NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – Standard Chartered Bank has issued a statutory notice threatening to auction several parcels of land linked to the collapsed retail chain Nakumatt Holdings after the firm defaulted on loans running into billions of shillings.
In a public notice, the lender said Nakumatt Investments Limited, which provided land as collateral for loans advanced to Nakumatt Holdings, must clear the outstanding debt within 90 days or risk losing the properties through a forced sale.
“Nakumatt Investments Limited is required to rectify the default by paying the secured amounts within ninety days of the date of publication of this notice,” the bank said.
“If the amounts are not paid within the stipulated period, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited will proceed to exercise its remedies under the charges and the Land Act including selling the charged properties.”
The threatened auction targets several properties used as security for loans advanced to the retailer, including Land Reference Number MN/I/9626 in Mombasa, Nakuru Municipality Block 9/47, and two Nairobi parcels, LR 209/4063 and LR 209/4058.
According to the notice issued under Section 90 of the Land Act, the properties were charged between 2011 and 2012 to secure multiple borrowing facilities extended to Nakumatt Holdings.
Court documents indicate the retailer owes the bank USD 331,872.95 in overdraft facilities, USD 6.99 million in term loans, and Sh967.17 million under import invoice financing, pushing the total exposure to well over Sh1.6 billion.
The statutory notice follows a ruling in Nairobi High Court Judicial Review Application No. E249 of 2025, delivered on November 10, 2025, which cleared the lender to pursue recovery through the charged assets.
The move marks the latest chapter in the long-running fallout from the collapse of Nakumatt, once East Africa’s largest supermarket chain.
At its peak, the retailer operated more than 60 branches across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, generating billions in annual sales before mounting debt and cash flow problems triggered its downfall.
The company accumulated debts estimated at between Sh30 billion and Sh40 billion, owed to banks, suppliers and government agencies, eventually forcing it into administration as creditors scrambled to recover their funds.
Banks were among the largest secured creditors, with properties owned by Nakumatt and related firms pledged as collateral for loans.
In recent years, creditors have increasingly turned to asset sales and legal action to recover part of the outstanding debt after attempts to revive the retailer failed.
