Francis Muli
Tuskys Greenspan Mall branch has been closed by auctioneers over Ksh30 million rent arrears.
The branch was raided by Sannex Auctioneers who are preparing to auction Tuskys’ stock next Tuesday, September 22.
“They owe the landlord over Ksh30 million in rent arrears. The money has been pending for a long duration,” a representative from Sannex told Nation.
This comes a few days after the Kisumu branch in United Mall was raided and closed by auctioneers over rent arrears. The branch was however reopened a day later after Tuskys paid part of the rent and negotiated a deal with the landlord.
Last week, Hotpoint Appliances Limited filed a petition to declare the cash strapped supermarket chain insolvent. The petitioner is seeking to have the retailer liquidated in efforts to recover over Ksh100 million owed for the supply of electronics.
Read: Tuskys Signs Sh2 Billion Deal With Mauritius Fund
Through an ad in one of the dailies, Hotpoint Appliances, through their lawyer, Macharia-Mwangi & Njeru announced that the petition will be heard in the High Court of Kenya at Nairobi Commercial and Tax Division in Insolvency Petition No. EO18 of 2020.
In Uganda, the chain retailer closed at least five branches leading to loss of jobs to hundredsof residents.
In August, the retailer announced that it had signed a Ksh2 billion deal with a Mauritius based fund.
The deal with the Mauritius fund will see Tuskys inject fresh working capital which the retailer says, will help them in the short term.
“This funding will help alleviate our current capital constraints impacted by Covid-19 and further reposition the business for increasing stakeholder’s value,” read a statement by Tuskys chairman Bernard Kahianyu.
The retailer has been facing cash flow issues, struggling to pay its creditors, workers and suppliers.
Tuskys is also seeking to sell a majority stake to a private equity firm and an undisclosed foreign retailer as it struggled to stay afloat.
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