Auctioneers are going after Jacaranda Hotel in Westlands owned by the late Njenga Karume.
The 128 bedroomed four star hotel is being auctioned by Regent Auctioneers, according to an advert placed in a local daily.
The prime property will be on the market until March 12. Interested parties are required to place a Sh5 million refundable deposit.
“All intending purchasers are requested to view and verify the details by themselves, a refundable deposit of Sh5,000, 000 must be paid to obtain a bidding number,” the notice reads.
Court papers showed that the hotel took a loan of Sh250 million from GT Bank in 2014 and 2015 and also took an overdraft of Sh50 million for working capital financing. The balance was amalgamated in May 2017.
Read: Njenga Karume’s Jacaranda Hotel On Auction Over Ksh257 Million Loan
In 2019, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) went after the hotel over Sh95 million in tax arrears, prompting the trustees to move to court.
“The applicant is apprehensive that if this matter is not heard, the respondent’s agents will proceed any time to attach and sell the distrainable chattels thus bringing the applicant’s business to a halt,” the court heard.
The hotel had paid Sh15 million and was seeking to settle the rest of the amount in 12 to 18 monthly installments. But the taxman demanded that the hotel pays Sh50 million and the remainder within three months.
The trustees instead offered to pay Sh35 million in a week and the remaining Sh60 million in a year’s time.
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