Elykwood: a food bank for one Aldergrove lot, a numbered company for the other

On December 3, 2024, a Roynat Inc. representative went to assess the land on Old Yale Road in Aldergrove, British Columbia, from which Elykwood Forest Products Ltd. had made specialized custom and standard lumber patterns for custom homes, decks and soffits, sold wholesale and not directly to contractors. The business appeared to be shut down, and the lumber that had been stored there on pallets was gone. When a senior manager with The Bank of Nova Scotia, Roynat's parent, visited on January 20, 2025, the premises were locked, the lot appeared vacant and there was a "for sale" sign on the fence, per the Affidavit #1 of Kelly Nicolson, Jan. 30, 2025, paras. 9, 11, 28.

The receiver now has buyers for it. On September 3, 2026, eighteen months into the receivership, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. filed its first report as receiver and manager of Elykwood, the numbered company that owns the land and a second numbered company that guaranteed its debt. With it came an application to sell the two lots: the vacant warehouse and offices at 26899 Old Yale Road to the Langley Food Bank Society, and the autobody shop at 26963 Old Yale Road to 1556491 B.C. Ltd. The prices are redacted from the contracts attached to the report, per the Receiver's First Report, Sept. 3, 2026, paras. 1.1–1.3, 2.7–2.8, 4.19. The receiver wants the supplemental report that discloses them, and the vesting orders themselves, kept under seal until the sales close; its application is returnable in Vancouver on September 9 at 9:45 a.m., with twenty minutes estimated, per the Notice of Application, Sept. 3, 2026, p. 1; Part 1, paras. 1–2.

A $7 million loan and a fire

The three companies are owned and controlled by Makram Chimayt, their sole director. 1385954 B.C. Ltd., incorporated November 8, 2022, is the borrower and holds title to both lots; Elykwood, incorporated that August, ran the lumber business from them; 1337073 B.C. Ltd. is a related company that guaranteed the borrower's debt, per the Receiver's First Report, Sept. 3, 2026, paras. 2.2–2.7. Roynat's offer of finance, dated November 18, 2022, made a $7,000,000 term loan available to buy the two properties and pay for tenant improvements and moving costs. It was interest-only through 2023, then carried monthly principal payments of $8,600 and later $9,100, with the balance of $6,796,700 due on December 15, 2025, per the Affidavit #1 of Kelly Nicolson, Jan. 30, 2025, Ex. "A". Elykwood and 1337073 B.C. Ltd. guaranteed the loan, Mr. Chimayt guaranteed it personally, and Roynat's mortgage and assignment of rents were registered against both titles on December 22, 2022, per the Receiver's First Report, Sept. 3, 2026, paras. 2.11–2.13, 5.4.

The defaults Roynat swore to began in June 2024, when the borrower failed to maintain its combined debt service coverage ratio; Roynat waived that one, provided there were no more. In November the monthly payment came back with a notation that the account, at another Canadian bank, was frozen. It was made good in December, but the payments for December 2024 and January 2025 were not made, per the Affidavit #1 of Kelly Nicolson, Jan. 30, 2025, paras. 16, 26. Roynat's counsel sent demand letters and notices of intention to enforce security to all three companies on December 13, 2024, per the Affidavit #1 of Suzanne Volkow, Jan. 28, 2025, para. 5. By January 23, 2025 the debt stood at $6,993,919.32 including accrued interest, before costs, and the property taxes on the land for 2023 and 2024 had not been paid, per the Affidavit #1 of Kelly Nicolson, Jan. 30, 2025, paras. 4, 7(d), 34.

There had also been a fire. On or about August 30, 2023, it damaged one of the structures on the land, and Roynat was first loss payee on the insurance. The affiant, a Roynat regional vice-president, swore that approximately $180,000 in proceeds, payable jointly to the borrower and Roynat, "have been deposited and used for the Borrower's benefit, including payments to the Borrower's principal and to companies that appear to be affiliated with the Borrower's principal," per the Affidavit #1 of Kelly Nicolson, Jan. 30, 2025, paras. 1, 7(a), 31, Ex. "R". After its appointment the receiver obtained copies of the cheques, traced their deposit and withdrawal, and gave its results to Roynat and its counsel. Weighing the cost of further investigation and recovery against the potential benefit to the estate, it "determined it was not economical to pursue the matter further," per the Receiver's First Report, Sept. 3, 2026, para. 2.15.

Roynat's petition was heard on February 18, 2025. Justice Veenstra appointed PwC receiver and manager, without security, of all three companies' property under s. 243(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and s. 39 of the Law and Equity Act, on hearing Lisa Hiebert for Roynat "and no one else appearing, although duly served," per the Receivership Order, Feb. 18, 2025, p. 1. The receiver's report gives Roynat's reasons for losing confidence in management as "the continuing payment defaults, the apparent cessation of operations, the misapplication of insurance proceeds and the failure to pay property taxes," per the Receiver's First Report, Sept. 3, 2026, para. 2.21.

What the receiver had to find elsewhere

The receiver's statutory notice, dated ten days after its appointment, estimated the real property at $5,000,000, cash and inventory at nil, and the equipment at "TBD." It listed $10,472,228 in secured claims, led by Roynat at $6,993,919 and Royal Bank of Canada at $3,300,000, with the amounts owed to nine of the fourteen secured creditors still to be determined, and it recorded that the debtors had not cooperated or provided any books and records, per the Notice and Statement of Receiver (Form 87), Feb. 28, 2025, paras. 1, 5–6.

The first report opens its background section with the same difficulty: "The Receiver has not been able to collect meaningful information or books and records from the Debtors, notwithstanding repeated requests." Much of its background, it says, comes from the Roynat affidavit, the application materials and third parties, per the Receiver's First Report, Sept. 3, 2026, paras. 2.1, 3.1.3. The receiver investigated a business interruption insurance claim Mr. Chimayt submitted over the 2023 fire, with insurers, adjusters, valuation experts and counsel, and on December 1, 2025 it spoke with an insurance broker about "a new claim filed by Mr. Chimayt in mid-to-late 2025," per the Receiver's First Report, Sept. 3, 2026, paras. 3.1.4.3, 3.1.16, 3.1.23.

At the properties the receiver found a limited quantity of miscellaneous personal property and equipment, including tools and machinery previously used in Elykwood's lumber manufacturing. Able Auctions sold some of it for gross proceeds of $2,513. That equipment was subject to RBC's general security agreement over Elykwood's personal property, which a legal opinion obtained by the receiver confirms as valid and enforceable; after the costs of realizing on it, the receiver says, no funds will be available for RBC, per the Receiver's First Report, Sept. 3, 2026, paras. 2.9, 5.2, 6.15.

Sixteen months, two brokers

Six days after its appointment the receiver began the sales process by asking four brokers for proposals, the incumbent listing agent among them, and it chose Colliers International, which was not the incumbent. Colliers listed both properties on April 1, 2025 at $5,400,000; on its recommendation the price was cut to $4,900,000 on July 24 and the listing added to MLS. By its last marketing update, on October 31, 2025, the listing had drawn about 955 views and 39 inquiries, per the Receiver's First Report, Sept. 3, 2026, paras. 4.2–4.7. "While a few offers were received, nothing was received on terms acceptable to the Receiver." Most of the interest, Colliers reported, came from owner-occupiers wanting the yard space, such as automotive users, construction businesses and religious groups; setback requirements for a watercourse at the rear limited interest from developers, in a Greater Vancouver market with "low buyer urgency, elevated construction costs and persistent uncertainty across asset classes," per the Receiver's First Report, Sept. 3, 2026, paras. 4.6–4.8.