Troubled retailer Tuskys Supermarket is set to lose its first real estate asset through a public auction on one of its Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) branches.
Tuskys Imara located at the junction of Tom Mboya Street and Accra Road is part of the five storey commercial property set to be hit by the auctioneers' hammer.
The targetted property is registered in the name of Tusker Mattresses Limited (Tuskys) comprising three floors of a shopping mall and will be auctioned on March 2 by Antique Auctions.
The commercial property is reportedly being sold over a debt of Ksh650 million that the supermarket owes a local bank.
"We are selling the building where Tuskys currently operates along Tom Mboya street in Nairobi in a public auction and the asking price is Ksh650 million," the agent stated.
The auction will also affect Tuskys Imara Daima which is likely to close its doors unless the new owner chooses to retain the retailer but as a tenant.
Tuskys has only lost its merchandise to auctioneers for rent default and suppliers debt, but the latest move now focuses on the commercial properties linked to Tusker Mattresses Limited.
The property is set to get a new owner a day after the High Court gives a verdict on another petition facing the ailing retailer which was filed by an electronic supplying company.
Tuskys Imara at Nairobi CBD is among the only few of the retailers that have remained afloat under the weight of creditors. By December 2021, the supermarket had only seven outlets that were operational. They include two in the CBD, Langata road (T-Mall), Tuskys Thigiri, Ongata Rongai, BururuBuru (Eastlands) and Kiserian (Ol-Talet).
But it has lost one of its branches that was located at OTC in Nairobi and the space taken by Quickmart supermarket.
Before its downfall, the retailer was serving over 10 million customers through nearly 65 branches in Kenya and Uganda and an e-commerce platform.
However, financial difficulties have forced the retailer to even sell some of the products at a discounted price to clear some of its debts.
