The National Bank of Kenya (NBK) has placed the Nairobi Upper Hill Hotel under receivership over a long-running dispute over a debt estimated at Sh447 million.
NBK, which was recently acquired by Nigeria’s Access Bank from KCB Group, said that Kamal Anantroy Bhatt of accounting consultancy firm Anant Bhatt LLP has been appointed the joint receiver manager of the hotel, effective August 18, 2025.
“The purpose of this notice is to notify all interested stakeholders that following the receiver’s appointment, the affairs and business of the company shall be directed by the receiver,” the bank said.
Receivership is initiated in instances where a company is unable to pay its debts to a secured creditor. A receiver manager is then appointed to deal with secured assets to help them recover the money.
“The powers of the receivers extend to all assets and undertakings of the company. Only the receivers and their representatives are authorised to handle the assets of the company,” NBK added.
The receivership comes after several unsuccessful attempts to auction the four-storey property located on Mawensi Road in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area. The hotel is owned by businessman Geoffrey Wahome Muotia.
Evidence presented in court showed that Mr Muotia was granted an overdraft of Sh10 million, a commercial mortgage of Sh236 million, and a term loan of Sh35 million totalling Sh281 million exclusive of interest and bank charges, in September 2014.
The bank alleged that he defaulted on loan repayment, and the lender demanded Sh447 million as of last year.
Mr Wahome had previously accused the lender of frustrating his efforts to have the loan taken over by another lender by referring him to Credit Reference Bureaus, thereby “clogging his right to redeem his property”.
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Mr Muotia challenged another forced sale in 2023, accusing the auctioneer of undervaluing the property. He claimed in court papers that when registering the charge in April 2014 for Sh281 million, he made massive improvements, yet the auctioneer placed the value at Sh700 million as market value and Sh525 million on forced sale.
Mr Muotia added by October 2019, the value had risen to Sh1.05 billion due to general appreciation of the properties in the area and other considerations.
"That despite the above and considering the property appreciation in the Upper Hill area as advised by various real estate consultants in their updates to clients, the bank and the auctioneer has placed the value at Sh277.5 million as forced sale value and which is far much lower than the value it was charged in 2014,” he said in the application at the Court of Appeal, which was later dismissed.
