Savannah Cement has issued an insolvency notice as it goes into receivership. Harveen Gadhooke of Adili Associates LLP has been appointed as the administrator.
Gadhooke, an experienced insolvency practitioner, will take over the management and running of the company, whose directors no longer have the power to manage its affairs. Any parties with claims against the company were advised to write to the administrator with the relevant documentation and a proof of debt form on or before May 31, 2023 for consideration.
A High Court decision last week allowed Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Absa Bank Kenya to appoint an administrator to recover over Ksh10 billion owed by the cement manufacturer. In late 2022, Savannah had obtained a temporary order blocking any seizure of its assets or the lenders from appointing an administrator or liquidator to manage its properties.
Savannah Cement had fought an ultimately futile legal battle over the past year disputing the debts of over Ksh7 billion owed to KCB Bank and over Ksh3 billion owed to Absa Bank.
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According to Savannah Cement’s own website, the company is valued at an estimated Ksh10 billion, around the same amount the lenders are looking to recover. It operates a cement grinding plant with the capacity to produce 2.4 million tons a year.
The company has been a supplier for a number of government construction projects including the expansion of Outer Ring Road in Nairobi.
The company went into receivership barely a month after Savannah Clinker subsidiary announced that it had received Ksh65 billion ($500 million) in funding for the construction of a new clinker factory. Savannah Cement Group chairman Benson Ndeta disclosed at the time that the company raised the funds through a privately placed debt arrangement, with the bond to be listed at a regulated international exchange.
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