Fate of Tobiano in the Hands of the Court

This article appeared in the Kamloops this Week on Friday, July 8th, 2011 and was written by Jeremy Deutsch.

As a local group gets organized in an effort to keep Tobiano locally owned, the company that holds all the putters is getting set to put the resort on the market.

The Bowra Group, which was appointed receiver of the golf resort by the courts on June 9, has since been going through the books and putting a package together for sale.

Bowra Group president David Bowra said there has been interest in the resort from  outside of Kamloops and locally, but added demand for recreational property isn’t what it was a few years ago.

“Whether or not it’s [Tobiano] sold or we operate it for the foreseeable future remains to be seen,” he said.

Bowra said the company should have a package ready by next week, followed by a data room for interested groups to view.

A data room typically refers to a monitored site used for a large transaction in which confidential data is being disclosed to bidders.

Bowra said his company will run the resort business as usual and even try to sell lots on the development side of the resort.

“In the meantime, if someone wants to do a deal and comes in with a proposal that we think makes sense, we will recommend it to the courts,” he said.

“It’s going to be up to the courts to decide.”

Word of the resort’s financial woes broke on June 13, after the real-estate side of the resort and golf course were ordered into receivership by a B.C. Supreme Court.

Pagebrook Inc. and Kamlands Holdings Ltd., companies owned by developer Mike Grenier, owe the Bank of Montreal debts totalling roughly $26 million.

A local group called Save Tobiano has come forward with the goal to keep the course locally owned and open to the public.

Bowra said he would like to see a Kamloops group put together a venture to acquire the development, adding it would be good for the community and good for the resort.

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