40 and 44 West Drive: fourteen offers, one buyer and a tenant who has not left

The two buildings at 40 and 44 West Drive in Brampton stand one to a lot on 3.5 acres that the City of Brampton zones M1A industrial, per the First Report of the Receiver, Dec. 15, 2025, para. 3. In January 2023 the Business Development Bank of Canada offered 2868335 Ontario Inc., the company that owns them, a loan whose stated purpose, "Land & Building," was costed at $16,700,000 and funded by $14,500,000 from BDC at a fixed 6.75% and a $2,200,000 shareholder's investment; the BDC loan was repayable in monthly blended instalments of $100,182.17, per the Letter of Offer, Jan. 6, 2023, pp. 1–3 (Affidavit of Adam Laiken, Apr. 1, 2025, Exhibit "B"). The company was incorporated in September 2021, and its "sole business is the lease and maintenance of the Real Properties," Adam Laiken, a director of business restructuring at BDC, affirmed in the Affidavit of Adam Laiken, Apr. 1, 2025, paras. 3, 5 and Exhibit "A".

Three years on, Grant Thornton Limited, as court-appointed receiver, has signed a sale of both buildings to one buyer at a price it has asked the court to keep sealed, and has accepted BDC's claim at $15,650,084.22, per the First Report of the Receiver, Dec. 15, 2025, paras. 29, 35, 39. Its supplemental report of February 5, 2026, the latest filing ahead of the approval hearing on February 17, concerns about 900 square feet of office space at 40 West. Two of the six tenants the receiver found in that building were still in occupation, and one of them, IT5 Labs, holds a lease to June 1, 2028. The receiver "understands that the Purchaser both expects and requires the Real Properties to be vacant upon the closing of the Sale Transaction," per the Supplemental Report to the First Report of the Receiver, Feb. 5, 2026, paras. 7–12, 16.

Two payments, a demand and an adjournment

By BDC's account in its factum, "the Debtor has only successfully made its March and April 2024 payments (and certain standby fees predating the Credit Agreement) and has been in constant default every month following," per the Factum of the Applicant, May 9, 2025, para. 12. Property taxes had gone unpaid too: $131,156.29 on 40 West as of October 9, 2024 and $101,092.81 on 44 West as of October 8. A default letter of December 10, 2024 gave the company ten days to cure. On February 13, 2025 BDC demanded payment from, among others, the company and its three directors as personal guarantors, Santosh Sharma, Rimple Joshi and Harnek Singh Sarai, and served notice of its intention to enforce under s. 244(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. At March 31, 2025, $14,821,481.32 was owing for principal, interest and fees, per the Affidavit of Adam Laiken, Apr. 1, 2025, paras. 3, 16–20. BDC's $14,500,000 charge, registered January 20, 2023, is the first and only charge on title to each property. In Laiken's words, the relationship "has deteriorated beyond repair," and the company "has not provided any realistic path forward to address the significant arrears," per the Affidavit of Adam Laiken, Apr. 1, 2025, paras. 6, 13–15.

The application came on before Justice Derstine on May 16, 2025. "The Respondent appeared and two persons made representations indicating that there was a form of shareholder dispute within the company but that they both wanted to obtain counsel to be able to properly respond to the materials," the endorsement records. They said they would pay BDC "the proper payments" until the return date; Justice Derstine adjourned the application to July 3 "peremptory on the Respondent" and ordered the company, on consent, to pay BDC $120,000 by then, per the Endorsement of Justice Derstine, May 16, 2025, paras. 1–2 (Supplemental Affidavit of Adam Laiken, Exhibit "A").

By June 30, Laiken affirmed in a second affidavit, the company had not said it had retained counsel and had not paid the $120,000. On June 20 two of the directors, Santosh Sharma and Rimple Joshi, had written to the service list asking BDC to go ahead, per the Supplemental Affidavit of Adam Laiken, June 30, 2025, paras. 6–8. "The receivership will be a blessing. Please proceed with it asap," their email reads, per the Email of June 20, 2025 (Supplemental Affidavit of Adam Laiken, Exhibit "B").

On July 3, 2025, in Court File No. CV-25-00001828-0000, commenced at Brampton, Justice Wilkinson appointed Grant Thornton receiver and manager of the company's property under s. 243(1) of the BIA and s. 101 of the Courts of Justice Act, having heard submissions for BDC and the company. The order gave the receiver and its counsel a first charge on the property for their fees and disbursements and let the receiver borrow up to $300,000, per the Receivership Order, July 3, 2025, recitals and paras. 19, 22 (First Report, App. "A").

Two lots, one sale

The receiver took possession on July 4 and served the order on the tenants, six of them at 40 West; 44 West was empty. The receiver asked the company for its books and records and, by its December report, had been given none. The Canada Revenue Agency told it that no corporate returns or HST filings had been made since the company's incorporation, and that there were no deemed trust claims. The City of Brampton, whose proofs of claim for both properties are dated August 18, 2025, put the tax arrears on December 4 at approximately $238,399 for 40 West and $183,622 for 44 West, per the First Report of the Receiver, Dec. 15, 2025, paras. 3, 9, 15(a), (l)–(m).

Four brokerages pitched for the listing: Cushman and Wakefield, CBRE, Colliers and Jones Lang LaSalle. In consultation with BDC the receiver chose Colliers, which had made the most site visits and was the sole agent to provide a detailed breakdown of estimated sale prices. On Colliers' recommendation, "to maximize the sale price," the receiver sent the tenants notices dated July 23 and July 31 terminating their tenancies. Its view, reached with Colliers, was that the best bid would come from an owner-occupier needing vacant possession, per the First Report of the Receiver, Dec. 15, 2025, paras. 19–22, 31.

On August 5, 2025 the buildings were listed together at $18,580,980, or separately at $10,702,800 for 40 West and $8,662,500 for 44 West. The City of Brampton then told the receiver that the properties "had not been properly severed," that a number of prerequisites would have to be met before an application to sever could be approved, and that completion would take an estimated six months at least. With BDC and Colliers, the receiver decided to offer them together. It allowed that the lack of severance "may have tempered potential interest," but judged that the delay and cost of severing favoured an offer for the properties "in their un-severed state," per the First Report of the Receiver, Dec. 15, 2025, paras. 24–25, 31.

The marketing ran 50 days: an MLS listing, a notice in Insolvency Insider, a flyer campaign and three targeted Colliers email blasts to more than 500 parties. It drew 41 enquiries, 12 non-disclosure agreements and 14 offers, some for both properties and some for one. Early interest produced a first bid deadline of September 25, 2025; after it passed, Colliers and the receiver set a second and kept negotiating until the agreement was signed, per the First Report of the Receiver, Dec. 15, 2025, paras. 27–28.