Seafood 2000: a new lender, a fall season and a $16 million credit bid

On July 27, 2026, the day Justice John K. Mitchell signed the order that barred Seafood 2000 Ltd. from restarting its plant, MNP Ltd., the monitor, made a site visit to the company's plant in Prince Edward Island to verify that operations had ceased and that the premises were "clean, orderly and being properly maintained", per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, para. 32. The spring lobster season had ended in June. July went to collecting receivables and settling with suppliers, and the order that day said the company "shall not restart operations, inclusive of making commitments to purchase bait and lobster," without the court's prior approval, per the Second Amended and Restated Initial Order, July 27, 2026, para. 5.

Six weeks later the plant was buying lobster again, National Bank and the provincial interim lender had been repaid, and CG Group Ltd., a New Brunswick company, held the largest secured debt, was financing the fall season, and had signed a stalking horse agreement to take all of the company's shares, per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, paras. 30, 33–35, 42.

The filing itself was reported here on May 24: a processor that could not close a working-capital line for the spring season, a $490,000 Finance PEI facility raised to $3.8 million within a week. The Amended and Restated Initial Order of May 29 then ran the stay to July 31 and raised the administration charge from $150,000 to $300,000, per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, para. 6.

The spring, counted

The monitor's summary of the full spring season, the 15 weeks to August 15, 2026, puts receipts at $18,166,745 against a budget of $19,603,369 and disbursements at $15,444,506 against $20,675,335, for net operating cash flow of $2,722,240 where the forecast had expected an outflow of $1,071,966, per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, para. 23. Professional fees for the period were $489,645 against $604,500 budgeted. The company ended the season holding about $440,000 where the forecast had it at $6.2 million, and the monitor attributes the gap chiefly to the early repayment of National Bank of Canada and of the Finance PEI interim facility, which together came to $5.5 million, per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, para. 25. The line-by-line comparison and the monitor's commentary on variances are sealed.

The company's July application had asked for a short extension. By July 24 the company had "received multiple offers for either the purchase of the Company's assets or FCC's security", which Farm Credit Canada was evaluating, and it asked for time to learn whether any would be acceptable to FCC, failing which it would return with a formal sale process, per the Monitor's Third Report, July 24, 2026, paras. 27–29. The same report had forecast enough cash through September 5 to repay the Finance PEI facility, repay National Bank and make a partial payment to FCC, and suggested the money be moved into the monitor's trust account as it accumulated, per the Monitor's Third Report, July 24, 2026, para. 26. The court gave the stay to August 31, and the July 27 order authorized the company, with the monitor's consent, to pay National Bank $2,171,883.41 plus interest and fees by that date and, after National Bank was paid in full, to pay FCC up to $750,000, per the Second Amended and Restated Initial Order, July 27, 2026, paras. 11(a), 13.

Three days in August

The secured side of the balance sheet turned over in the middle of August, per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, paras. 33–35:

• August 12 — the company repaid the Finance PEI interim facility in full with a payment of $3,258,146.
• August 13 — FCC assigned its debt, "together with all associated security and guarantees", to CG Group.
• August 14 — the company repaid National Bank $2,267,523. It keeps National Bank as its banking platform while it moves the relationship, which it expects to do by January 31, 2027, and has lodged a $125,000 security deposit with the bank as part of the wind-down of the credit facilities (para. 35).

The debt purchase itself is documented as an Agreement for Purchase of Debt and Security between Farm Credit Canada and CG Group Ltd. dated August 7, 2026, per the SISP Approval Order, Sept. 14, 2026, Sch. B, s. 1.1(s). The monitor's first report had put the FCC debt at $16,039,527 in May, per the Monitor's First Report, May 22, 2026, para. 18.

On August 18 the court lifted the restriction. The Third Amended and Restated Initial Order extended the stay to September 10 and authorized the company to restart operations, bait and lobster commitments included, per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, para. 9. The plant reopened that day for the fall season. CG Group advanced $500,000 on August 18, $280,000 on August 19 and $700,000 on August 31, a total of $1.48 million by September 9, per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, paras. 30, 34.

The first fortnight of the fall season, to August 29, brought receipts of $908,070 against $1,214,384 budgeted; cash at the end of it was $280,366, against a forecast $201,553, per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, paras. 28, 30. The monitor reports no unexpected interruption of service, sales at the forecast level, and tax filings brought current to July 31. The Fall Forecast, which runs from August 16 to November 14, 2026, is sealed; the monitor says it projects the liquidity needed to fund operations and restructuring costs through November 14, per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, paras. 26–27.

September 10

Justice Mitchell heard the company's application at Charlottetown on September 10 and signed two orders dated September 14, both effective September 10. Katie Morello of Cox & Palmer appeared for the company, with counsel for the monitor and for CG Group.

The Fourth Amended and Restated Initial Order substitutes CG Group for Finance PEI as interim lender under a Debtor in Possession Financing Agreement dated August 18, 2026, with borrowings capped at $3,800,000 and an interim lender's charge in the same principal amount plus fees, interest and expenses, per the Fourth Amended and Restated Initial Order, Sept. 14, 2026, paras. 32–35. The monitor supported the new charge on the ground that its terms and conditions "are the same as those originally granted to FPEI DIP Financing", per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, para. 34. The administration charge rises to $400,000 and ranks first, the interim lender's charge second and the $100,000 D&O charge third, all ahead of Canada Revenue Agency, CG Group, Farm Credit Canada and National Bank, per the Fourth Amended and Restated Initial Order, Sept. 14, 2026, paras. 31, 42–43. The monitor tied the higher administration charge to the enhanced powers it holds, which extend to day-to-day decisions and disbursement approvals through the fall season, and to the work of running the sale process, per the Monitor's Fourth Report, Sept. 9, 2026, paras. 47–48.