(NAIROBI, KENYA) – Standard Chartered Bank Kenya has moved to take control of rental income from four properties linked to collapsed retailer Nakumatt Holdings as it steps up efforts to recover more than KES 1.9 billion ($14.8 million / £11.5 million) in unpaid loans.
The bank has notified Nakumatt Investments Limited of its intention to appoint a receiver over income generated from properties in Nairobi, Nakuru and Mombasa after the borrower failed to clear outstanding facilities. This follows a March 2026 demand that gave Nakumatt 90 days to correct the default or face enforcement of the bank’s security. The latest notice shows that the debt has continued to grow.
As at 22nd June 2026, the bank said Nakumatt owed $335,525.83 (KES 43.5 million / £261,000) on an overdraft facility, $6.99 million (KES 905.9 million / £5.4 million) on a term loan and KES 967.2 million ($7.5 million / £5.8 million) under an import invoice finance facility. The combined dollar denominated facilities amount to about $7.33 million, putting the total outstanding exposure at more than KES 1.9 billion at current exchange rates, excluding any further charges that may accrue.
StanChart said in the latest notice in the Kenya Gazette that its power to appoint a receiver of income from the four properties has arisen. The properties are Land Reference Number MN/I/9626 in Mombasa, Nakuru Municipality Block 9/47, Land Reference Number 209/4063 in Nairobi and Land Reference Number 409/4058 in Nairobi.
The bank gave notice under section 92 of the Land Act 2012 of its intention to appoint a receiver of the income of the charged properties after 30 days from the date of service of the notice.
The latest notice represents further enforcement against facilities that Standard Chartered says were advanced to Nakumatt Holdings and secured through properties owned by related companies. Nakumatt Investments provided the security through charges created in 2011 and 2012 over the Mombasa property, the Nakuru property and the two Nairobi properties.
The charges were created during Nakumatt’s expansion years, when the retailer was building a regional supermarket network and relying heavily on bank financing, supplier credit and property backed borrowing.
StanChart’s court filings show that the bank also holds security connected to Creative Enterprises Limited, including a charge over LR No. 209/4062 in Nairobi.
The bank’s latest action means it can seek to collect rental income from the charged properties through a receiver before or alongside further enforcement of the underlying security. The notice gives Nakumatt 30 days from service before StanChart proceeds with the proposed appointment of a receiver of income from the four properties.
The action follows a November 2025 High Court judgment that cleared a major procedural obstacle that had delayed the bank’s efforts to enforce the securities. StanChart had told the court that it had been unable to personally or by post serve statutory notices because the relevant officers of the borrower companies could not be traced.
The bank said it had hired inquiry agents to locate the officials and attempted postal service, but notices sent through the post were returned to the lender. The bank then asked the National Land Commission in October 2022 to authorise substituted service through newspaper advertisements, but the request remained unresolved.
The bank later went to the High Court seeking an order to compel the commission to perform its statutory duty under the Land Act and allow substituted service. Justice Rebecca Aburili ruled in November 2025 that the National Land Commission had failed to act on the request and ordered it to authorise substituted service within seven days.
The court further allowed StanChart to publish the statutory notices in the Kenya Gazette and a newspaper of national circulation if the commission failed to comply. That ruling opened the way for the bank to restart formal recovery proceedings, leading to the March demand and the latest receiver notice.
The latest action marks a further step in a recovery process that has continued years after Nakumatt ceased trading, as secured lenders pursue assets pledged during the retailer’s expansion.
Nakumatt was placed under administration by the High Court in January 2018 after creditors raised concerns about its ability to meet mounting obligations. The administrator was initially tasked with rescuing the retailer as a going concern, but the turnaround failed as the business struggled with declining sales, heavy debt and unpaid obligations to suppliers and landlords.
In January 2020, about 97% of creditors present voted to dissolve the retailer. Creditors were owed about KES 38 billion ($295.7 million / £230.7 million), including banks, suppliers and landlords.
The administrator later reported that more than KES 5.2 billion ($40.5 million / £31.6 million) had been raised during the administration, with more than KES 3.5 billion ($27.2 million / £21.2 million) paid to creditors, including KES 766.6 million ($6 million / £4.7 million) to landlords.
By then, the administrator said the company had no property that could allow further distribution to creditors, pushing lenders to pursue assets secured outside the retailer’s operating business. The four properties now targeted by StanChart were charged between February 2011 and January 2012, when Nakumatt was still expanding and borrowing to finance its operations.