An 11-storey building at the heart of Thika Town with a monthly income of Ksh6.7 million has been put on auction.
A notice by Garam Investments Auctioneers published in a local daily on Monday, May 10, indicated that the building, Thika Business Center, which hosts Naivas supermarket was placed under auction on orders of the chargee's lawyers.
Situated in the centre of Thika CBD, the building boasts 11 storeys and two basements with a capacity of 45 parking slots. The basements also contains water tanks and an underpass store.
Its ground floor has two anchor tenants including Naivas Supermarkets and Bata shoe shop. From the third floor up, the building has office spaces constructed alongside washrooms and urinals.
The chargee indicated that the building had 80% occupancy and was built on a total of 159,000 sq ft area.
"Under instructions received from the chargee's advocates, we shall sell by public auction the undermentioned property together with buildings and improvements erected therein.
"The subject property is situated within Thika Town Center, Kiambu County... It is easily identified as Thika Business Center and hosts Naivas Supermarket and Bata Shop," read the notice in part.
It is constructed on two parcels of land measuring about a third of an acre. The managers noted that land rates had already been settled as at May 5, 2021.
"The two plots have a joint title held under a leasehold interest for a term of 99 years. The unexpired lease term is 11 years.
"Land rates were fully cleared as at May 5, 2021. Electricity, water and trunk sewer services are connected to the property," continued the statement.
Auction exercise
The auction exercise is expected to take place on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 at Western Heights in Westlands Nairobi.
The auctioneers directed interested parties to deposit a refundable bidding fee of Ksh5 million and the winner will be expected to pay Ksh10 million upfront upon the fall of the hammer.
The successful bidder will also be expected to complete the balance in 90 days failure to which they will forfeit their entire deposit for the ownership of the building.
The auction comes even as Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreck havoc on the economy and for the past year, it has led to the auction of many properties due to failure by loanees to settle debts on time.
In March, Economist Sam Okumu, while speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, warned that the economic situation in Kenya was poised to worsen in the coming months.
He further noted that there was a spike in the auction of people's properties because businesses were not realising as much profit as they used to before, thereby causing businesses and entrepreneurs to default on existing loans.
"The auction notices cast a lot of doubt on our financial markets. The demand and supply for money is always dictated by the value of the interest rates. We have other external factors like government policies.
"The worst is yet to come. Last year the government assumed that the tax reprieve would work, but businesses are still suffering. Right now, restrictions have come back without the tax reprieves. What do you expect this year, it means it will be worse," warned Okumu.
