Skip to main content

The Urbancorp St. Clair West sales centere in Toronto.Cole Burston/Bloomberg

The head of Toronto residential developer Urbancorp joined his companies in filing for bankruptcy protection.

Chief executive officer Alan Saskin filed a proposal under Canada's Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act claiming assets and liabilities of $0, according to documents submitted to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in Israel, where the closely help company issued a bond last year. The proceeding is dated April 29. Saskin is the controlling shareholder of Urbancorp, a Toronto-based residential developer that's built more than 5,500 units in 25 years in business.

Saskin is seeking court protection along with eight Urbancorp companies, most of which are associated with specific development projects in Toronto. The eight firms, which include a townhouse development in the St. Clair West neighborhood, filed for protection April 25, claiming each is insolvent. Saskin is seeking to restructure Urbancorp, reducing debt with asset sales.

A Tel Aviv court on April 25 appointed an attorney with the power to seize the company's assets and seek all information about its operations and Saskin. The court authorized the attorney to formulate a first draft for a creditors' settlement, to be presented May 8 with a hearing scheduled for May 22. Debtholders in Israel are voting May 4 on immediate repayment of debt.

Saskin didn't immediately respond to requests seeking comment.

Interact with The Globe