Huge blow to Chandaria after NCBA Group placed his manufacturing firm, Kaluworks Limited, under receivership over non-payment of Sh4.3 billion debt.
This comes months after several lenders scrambled for auctioneers and debt collectors to auction multimillion-dollar properties, which included residential and commercial complexes that had been used to guarantee loans for Kaluworks after the firm failed to honour its obligation.
The bank has appointed Pongangipalli Rao as the receiver manager to turn around the firm or protect its assets in the race to recover the multi-billion shilling debt.
“Notice is given that the above company (Kaluworks) was placed under administration on May 27, 2021 by the holder of a qualifying floating charge,” Rao said in Friday’s Kenya Gazette notice.
The company is said to owe another top bank $40 million (Sh4.3 billion) and hundreds of millions of shillings in a commercial paper whose repayments it has defaulted on.
Kaluworks, one of Kenya’s largest manufacturers of aluminum utensils and roofing sheets has been struggling financially as sales and profits has been dwindling for the past few years.
Kaluworks is a subsidiary of Clovis Company Limited, a Bermuda-registered investment holding company that is owned by the Comcraft Group, of which Chandaria is the chairman and controlling shareholder.