Weekly Regional Business Intelligence | | | Written by Kieran Delamont, Associate Editor, London Inc. | | | ReFuel Mobile acquired by NextNRG ReFuel Mobile, a fuel delivery firm based in the London area, is being acquired by Florida-based energy company NextNRG Inc., the two firms announced late last week. “We’re excited to join the NextNRG family and leverage their resources and technology to accelerate our expansion plans,” said ReFuel Mobile’s founder Ashraf Ghadban. “This transaction will enable ReFuel to enhance its service offerings, expand its geographic reach and continue delivering exceptional value to its growing customer base.” ReFuel Mobile serves commercial and industrial clients in southern Ontario with direct-to-vehicle and direct-to-equipment fuel delivery, and has been expanding since it raised $2.5 million in seed funding back in 2021 with plans to expand their touchless fuel delivery service across Ontario. The upshot: For NextNRG, this deal gives them an entryway into the Canadian market while injecting the capital required to expand ReFuel Mobile to the rest of the country. NextNRG CEO Michael D. Farkas said he is confident the acquisition will push NextNRG over the $100-million revenue mark. Mobile fuel delivery isn’t necessarily NextNRG’s long-term play, though ― the company is focused on more advanced tech like wireless EV charging and renewable energy grids, so it’s a reasonable assumption that the doorway into the Canadian market is about more than just fuel delivery. “ReFuel’s proven track record of profitable growth, exceptional customer retention and established market presence in Ontario positions us to capitalize on expanding opportunities across Canada,” Farkas said. Read more: Investing.com | NextNRG | | | June numbers deliver hint of optimism for home and office sectors It might be faint and distant, but June delivered a glimmer of hope for both the residential real estate and office market sectors in London. According to the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR), which released data for home sales in the month of June this week, a total of 745 homes exchanged hands in the region (the LSTAR catchment area also takes in Strathroy, St. Thomas and portions of Middlesex and Elgin counties), a slight 0.3 per cent rise compared to sales in June of 2024. On the supply side, a total of 1,814 new properties entered the market in June, a 10.5 per cent hike from the same period a year ago. Active listings (a total of all listing) for the month sat at 3,294, a 21 per cent hike from June of 2024, and the average price sat at $650,501, down 4.2 per cent from a year ago. Looking at office space, the Canada Office Figures Q2 2025 report from commercial realty firm CBRE showed a slight decline in office vacancies in the downtown area, attributed to new lease activity and more employees returning to the office. In the second quarter of 2025, the core-area office vacancy rate was 31.4 per cent, down from 32 per cent in the first quarter. The last time London saw a 31.4 per cent vacancy rate downtown was in October 2024. The suburban office vacancy rate sat at 10.9 per cent for Q2 2025. The upshot: While both the residential real estate and office markets remain a long way from robust ― home sales are down more than 25 per cent compared to pre-pandemic volumes and nearly a third of core-area offices are empty ― analysts are hopeful that the June numbers represent a bit of a tipping point for both sectors. June’s residential results marked the first time in 2025 that monthly sales were up compared to year-prior figures. “We continue to see the trend of more new listings coming on the market, which helps explain the healthy level of housing stock across our region,” said Dale Marsh, 2025 LSTAR chair. CBRE noted in its office report that Q2 2025 saw the London office market report positive net absorption for the first time in two years, “with the majority of activity stemming from Class A product this quarter. Multiple office-to-residential projects are planned for the coming quarters and should help moderate the elevated vacancy rate seen in the London core over the past four years.” Read more: LSTAR | CBRE | | | Reptilia heads back to court as Westmount Shopping Centre hits the market Remember the months and months of legal wrangling between the city and Reptilia, the indoor reptile zoo that eventually opened in Westmount Shopping Centre? Well, things are slithering back into the courts, only this time it’s the landlord and Reptilia going at it. Westmount is suing for unpaid rent, claiming that the zoo hasn’t paid them since last September. The zoo is countersuing, stating the mall’s contractual obligation was to get a bylaw exemption, which it unsuccessfully attempted to do last year, and that not being properly zoned has caused “significant operational losses” to the zoo. Westmount said that the zoo owes them more than $150,000 in unpaid rent, plus another $100,000 payment. “Many educational facilities, including school boards, refused to work with Reptilia London based on concerns of Reptilia London’s operation being in contravention of the Animal Control Bylaw,” the zoo claims in its countersuit. The zoo is seeking $1,275,000 in damages from Westmount. Muddying the waters here are the mall owners, Toronto-based firms KingSett Capital and Corpfin Capital, which recently put Westmount up for sale, asking approximately $40 million. The upshot: Whatever you may think of council’s final decision not to exempt Reptilia from the local animal control bylaw, it’s a bit hard to sympathize with either side here. On the one hand there’s Reptilia, which signed a lease without the proper zoning in place, then opened the zoo after being ruled against multiple times (later coming to some kind of settlement with the City of London to keep the matter out of court) and are now unhappy that the business hasn’t taken off. By the same token, tough questions might be asked of Westmount. Offering a 20-year lease to a reptile zoo with a provision to secure the zoning change ― undoubtedly a wee bit of legalese in that lease clause. All of this, not surprisingly, has the animal rights folks on alert, as there are all kinds of exotic animals under the roof. “Our biggest concern is the animals that are located at that