VANCOUVER – The iconic Vancouver-based company Intrawest, which for decades has marketed beautiful British Columbia to the world as a travel destination, is moving operations south of the border.
In an internal memo circulated Tuesday evening and obtained by The Vancouver Sun, CEO Bill Jensen told employees that the company, the former owner of Whistler Blackcomb, will move its headquarters to Colorado from Vancouver by the end of this year.
He said the move to a more geographically central location will be more efficient for overall business.
“With shared services and Intrawest’s two largest resorts already in Colorado, this relocation is the logical next step to the continued growth of Intrawest, and is consistent with the company’s long-term business strategy,” he said.
He said the relocation will bring senior management closer to Intrawest’s core business assets.
“I’m not surprised they have decided to move,” said Lee Malleau, head of the Vancouver Economic Development Commission, an agency that helps local businesses attract international investment, researches the business environment and makes policy recommendations.
“They’ve become less of a Canadian company. They’ve been decreasing their workforce in B.C. for a number of years,” she said, estimating 20 to 25 staff members are left in Intrawest’s Vancouver office.
Malleau said it’s “disappointing” to lose a such a key company in Vancouver.
“Fortunately for us it’s not going to be a huge hit in terms of economic impact. But it is sad that they are going to move away. It’s definitely a company that we identify as being Canadian.”
Whistler Blackcomb went public in October, capitalizing on exposure from the 2010 Winter Games.
Intrawest now has just a minority interest- around 20 per cent – in Whistler Blackcomb, said Malleau, adding the resort’s employees won’t be affected by the move to the U.S.
“There won’t be a hit on the operations, which is good news. That’s where most of the employees are. That’s where most of the economic impact and benefits are as opposed to an office in Vancouver.”
The new headquarters will house Intrawest’s senior management team and real estate group as well as legal, human resources, information technology, strategic planning, accounting, finance and treasury functions, the memo said.
“We anticipate that it will be “˜business as usual’ for the next several months. As transition plans and corresponding activities occur, we will communicate accordingly,” Jensen said in the memo.
He said the move will not affect Club Intrawest or Intrawest Resort Club Group operations in Vancouver and that both “will continue to work from their Vancouver base.”
Club Intrawest is a private resort club that allows its more than 40,000 members access to ski, golf and beach resorts in the world. Intrawest Resort Club Group is the division of Intrawest ULC that manages Club Intrawest.
Founded in 1976, Intrawest began as a residential and urban real estate firm in Vancouver. In the mid-’80s it began buying up ski resorts, including Blackcomb in 1986.
It bought Whistler in 1997 and integrated the two resorts, making Whistler Blackcomb the largest ski resort in North America.
But over the years, Intrawest became heavily laden with debt. It sold off some of its ski resorts in the past year and now owns eight, including Mont Tremblant near Montreal and Steamboat in Colorado.
In 2006, the New York-based Fortress Investment bought Intrawest Corp. for about $2.8 billion, including $950 million in debt.
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