Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
It was another round of intense bidding Thursday as six more retail liquor store permits hit the auction block.
All of the auctions were extended past the 2 p.m. deadline as the bids kept rising.
The first to close was a permit in Regina, which sold for $1,560,600 half an hour after the deadline.
A Saskatoon permit sold for $1,300,600, an Estevan permit went for $1,407,500, a permit in Assiniboia sold for $550,200, and a permit in Moosomin went for $630,000.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, bidding on a permit in Moose Jaw had reached $1,151,000, and the auction was still running.
In total, 10 of the permits have been sold and 25 still remain.
Last October, the provincial government announced it would close the last 34 SLGA liquor stores by March 31 and auction off the permits. The successful bidders will have to go through the SLGA’s permitting process and meet specific criteria, and stores will have to open within 18 months.
The auction of the first five SLGA permits, which closed Wednesday, brought in more than $5 million for the provincial government.
The next round of auctions for six more permits will close on Friday.
