal by Citation to buy Versante Hotel for $48 million. However, a representative of Silverport Properties attended the hearing and proposed a higher bid, which led the judge to order a live auction of the property the next day. After multiple rounds of auction on Oct. 24, 2025, Citation’s increased bid of $51.5 million was accepted by the court as the highest bid.

However, in Deloitte’s Dec. 12, 2025, report providing an update on the receivership proceedings, it was shared that Citation, despite repeated extensions, meetings, and requests for proof of financing, the receiver concluded that Citation was not ready or able to close. The report cites several concerns, including Citation’s failure to provide evidence of required equity financing, delays in setting up hotel operations, and unresolved transition issues related to staffing, management, and parking arrangements.

As a result, the receiver terminated the agreement and retained Citation’s $2.6-million deposit as liquidated damages.

Following this latest failed sale, the receiver entered into a new agreement with a Fox Island Development-related company through a “credit bid,” allowing the lender to acquire the hotel by offsetting part of the debt owed rather than paying the full purchase price in cash. The credit bid values the transaction at approximately $48.5 million and is presented as the best remaining option to avoid further losses, as the hotel is projected to operate at a deficit if the sale is delayed further.

The receiver concludes that the sale process was fair, transparent, and commercially reasonable, but warns that ongoing uncertainty and operational complexities make it unlikely that a better offer could be secured within a reasonable timeframe. Deloitte is asking the court to approve the credit bid and allow the transaction to proceed in order to stabilize the property and limit further financial harm to creditors.

Interestingly, Colliers noted that during its efforts to look for prospective buyers, some potential investors expressed concerns about Versante Hotel’s guest room count of 100 units, suggesting that it may be too small to be profitable over fixed costs. These investors had a preference for a hotel property with at least 150 to 200 guest rooms. As well, other concerns were raised over the technical issues with the building’s window tinting system, and the growing competition expected over the coming years from the opening of six additional hotels in the surrounding area.

With that said, Colliers also noted that Versante Hotel is “widely regarded as one of Richmond’s top-tier hotels, with strong top-line performance in both occupancy and Average Daily Rate (ADR).”

Versante Hotel

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