Yoga Enterprise

Longtime Lynn Valley yoga studio to stay

A month after Yyoga announced the closure, the company signed a new lease with the District of North Vancouver

A month after one of Lynn Valley Village’s longtime businesses prepared to say Namaste to its North Shore customers, locals are back at their sun salutations.

Yyoga Northshore Elements and the District of North Vancouver announced that they have signed a new lease that will allow the anchor tenant to stay.

The good news comes just a month after the longtime yoga company told customers it was closing its doors – and blaming its landlord, the District of North Vancouver.

The COVID-19 restrictions had dealt a hard blow to business, closing the yoga studio for eight out of 16 months during the pandemic. The rest of the time the studio had to work with reduced capacity.

Founder Terry McBride told North Shore News last month that the company left $ 100,000 in arrears with rent to the community.

In the case of the North Shore site, one of the additional issues during the pandemic was that rents paid to governments were not eligible for rent reduction programs Ottawa offers to insolvent businesses.

Earlier negotiations to waive part of the rent debt for the district had also been unsuccessful.

A public outcry followed the announcement that Yyoga was planning to close.

But after a restructuring proposal approved by creditors and courts, the yoga studio is back in business.

McBride said in a press release that he is happy to continue at the Lynn Valley studio location and is grateful to the staff and city council “who have signed a new lease with us which means our premises can continue to operate.”

In a statement, Mike Little, the mayor of North Vancouver District said he was pleased to have reached an agreement that will allow the yoga studio to stay in the community with the support we have given to other businesses across the district. “

Details of the deal or the new lease that was signed with the district were not available.

Earlier this summer, the yoga company was forced to close some of its other studio locations and seek bankruptcy protection while the company negotiated with landlords to waive COVID-related rent arrears.

Now, the yyoga company – which owed roughly $ 3.5 million – has reached an agreement with creditors, including the District of North Vancouver, as part of a court-approved proposal to repay some of the money owed, as well as money from investors to raise financing through equity, according to court records.

Neither McBride nor the District of North Vancouver would comment on their new lease agreement.

But Robin Delany, owner of Delany’s Coffee House, which also has a coffee shop in Lynn Valley, said he was pleased to see the yoga studio remain. “That is certainly good for our business and I wish you every success,” he said.

The success of any company affects everyone else, he added.

“If one of the tenants quits or does not continue their business, it affects each of us.”

Delany said the pandemic made business difficult. “It’s getting better, but it’s still not where it was,” he said.

So far, the district has only offered companies like himself a deferment to repay the rent owed, he said.

“I would have preferred that they would do what any other sensible landlord would do and make more sensible concessions,” he said. “I am confident that will change.”

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