Lawsuit between Vancouver developer and former VP reveals financial strains on big projects
CBC
A lawsuit by a former vice-president of a prominent Vancouver development company appears to be revealing more details of many of their biggest projects taking a turn for the worse.
In December, Rhiannon Mabberley filed a civil claim against Westbank Project Corp., suing for a breach of contract when she left her role as vice-president of development in the first half of 2025.
Mabberley argued Westbank owed her $1.2 million, based on a previous employment agreement, in her claim.
In its response, Westbank says those payments were “dependent on the profits received by Westbank” on projects she was a part of, and those profits were not met.
The response by Westbank does not go into details as to why those profits were not met.
But an affidavit filed by Mabberley, which was first reported by Bloomberg News, reveals what she says is a text message to her from Westbank founder Ian Gillespie — and provides an intimate and stark commentary on the state of his company.
The alleged text was sent by Gillespie to Mabberley in September, four months after Mabberley left Westbank and three months before she took legal action.
In it, Gillespie references several high-profile development projects in Vancouver that were or formerly under their responsibility, and says that they are not profitable, including:
The Sen̓áḵw complex at the foot of the Burrard Bridge, which was originally a 50/50 partnership with the Squamish Nation before Westbank sold their share to Ontario Pension Trust.
Gillespie texts that “the last minute negotiations resulted in me having to accept a 30% haircut from the original price … which itself was 50% less than we had agreed to last year.”
The recently opened Alberni and Butterfly buildings in downtown Vancouver. Gillespie texts that “Alberni still has many unsold units and … Butterfly is well over budget and closings are slow and uncertain.”
The massive Oakridge Park complex, which began in 2019 and has yet to open. Gillespie texts that “Oakridge is way behind schedule.”
The text ends with Gillespie saying he would offer Mabberley $200,000 “and then we can both go our separate ways,” adding that “it’s unfortunate but it’s the reality of the industry these days.”
In a statement, Westbank would not comment on the veracity of the text messages, saying it has not been proven in court.
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A lawsuit by a former vice-president of a prominent Vancouver development company appears to be revealing more details of many of their biggest projects taking a turn for the worse.
WARNING: This story contains distressing content.
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