The Hockley Valley Resort, located just north of Toronto outside the town of Orangeville. It has been purchased by Sunray Group from the Adamo family, its longtime owners. (Courtesy Colliers International)

Sunray Group of Hotels Inc. has purchased Ontario’s 299-acre Hockley Valley Resort and Adamo Estate Winery from the longtime Adamo family owners for an undisclosed price.

“Sunray became interested in the resort because of its unique offering and close proximity to Toronto,” Sunray Group president Kenny Gibson told RENX. “We see an opportunity to enhance the resort and winery through capital improvements in the guest rooms and through increased marketing efforts.

“The resort is unique in that not only is there golf, skiing and a spa, but an award-winning winery. Hockley Valley Resort complements our existing portfolio very well.”

The resort is located in the scenic Hockley Valley, just outside the town of Orangeville and an hour’s drive north of downtown Toronto.

Gibson said Sunray’s initial plans for the resort include an upgrade to the existing rooms. The company is also considering an expansion to accommodate more visitors.

“We plan to renovate the guest rooms,” said Gibson. “Additionally, we are exploring an expansion by adding additional guest rooms in the future.

“We plan to keep the legacy of the resort created by the Adamo family, as it relates to the community, as well as maintaining the quality and service culture that they created.”

Hockley Valley and Adamo Estate Winery

Mario and Nancy Adamo purchased the Hockley Valley property on 3rd Line in Mono Township for $1 million in 1985, when it featured a 28-room hotel and another 10,000-square-foot building.

It has gone through several significant expansions and renovations and now offers 104 guest rooms and suites, 16,100 square feet of meeting space, three farm-to-table restaurants with two patios, four additional food and beverage outlets, an 18-hole golf course, a 15-run ski and snowboarding hill, and an 8,000-square-foot spa.

The Adamos purchased a neighbouring 77-acre site in 2000 and opened the winery in September 2016. It has 23,000 vines and a 23,000-square-foot facility for production, tastings and sales.

Colliers International Hotels represented the vendor, Hockley Valley Resort Limited and LJP Corporation, in the transaction.

Colliers Canada executive managing director of hotels Alam Pirani and managing director of hotels Robin McLuskie conducted an international marketing campaign which engaged the commercial real estate services and investment management firm’s offices in Canada, the United States, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa to ensure maximum exposure.

Strong interest for property

McLuskie said the Hockley Valley property “attracted interest from several high-profile hotel investment companies and foreign capital.”

“The sale took a few months to close, given the variety of components involved and complexities of the full-service resort and winery,” said Pirani.

While no financial details of the transaction have been revealed, CFO Capital was involved with financing the acquisition.

“We were retained by the Sunray Group during initial negotiations with the vendor in order to figure out how to structure the debt in order to achieve the most competitive financing due to the uniqueness of the asset class that includes golf, ski, wine, spa, restaurant and room revenue, which at the end we achieved through our lending partners,” said CFO president and principal broker Mark Kay.

“This was a great buy.”

Hockley Valley Resort has more than 300 staff members and is one of the biggest employers in Dufferin County.

“We have assets that are relatively close and can augment the resort’s existing marketing efforts through sales and marketing people we have in place at our other hotels,” said Gibson.

Other Sunray Group properties

Toronto-based and family-owned Sunray Group was founded in 2006. It operates 43 hotels and employs more than 3,000 people in Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. It has partnerships with hotel brands including Marriott, Starwood, Hilton, Radisson, Best Western, IHG, Wyndham and Choice Hotels.

In addition to its hospitality properties, Sunray Group also specializes in developing, buying and selling gas station/retail sites across Ontario.

It has 20 sites under development and partners with major oil companies to redevelop and maximize density with the addition of a complementary fast food outlet. The company has worked with brands including Shell, Petro-Canada, Ultramar, Pioneer, McDonald’s and Tim Hortons.

Sunray Group’s portfolio also includes Ontario retirement residences in Penetanguishene, Orillia and Chatham.