Last week, 270 acres of Vantreight Farms land was ordered sold by the B.C. Supreme Court.
The land, which went on sale last year for $20 million after a court order, was purchased by Sherry Brydson of Westerkirk Capital Corporation for $8.75 million, according to court documents.
Brydson, a Victoria native, is currently known as Canada’s richest woman, with an estimated net worth of $6.5 billion.
Brydson also owns Viking Air in Sidney.
“The sale last week stemmed from the court appointed sale of the buildings and property that we own that began last year,” explained Ian Vantreight, who owns and runs the farm with his son Ryan.
“The deal came to fruition last Thursday with an offer being made for six of the parcels by a local group. It was approved by the court with a closing date of Oct. 31,” he said.
The farm has been in the Vantreight family for five generations. Vantreight said that should the sale go through, he hopes to continue farm operations in some capacity.
“At this point it’s a priority for us to sit down with the group and see what their plans are and if they can worked in with the continued operations of Vantreight Farms,” he said.
Vantreight said the pending court sale includes the main offices and greenhouses on Central Saanich Road as well as 32 acres of land which was re-zoned into residential lots a number of years ago for the Hill Project.
Most of the proceeds from the pending sale would go to HSBC Bank, the company that sought foreclosure from the Vantreight’s last year.
Two parcels of land out of the estimated 380 acre total remain to be sold.
The farm currently employs 57 workers (full and part time) as well as hundreds of seasonal workers each year for the daffodil season.
reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com
