Investors Place Coromandel Properties Under Receivership As Saga Enters Third Year

Investors have applied to place Coromandel Properties under receivership, marking the start of the third year in a drawn-out financial saga. Back in February 2023, the Vancouver-based developer filed for creditor protection under Canada’s Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), carrying roughly $700 million in debt across 16 active projects. It was among the first of a wave of real-estate insolvencies in Metro Vancouver, and it remains unmatched in scale.

The application to initiate receivership came from Coromandel’s original seed investors, the Mo family, who collectively held about 70 percent of the company through family trusts. Their motion was approved by the Supreme Court on May 8 and officially made public on May 26. Though some lenders recovered portions of their funds via court-ordered sales, the Mo investors say they have not yet recouped their capital and still lack visibility into the company’s current finances.

Founded around 2016 by Junchao Mo and his sons, Robert and Calvin, Coromandel was led operationally by CEO and sole director, Jerry Zhong. Over time, the business grew to include more than 130 corporate entities, including limited partnerships and holding companies created for individual projects. Control flowed through top-tier entities such as Coromandel Holdings Ltd. and Mulberry Capital, a conduit for seed funding.

By early 2023, Coromandel faced a looming debt cliff. As loan repayment due dates arrived, its lack of liquidity forced it to seek creditor protection. In a brief twist, the company exited the CCAA by securing forbearance agreements in March. At the same time, Zhong pursued a $280 million asset sale deal with Peak Mortgage—contracts were signed in June, but the buyer failed to pay the deposit and the deal unraveled.

The consequences of that collapse became visible mid-2023. According to the Mo family’s court filings, Zhong informed them of the failed deal at a July 21 meeting at Coromandel’s head office. Soon after, senior executives departed, salaries went unpaid, and lenders began initiating foreclosure and receivership actions on individual projects.

Today, the status of Coromandel’s 16 projects is uneven. Some assets have been sold or foreclosed—like the Alberta Street site and Nanaimo project—while joint-venture partners such as Peterson Group have bought out Coromandel’s stakes in others. A few projects linger in limbo, undergoing rezoning or still tied to ongoing insolvency court hearings. As Coromandel enters its third year in legal and financial limbo, its future hangs on the receivership. That court-appointed process is expected to provide clarity on outstanding debts, asset value, and the possibility of winding down or restructuring. For the Mo family, this represents a final effort to recover investments that have remained tied up for more than two years.