facility,” Zoocheck Canada’s Julie Woodyer told CTV News London. “Obviously that’s a great concern to us whenever we start hearing that there’s these ongoing battles in court and assertions that the finances just aren’t there.” Read more: CTV News London | | | J-AAR secures naming rights for Western Fair Agriplex Heading down to the Western Fair Agriplex? Not anymore ― you’re instead heading to the J-AAR Expo Centre, after the Western Fair Association (WFA) announced a naming deal with the London construction industry firm late last week. “We couldn’t be happier about this partnership with J-AAR. Our organizations are different in theory, but our values align,” said Reg Ash, CEO of the WFA. “The fact that WFA and J-AAR are also extremely community focused, looking for the best experiences for the communities we serve, is exciting.” The new deal (financial terms were not disclosed) with J-AAR will run for at least 10 years, the two sides said. “Having the J-AAR name displayed on a facility that has been integral in delivering community programming, and on a site that is iconic and has such a long and proud history as the Western Fair District is a partnership we are proud to be a part of,” said J-AAR CEO Ryan Aarts. It’s not the first time the Agriplex has been the recipient of a new name ― back in 2015 it was renamed the Metroland Media Agriplex in a short-lived deal with Metroland Media Group. The upshot: From comments made by the two sides at the announcement, it seems like both are interested in bringing more trade-specific events to the facility. “Our pledge to the community is to see the venue more utilized,” said Mike Pratt, COO at J-AAR, adding that they are working on “broadening the horizons and participating in increasing the usage of the venue.” Kris Dinel, WFA director of agri-business, said there are “heavy equipment shows in Toronto that we believe should be happening in Southwestern Ontario,” and talked up “more specific things like the concrete industry that haven’t been on the radar for London.” The first collaboration will be on the Mega Machines event this September, which the WFA describes as “a next-level touch-a-truck experience.” Read more: London Free Press | LEDC | | | Province launches Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan The Ontario government has released its new Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan, a policy roadmap that it hopes will spur increased use of mass timber and advanced manufactured wood materials in construction projects. “These innovative methods and materials put wood to work in larger and taller structures and complete projects faster, at a lower cost, with a smaller environmental footprint,” reads a statement from the provincial forestry minister Kevin Holland. Manufactured timber products have identified as materials that can improve efficiency and reduce costs in the homebuilding sector. “Increased uptake of advanced wood construction can deliver more functional and efficient homes, faster, for Ontarians,” the province’s announcement said. The four key objectives to the plan focus on making amendments to building codes, to attract investment into the manufactured timber sector and to push builders towards using more of it where possible. The upshot: St. Thomas-based Element5 is expected to be the big winner here. The province has already invested around $8 million into the state-of-the-art mass timber plant on Dennis Road; last year, it invested $3.5 million with the goal of tripling output from the facility. “Element5 has notably developed an affordable and rapid prefabricated mass timber multi-unit residential housing concept, and subsequently delivered several affordable housing projects,” the province said in their announcement. When coupled with talk from the federal government of ramping up investment in modular housing construction, Element5 finds itself in a good position to push the sector forward. “Affordable housing is getting a lot of traction. We’ve put up a few already and we’re having a lot of conversations in the pipeline around this design concept,” said Element5 CEO Patrick Poulin. “The cost per square foot is quite good and you can see that really maturing. It was an idea two years ago, and now it’s up and running.” Read more: Daily Commercial News | St. Thomas Today | | | The Bag Lady lands new owners Fear not, urban brunch fans — The Bag Lady café at Pall Mall and Maitland streets, which was listed for sale earlier this year, has new owners who plan on continuing its community-oriented vibe. Siblings Keira Curtis-Holden and Michael Holden are taking over from former owner Jane Beattie, who has run the popular and whimsical breakfast and lunch establishment since 2009. “These guys got on it right away,” Beattie told The London Free Press. “I can’t imagine anybody better than these guys to pass the torch to.” Neither of the two new owners are particularly high-profile names in London’s restaurant scene (although Curtis-Holden has worked in restaurants for two decades) but said that owning a café had been a dream of theirs, so it will be interesting to see what kind of new ideas the siblings bring to the table here. Beattie said the impending transition is being greeted enthusiastically by regulars. “Once I reassured them that Keira and Michael are going to keep it open, that it’s business as usual, they were so supportive,” she said. The upshot: The new owners told the Free Press they plan to keep a lot of things pretty much the same: o new name, no change to the decor and no big changes to the staff. They said they do have plans for some expansion, though, with a long-term aim to expand the hours, build up the catering business and open a patio. The two siblings do have a leg-up in taking over a business that is well-loved: in April, when she was announcing her retirement, Beattie said that the restaurant was “the busiest it’s ever been,” so the foundation is firm. “We want the neighbourhood to know we’re staying the same, but just adding a couple of new things,” Curtis-Holden said. “Keep coming in. We look forward to meeting you and learning your names.” Read more: London Free Press | | | Dispatch: July 4, 2025 A summary of recent business appointments and announcements, plus event listings for the upcoming week. View listings here | | | | |