Thind Facing Two More Receiverships, Owes $220M To KingSett

Two additional projects by Burnaby-based Thind Properties are heading towards receivership, significantly widening the scope of the developer's financial troubles that began with its District Northwest project being placed under receivership, as first reported by STOREYS earlier this week.

As with District Northwest, the lender in this case is also Toronto-based KingSett Mortgage Corporation, also known as KingSett Capital, who filed a single application on November 8 to appoint a Receiver over both projects. The Supreme Court of British Columbia does not appear to have approved the receivership application yet, but the circumstances are similar and related to that of District Northwest, which was placed under receivership on November 8.

Highline

The first project is Highline, located at 6511 Sussex Avenue in Burnaby, directly adjacent to Metrotown Station and across the street from the Metropolis at Metrotown shopping centre. At the site, Thind Properties has developed a 48-storey mixed-use tower that completed construction in late-2023 and has received occupancy. The tower also includes 10 floors of office space that Thind has been in the process of converting into hotel use.

KingSett and Thind — borrowing as 6511 Sussex Heights Developments Ltd. — entered into a first-ranking inventory financing loan agreement on March 5, 2024 for the principal amount of $176,500,000, which was to be payable in two tranches and carry an interest rate of the RBC Prime Rate + 3.50%, with a floor rate of 10.70%.

As part of the loan agreement, Thind Properties was required to make monthly interest payments to KingSett, but failed to do so on both September 1 and October 1 of this year. A few weeks later, on October 21, KingSett then issued Thind a Notice of Default as well as a Notice of Intention to Enforce Security.

The Highline Metrotown high-rise next to Metrotown Station in Burnaby. / Thind Properties

According to KingSett, the outstanding amount they are owed as of November 1 was $146,020,840.41, with interest accruing at a daily rate of $42,902.75.

Of note is that KingSett referred to the loan as an "inventory financing loan," which is a type of loan that allows a business to purchase assets that they can later sell. In real estate, these kind of loans are typically secured against newly-completed vacant units, of which Highline appears to have many.

In a civil claim in the Supreme Court of British Columbia filed on November 14, a realtor with SRS Panorama Realty named Gurmail Singh said he was owed $800,000 as part of a consulting agreement with 6511 Sussex Heights Developments Ltd. As part of the agreement, according to Singh, he was retained to sell 44 units — Units 301-305, 401-405, 501-507, 601-606, 701-706, 801-806, 901-906, plus three strata retail units — within Highline, suggesting that they were never pre-sold.

If the receivership application is approved, the proceedings would likely entail the court-ordered sale of these remaining units.

Minoru Square

The second is the Minoru Square project Thind was planning at 5768 Minoru Boulevard in Richmond. Unlike Highline, this project never reached the point of construction. For the site, Thind was planning "a dynamic new mixed-use community in the heart of Richmond" consisting of one office tower and three residential towers with a total of 429 homes, according to Thind's website.

According to KingSett, they and Thind — through Minoru Square Development Limited Partnership and Minoru View Homes Ltd. — entered into a first-ranking mortgage agreement on October 18, 2021, which was later amended three times, for the principal amount of $72,650,000 and an interest rate of the RBC Prime Rate + 5.54%, with a floor rate of 12.24%.

Again, as part of the loan agreement, Thind was required to make monthly interest payments and, again, it failed to do so on both September 1 and October 1 of this year. KingSett then issued a Notice of Default and Notice of Intention to Enforce Security on October 11.

The 5768 Minoru Boulevard site in Richmond. / JLL

KingSett says that the outstanding amount they are owed as of November 1 was $74,930,599.80, with interest accruing at a daily rate of $24,868.84.

According to KingSett, the Highline mortgage is cross-collateralized with a mortgage on Minoru Square, hence KingSett opting to to file a single application. They also note that their contacts for both Highline and Minoru Square are the same people, that those people have failed to respond to KingSett's demand for payments, and that they have since also failed to make monthly interest payments on November 1.

As STOREYS reported last month, 5768 Minoru Boulevard was listed for sale by JLL. This was not a court-ordered sale, however, and was likely listed at the request of Thind, in an attempt to monetize the asset. If KingSett's receivership application is approved, the property will likely go through a formal sales process, potentially with a different broker.

Thind Properties

Across Highline and Minoru Square, the outstanding debt owed to KingSett Capital is $220,951,440.21. When including District Northwest, the total amount owed to KingSett is $306,646,542.68, plus interest.

In an affidavit in the District Northwest receivership, Thind Properties' Owner, Founder, and CEO Daljit Thind said that he was informed by KingSett on March 3 — two days before they agreed to the inventory financing loan for Highline — that KingSett was not going to provide construction financing for District Northwest. Thind said KingSett cited their "overall exposure" to Thind Properties as the reason.

In addition to the aforementioned debts, Thind Properties has also been subject of a civil claim initiated by Inform Projects, which describes itself on its website as a "leader in bringing high-end European cabinetry to the most luxurious multi-residential projects in Vancouver." Developers the company has worked with, according to its website, include Concord Pacific and Westbank.

In a civil claim dated June 12, Inform Projects said it was hired as a subcontractor to supply and install cabinetry at Highline, with Inform being paid $5,050,000, plus applicable taxes, which was later increased as a result of change orders. Inform says that they completed their work, but Thind has failed to pay and owes them $677,731.14.

Thind Properties Owner, Founder, CEO, and President Daljit Thind. / Thind Properties

According to Inform, the general contractor on the project was D-Thind Development - Sussex Ltd., with Daljit Thind and his son Paul Thind serving as the directors of the entity.

"Inform has demanded payment from D-Thind, but D-Thind has refused to pay and has indicated that it used the money from the Highline Project to fund other ventures," they said. Inform also claims that the funds were supposed to be placed in a trust and that D-Thind has breached that trust. They thus sought out damages for breach of trust on top of the amount owed, as well as a declaration that they are entitled to register a lien on the property.

In July, Inform also asked the Supreme Court to allow it to serve Daljit Thind and Paul Thind via email, after multiple failed attempts to serve them at Thind's offices in Burnaby. According to Inform, the process server believed the Thinds to be "evading service," and the Court allowed service by email.

By August, however, D-Thind filed a counterclaim saying that Inform failed to complete its work, that some of Inform's work was defective, and that Inform thus breached their contract. "D-Thind has suffered and continues to suffer losses and damages as a result of the plaintiff’s breach of the Highline Subcontract," they said.

As of publication, all of the aforementioned legal actions — the receiverships, the realtor lawsuit, the subcontractor lawsuit — remain active and are likely to intersect in one way or another as all the parties try to recover what they believe they are owed.