B.C. pub chain the Donnelly Group seeks creditor protection

The Donnelly Group, which owns pubs and clubs that are fixtures in Vancouver’s nightlife and hospitality industry, is filing for creditor protection.

The Vancouver-based company, which operates more than a dozen pubs, clubs and restaurants in Vancouver and Toronto under the Freehouse Collective, said Wednesday it has started proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) to revise the terms of existing loans and restructure debt it needed to take on to survive COVID-19 .

“Despite the often startling perception of this filing, it’s very much a constructive versus destructive financial tool that will first bring added stability and then growth to our businesses operating in the embattled hospitality industry,” said CEO Jeffrey Donnelly in a statement.

In a petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday, the company asked the court to appoint Ernst & Young as a monitor over its affairs as it works out a restructuring plan with its creditors.