Apex Mountain Resort sold

Photo: Colin Dacre

Apex Mountain Resort has been sold.

A new group, calling itself Apex Mountain Resorts Partnership Ltd., has purchased all outstanding shares of the South Okanagan resort, taking over operations immediately.

The group is led by Mike Duggan, a B.C. ski industry veteran of over 30 years, who has held senior roles at Sun Peaks, where he was the first president of tourism, and at Silver Star Resort. For the last 15 years, he has been in the luxury hotel business.

Duggan says he was drawn to the resort by its potential to be positioned as a “unique boutique resort.”

He doesn’t expect to see the level of development that has happened at Big White or Sun Peaks in recent years, “but I think it can be positioned very well as a resort that offers a very high quality of skiing.”

“Probably more an adventure type of product, with the right mix of dining and shopping, so with that we then need to focus on resort redevelopment, which we are already eyeing,” he added.

Duggan said they will likely be starting talks with the Crown and local First Nations as they begin work on a new master development agreement.

While money will be poured into the village, Duggan said they will be looking “right away” at mountain redevelopment and repositioning as well.

“We had quite a bit of interest in potential owners wanting to purchase the resort but who the group was and their understanding of Apex and Penticton was more important than when a sale might occur for us,” said Brian Martin with the former ownership group.

“We feel confident in the new ownership group. They have a great background in resort operations and an outstanding long-term vision for the resort. We’re leaving the resort in good hands,” he added.

All senior management teams are being retained and staying on with the new company.