Unable to recover from the spectacular debacle of his real estate empire, fallen developer Stéphan Huot declares the largest personal bankruptcy in the history of Quebec, with $463.6 million in debt.
• Read also: “It’s the worst defeat of my life”: Stéphan Huot declares bankruptcy
• Read also: Discount sale for Huot properties
The man who was at the head of the defunct Huot Group signed, on Wednesday, all the papers aimed at formalizing his personal bankruptcy.
With $463.6 million in liabilities, Stéphan Huot far exceeds the resounding bankruptcy of hotelier Raymond Malenfant, which occurred in 1993, which was until now, according to our research, the largest in Quebec.
The businessman, who died in January 2022 at the age of 91, previously managed a real estate portfolio of $400 million, which notably included the Manoir Richelieu and the Complexe Jacques-Cartier. At the time of filing for bankruptcy, he had declared debts of $145 million, which is equivalent to $270 million in today’s dollars, according to trustee Stéphane Leblond.
Failure for Huot
This is a turnaround for Stéphan Huot, who said he was confident last fall of avoiding reaching this point. The promoter had then just taken shelter from his creditors for $1.179 billion, making this insolvency procedure one of the most important – in terms of dollars – in the history of Quebec.
The sale of the Huot Group’s companies – including the five real estate complexes acquired by the MACH group for $560 million and the purchase of Airmedic by Dessercom for $54 million – however made it possible to considerably reduce Stéphan Huot’s liabilities during the last months.
Archive photo, Stevens LeBlanc
“Several properties were sold, which gradually eliminated the endorsements,” explains trustee Stéphane Leblond, who is managing this file.
The latter estimates that other future transactions – among others in the files of the Transrapide Distribution Center as well as for the L’Aventura rental condos – could remove up to an additional $150 million from Huot’s debt, to place it at the around $315 million.
Stéphan Huot, for his part, is even more confident by affirming that other arrangements could set his final debt somewhere between $150 and $175 million.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
Other debts
In the wake of his personal bankruptcy, Stéphan Huot also placed his investment company sheltered from its creditors, for debts of $294.1 million.
The deposed developer filed a notice of intent to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act on Wednesday, according to documents seen by our Bureau of Investigation.
Around twenty creditors are targeted by this procedure, some of whom are also involved in the personal bankruptcy of Stéphan Huot.
The bankruptcy of Huot, in brief
: $467.7 million
: $4.1 million
– Buildings: $3.9 million
– Furnishing: $157,000
– Vehicle: $75,000
*63 unsecured creditors, including:
– SH Fund: $90.2 million
– Q 12 Fund: $87.6 million
– Portage Capital: $50.7 million
*6 secured creditors, including:
– Fiera Real Estate Financing Fund: $6.9M
– Quebec Revenue: $1.05 million