Former Nakumatt CEO Atul Shah is set to lose his home in Nairobi’s high-end estate of Lavington over a Sh2 billion defaulted loan.
The multi-million-shilling mansion was used as security for a loan given to the collapsed retail chain by Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) in 2011.
Following the collapse of Nakumatt, the debt has remained unpaid, forcing KCB Bank to go after the businessman’s four-bedroom villa with a servant quarter.
Through Phillips International Auctioneers, the lender will sell the property valued at over Sh30 million on August 24th in a bid to recover the money advanced to Nakumatt.
“We will sell it through a public auction on August 24th. We are looking at Sh30 million,” a representative from Phillips International Auctioneers told Business Daily.
Court documents indicate that KCB had earlier sold Shah’s prime property in Nairobi’s Industrial Area to Furniture Palace International Ltd for Sh1.04 billion.
By the time it closed shop in January 2020, Nakumatt had racked up debts totaling Sh30 billion, including Sh18 billion to suppliers, Sh4 billion to commercial paper holders, and the rest to banks.
The retailer owed DTB Bank Sh3.6 billion, Standard Chartered Sh900 million, KCB Sh1.9 billion, Bank of Africa Sh328 million, UBA Sh126 million, and GT Bank Sh104 million.
Kenya Airways (KQ), through its subsidiary Fahari Aviation, is set to introduce flying taxis in Nairobi.
On Wednesday, Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer SA announced its flying taxi unit Eve had signed an agreement with Fahari Aviation to develop operating models in its key markets.
The agreement aims to design a network for the safe operation of Electric Vertical Aircraft (EVA).
A news release from Embraer indicated that traveling from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Nairobi CBD by EVA could reduce travel time from over an hour to six minutes.“The creation of disruptive and accessible solutions in urban air mobility will help democratize movement,” Andre Stein, president, and CEO of Eve, said in a statement.Investments in zero-emission electric planes have been on the rise as consumers demand greener options in the transportation sector, which seeks new ways to address congestion in large cities.In May, Fahari Aviation, the unmanned aircraft division of KQ, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UK-based logistics company Skyports to collaborate in launching drone services in the country.“The partnership aims to explore the commercial viability and impact of various medical, logistical, and inspection use cases alongside Kenya’s leading public and private institutions with the launch of […]