Commercial lender, Equity Bank Kenya, has placed Nairobi’s Eastland Hotel under receivership due to an undisclosed debt.
Receivership is a legal procedure in which a court or a secured creditor designates a receiver to assume control of a business’s assets or operations due to the business’s failure to fulfill its financial obligations, typically debt requirements. Receivership is applied to debts contracted before September 2015, when the Insolvency Act 2015 came into force.
The bank appointed Kamal Anantroy Bhatt and Jai Kamal Bhatt of Anant Bhatt LLP as joint receivers and managers of Eastland Hotel Limited, effective September 9, 2025. Equity Bank issued a notice to notify stakeholders that following the receiver’s appointment, the affairs and business of the company shall be directed by the receivers.
Equity Bank’s Debt recovery efforts
In June 2025, Equity Bank placed the Infrastructure Investment Group, TransCentury Plc, under receivership and the electrical cables manufacturer, East African Cables, into administration. The lender appointed PwC to take control of both firms. In the six months ended June 30, Equity Group’s NPL ratio stood at 13.7%, up 0.8% from 12.9% in a similar period last year.
Other Hotels Under Receivership
Eastland hotel now joins Kisii-based Hotel Nyakoe and Nairobi Upperhill hotel, which were placed under receivership in August by the National Bank of Kenya. Nairobi Upper Hill Hotel was placed under receivership over a KES 447 million debt, while Nyakoe’s debt is unknown. Both hotels were placed under the same receiver, Kamal Anantroy Bhatt of Anant Bhatt LLP, an accounting consultancy firm.
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