REGINA - The auction of 35 Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority retail liquor permits has netted a multi-million-dollar windfall for the province’s coffers.
The province reports that bids totalled $45,077,800 for the auction, which was conducted online at the McDougall Auctions website.
The auction process began Feb. 6 and the permits were auctioned off in six groupings over periods of ten days each. The final auction for the sixth and final group of six retail permits was completed on the afternoon of Feb. 24.
As for the price tags of the winning bids submitted, it ranged from a low of $450,000 in Carlyle to $3,270,000 in La Ronge. The La Ronge permit auction drew considerable attention as the municipal government had been one of those putting in a bid, but the town has confirmed their bid was not successful.
The majority of winning bids in the auction came in at over a million dollars. The average winning bid price for the 35 bids was $1,287,937.14.
"We are pleased to see these auctions come to a successful conclusion," said Minister Responsible for SLGA Lori Carr in a statement. "The incredible amount of interest means that we will have additional revenue to put toward the high-quality public services we all enjoy."
The next step is for all the winning bidders to begin the process to apply for the retail store permits and be officially licensed to operate.
According to the province, prospective retailers must meet all SLGA licensing requirements to hold a permit. Timelines for issuing permits will vary, and will depend on how soon those bidders meet all their application requirements, secure locations and hire staff, among others. The bidders have 18 months to obtain their permit and open up.
The 35 retail permits were offered for bid to replace 34 publicly-owned SLGA stores and one previously closed store in Saskatoon. The province is reporting 27 of the 34 SLGA stores are now closed, with the final seven stores set to close by the end of the day March 11.
