TRM,Nakumatt fight over rent arrears

david nganga

July 3, 2017 6:48 PM

TRM has seized the supermarket's assets in a bid to recover Sh51 million in rent arrears.

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The country’s largest supermarket chain has made headlines in the past few months for all the wrong reasons.

From shutting down branches, running out of stocks to delaying staff salaries, all is not well for the countries’ premier retail chain.

And just moments after announcing that they’d pay their staff salaries for the month of June in installments, the retail chain has been faced by yet another predicament.

This is after one of its creditors, Thika Road Mall, seized large amounts of the supermarket’s goods and equipment as it seeks to recover Sh51 million in rent arrears.

TRM, through Moran Auctioneers, seized a number of assets forcing the retailer to rush to court for an order temporarily suspending the auction.

The assets seized include six moving trucks, 400 customer trolleys, office furniture, ovens and other electrical appliances.

The Roysambu-based shopping complex took the drastic action after efforts to have Nakumatt solve the rent arrears, which stands at Sh51 million, failed.

Nakumatt, on the other hand, wants the court to stop the TRM owners from selling its assets to recover rent arrears as well as to bar them from being evicted from the mall.

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In the suit, Nakumatt terms the attachment of its assets as illegal, null and void as there are active insolvency proceedings against it in the court.

Furthermore, the supermarket is accusing TRM of breaking the law by taking hold of items that are exempt from attachment such as the 400 customer trolleys as well as 11 packets of yoghurt that are deemed perishable goods.

Nakumatt’s Director Mr Atul Shah, in the court papers, says that the retail store will embark on putting TRM into funds once the proposed reorganization and recapitalisation of Nakumatt’s business is finalized.

Nakumatt and TRM have asked the court to grant them until July 19 to negotiate a settlement that may lead to a withdrawal of the suit.

david nganga