Blue Waters Hotels Ltd based in Kisumu and belonging to the owner of K’Osewe eateries in Nairobi has been put up for auction for defaulting to pay over Sh330 million bank debt.
The four star hotel in high-end Milimani Estate which sits on 1.3 acres will be sold to the highest bidder on January 22, adding injuries to the troubled proprietor William Guda Osewe.
K’Osewe eateries secured the loan using the Kisumu hotel and a block of apartments in Nairobi’s South C.
GT-Bank has been trying to auction the hotel since 2018 but were barred by multiple injunctions until Judge Thripsisa Cherere authorized it’s auction in October.
“The development comprises an incomplete seven storey building with a mezzanine floor which is 60% complete and semi detached double storey building which is 27%,” says Garam Investments (auctioneers).
Mr Osewe is struggling to hold onto his prime assets over increasing bank loans as Kenya’s economy suffers under covid-19 with massive job losses and reduced cash flow.
The Osewes had sued the bank to halt the auction arguing that they have been servicing the loan.
The couple further claimed that the stalled four star hotel is valued at four times the loan besides the hotel sitting on a prime beachfront and would be difficult to replace if the auction is allowed to continue.
They further claimed that the auction of the hotel will spell doom for the franchising deal they have with Marriott and Aleph.
But GT Bank has maintained the couple have defaulted on their loan several times since they resorted to only buying time with court orders to stop the auction.
The lender also added that it is not a party to the franchising agreements that Bluewaters hotel signed with Dubai’s Aleph Hospitality and American giant Marriott International.
The hotel that is now facing the auctioneers hammer was expected to join the prestigious league of Protea Hotels by Marriott in 2022.
The popular branch of the eateries based in Nairobi, Ranalo Foods or K’Osewe, has also faced hard times since 2018.
Bensure Auctioneers sold hundreds of items at Ranalo Foods Upper Hill on June 30 marking it’s complete shut down.
Another Ranalo Foods branch in Kisumu was also opened last year and demolished after it emerged that it was sitting on Kenya Railways land.
