Coast Appliances enters CCAA under lender-led filing after management resignations

Coast Wholesale Appliances Inc. and Coast Holdings (GP) Ltd., a British Columbia independent distributor and retailer of major household appliances operating under the Coast Appliances brand, was placed under Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act protection on April 17, 2026 on application by Bank of Montreal, as administrative agent for a lending syndicate.

At filing, the business had 17 brick-and-mortar showrooms and 9 distribution centres across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, plus an e-commerce platform. The company employed approximately 300 employees, with about 79 based at the Calgary head office in leadership, finance, human resources, payroll, IT, and website support roles. Employees were unionized in part.

The retailer has faced a sustained decline in consumer spending caused by higher living costs, global conflicts, tariffs, and supply-chain disruption. It also cited a housing-market downturn after the pandemic boom, driven by higher interest rates and uneven recovery.

Several showrooms have already closed, including Ontario locations in Vaughan and Burlington, the Edmonton South location, the Calgary North location, and a store in Abbotsford. Coast also struggled to meet lease obligations tied to its Caledon distribution centre.

A large portion of Coast’s business was tied to residential construction projects. As new single-family and multi-unit developments slowed, demand weakened. Commercial appliance demand also deteriorated as developers delayed or extended projects.

The lenders said Coast’s position worsened further through covenant breaches, borrowing-base deficiencies, and missed sale milestones under repeated forbearance arrangements. As of March 31, 2026, total amounts due to the lending syndicate were nearly $69 million, excluding continuing interest, fees, and costs.

PwC was engaged as financial advisor to the syndicate in October 2024. TriWest Capital Partners and related investors injected approximately $60 million by fall 2024, but turnaround efforts were unsuccessful. PwC explored a restructuring that depended on minimum January-February 2026 equity levels, but those thresholds were not achieved. PwC also ran a targeted sale process for the whole business in early 2026, but only one offer was received and it was deemed not viable.

The lenders originally intended to seek relief later in April, but the process accelerated after all directors and the chief executive officer resigned on April 15, leaving the business without governance.

The comeback hearing will seek a liquidation order and approval of an agency agreement with Hilco Merchant Solutions ULC to conduct store-closing and asset sales. The lending syndicate is providing a DIP loan.

PwC is the monitor with enhanced powers. Counsel is Fasken for BMO, McCarthy Tétrault for the monitor, and Cassels for Hilco.