Troubled Vancouver Island resort sold for $141M to original owner

Published 2:15 pm Monday, March 30, 2026

One of the original Bear Mountain business partners has become the ‘new’ owner of hundreds of acres of prime real estate overlooking the West Shore.

For the princely sum of over $141 million, Groundplay Developments Ltd. has purchased the resort, according to a receiver’s certificate filed by Alvarez & Marsal Canada with the B.C. Supreme Court March 20.

Groundplay’s guarantor for the sale is 599315 B.C. Ltd, one of the two original equal partners of Ecoasis Developments LLP, which owns and operates the Bear Mountain resort. Dan Matthews is listed as a director for both companies.

The other partner, Sanovest Holdings Ltd., had also submitted a bid to purchase the property, but Groundplay’s was determined to be the “superior” of the two.

A Jan. 24 report by Alvarez & Marsal Canada notes that settlement terms and a transaction were agreed upon by 599315 B.C. Ltd, Matthews, Sanovest and the receiver.

The sale includes two 18-hole golf courses, Canada’s largest indoor/outdoor red clay court facility and land zoned for residential and commercial development.

It does not include the Westin Bear Mountain Resort and Spa, where it has always remained business as usual.

The resort has been under receivership since the fall of 2024 following a court petition by Sanovest, who are owed over $62 million by Ecoasis Developments.

In filings made in spring 2024, Sanovest claimed there was a breakdown in trust between the two controlling partners – Sanovest ­director Tian ­Kusumoto and ­599315 B.C. Ltd director Matthews.

The request to sell the land by Alvarez & Marsal Canada was approved in July last year

Colliers Victoria was enlisted to sell the property. Their website now lists ‘Bear Mountain masterplan lands and resort operations’ as sold.

“A landmark deal, and a strong signal for the market,” said associate vice-president Dominic Ricciuti in a social media post.

“We’re excited to watch the next evolution of Bear Mountain as it re-establishes itself as one of Canada’s premier golf and resort destinations.”