Weekly Regional Business Intelligence | | | Written by Kieran Delamont, Associate Editor, London Inc. | | | The Beach Hangar sets for its grand opening; Blue-Con Construction signs on for mezzanine bar Indoor beach volleyball is set to officially return to the Forest City next weekend as The Beach Hangar ― the big indoor volleyball facility located out by the airport ― is holding its grand opening on May 3 (it’s been open and running programs for a few weeks now). The grand opening, all-ages celebration is kicking off with a meet and greet with Canadian Olympic volleyball player Sophie Bukovec, followed by an open house and then a four- and six-person team tournament (for which you can still register). When we last wrote about The Beach Hangar about a year ago, founders Kyla Woodcock and David Ward said they were hoping it would become “a place that’s full of play, that’s full of fun, that’s full of community members and competitive sport athletes connecting with each other and enjoying the sport.” Looks like they are well on their way to achieving that goal. The upshot: The facility, which features over 26,000 square feet of space with six beach courts and the ability to host other sports like ultimate frisbee, has also announced developments in regard to its mezzanine bar. You might recall from our 2024 profile that it was one of the last pieces of the puzzle Woodcock and Ward were working on. They announced this week they had secured a title sponsor for the space in a three-year naming rights deal with civil construction firm Blue-Con Construction. “Blue-Con Construction will be naming the second-floor mezzanine bar as The Blue-Con Beach Bar,” the facility said. The bar will be fully licensed and will open for The Beach Hangar’s grand opening next weekend. Read more: The Beach Hangar | | | Well, something good is happening south of the border: VersaBank adds second U.S. partner London-based digital B2B bank VersaBank announced last week that its American subsidiary had added a second partner to its receivable purchase program (RPP), saying they’re on target to hit their asset goals for the first year of their major U.S. expansion. “Our U.S. RPP assets are growing faster than expected,” said VersaBank president David Taylor. After adding their first RPP partner ― Iowa-based Watercress Financial, a home improvement lender ― in late January, VersaBank’s receivables business has grown to around CAD$100 million, and they expect to grow that to around CAD$400 million by the end of the fiscal year. “We expect to continue to steadily add additional RPP partners, with the additional benefit of increasingly favourable market conditions for our RPP as the cost of alternative funding sources, including securitization, increases amidst the current economic volatility,” added Taylor. “We expect this will create additional urgency amongst potential partners to add our RPP solution as an alternative source of funding.” The upshot: VersaBank hasn’t said who the second U.S. partner is yet, but they do seem to be putting up some solid results with the U.S. expansion ― which, they say, isn’t really being affected by the current turmoil between the two nations. “The program is functioning as expected by both our team and our partner and we expect our funding with this partner to steadily expand throughout the year. We have the balance sheet capacity to support this growth and capitalize on the even greater operating leverage and lower cost deposits in the U.S. than in Canada to rapidly drive incremental profitability and return on common equity,” Taylor said in a press release earlier this year. “We do not expect the implementation of tariffs by the U.S. or Canadian administrations to have an impact on the ramp up of our RPP in the U.S.” Read more: Newswire | | | London gets its first zero-waste restaurant One of London’s newest restaurant opened last week, and it’s got a circular economy twist. Billing itself as London’s first zero-waste restaurant, Los Olivos, a restaurant that features a California-styled kitchen based on the flavours of the cooler climate of the Santa Ynez Valley, is now open at 2140 Kains Road in the city’s west end. Restaurateur Jess Jazey-Spoelstra (pictured), who also owns and operates North Moore Catering as well as restaurants Craft Farmacy and Bear & Frankie’s, said the zero-waste aim is what sets Los Olivos apart: the restaurant has invested in equipment such as a freeze dryer that allows it to eliminate much of its food waste, turning surplus meat and produce into things like freeze-dried snacks and dog treats. The upshot: Zero-waste dining is a movement that has been gaining more and more momentum in Canada over the last few years, and it’s great to see it coming to London. While it can sometimes mean a bit of a premium on prices, it also allows restaurants to cut down on the staggering amount of waste that the food-and-beverage industry is notorious for (one estimate suggested that Canadian restaurants waste as much as 40 per cent of their produce, for instance.) Los Olivos is also running a retail store as part of its new operation, where it will sell some of its freeze-dried food products, plus a range of organic and local food products and ready-to-eat meals. Read more: London Free Press | London Inc. | | | Larry Myny receives United Way Lifetime Achievement Award United Way Elgin Middlesex (UWEM) has recognized the outstanding dedication of volunteers from the London area community ― and the success of its 2024 funding campaign – with its annual ChangeMakers awards. The awards honour 11 individuals and five organizations who went above and beyond in 2024. Headlining the awards program is Larry Myny (pictured), senior investment advisor with CIBC Wood Gundy, who is the recipient of the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award ― awarded to an individual who is a longtime United Way supporter and volunteer, with outstanding dedication to their community. Upshot: No surprise here. In addition to his professional achievements, Myny is well known in the business community for his mentorship and active community building. Along with the United Way, Myny has lent his support to numerous organizations, including Youth Opportunities Unlimited and Junior Achievement South Western Ontario. He also sponsors the Industry Mentorship Program at Fanshawe College that now bears his name. “Larry Myny is so much more than a business leader ― he is a philanthropist, mentor, advocate, connector and volunteer,” said UWEM on LinkedIn. “We are honoured to recognize Larry and his incalculable contributions to our local region.” Read more: United Way Elgin Middlesex | | | From the magazine: A different kind of wow Believe it or not, it’s been four years since it was first announced that London was getting a Hard Rock Hotel at 100 Kellogg Lane. And with last week’s grand opening of the 164-room first phase (an additional 190 rooms are planned for a second phase), it’s very apparent this is new territory for a London hotel property ― both in terms of level of luxury and amenities. Read more: London Inc. | | | Province takes over TVDSB operations The Ontario government announced this week it was appointing a supervisor for the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and removing control of the school board from elected trustees, following a review of the board’s activities that uncovered “extremely poor judgement” in the use of public funds. The inquiry stemmed from a $40,000 staff retreat to the SkyDome hotel, which brought about significant public backlash. The inquiry, said provincial education minister Paul Calandra, found “that a lack of financial oversight in the budgeting process has led to a deteriorating financial position. Yet, sending senior board officials to a retreat at the luxury SkyDome hotel in downtown Toronto was a priority amid a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit.” The inquiry also found the board had been running deficits for a number of years, which had translated into service cuts for students. Craig Smith, president of the Thames Valley local of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, which represents faculty at the schools, called it a “momentous decision,” and said that “there are obviously some things that need to be re-calibrated and some trust that needs to be rebuilt.” The upshot: It’s proof that when it comes to spending scandals, it’s often optics that rule that day. In the context of a nearly $17-million operating deficit for this year, $40,000 isn’t all that much ― but it sure does look bad. TVDSB isn’t the only school board in hot water with the province (although they’re the only one to be directly taken over by it). The Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board is in trouble for spending $190,000 on a trip to Italy to buy art (and fancy dinners), while the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Toronto District School Board are all being investigated for their own ongoing deficits. “Some school boards treat hard-earned tax dollars like their own, spending them on luxury hotels, fine dining and first-class travel overseas, and booking extravagant retreats for meetings while accepting test results that in some cases show students struggling,” Calandra said. “It is beyond comprehension and just shows how out of touch some of the board executives have become with the real needs of the people of Ontario.” Read more: CBC News London | CTV News London | | | Dispatch: April 25, 2025 A summary of recent business appointments and announcements, plus event listings for the upcoming week. View listings here | | | | |