High Court orders liquidation of Tuskys Supermarket after 3 decades

Tuskys, a once-thriving family-owned supermarket chain has been ordered to liquidate by the High Court.

Justice David Majanja ruled on May 31, that there is no hope for rescuing Tuskys. He noted that for the three years the supermarket had been fighting the liquidation petition, not much had been done to revive the retailer.

The company owes creditors close to Sh20 billion, while its asset base is only worth approximately Sh6 billion.

The liquidator, Kolluri Venkata Subbaraya Kamsastry, will be expected to sell assets and use the proceeds to settle debts.

Tuskys Supermarket Imara Branch Pulse Live Kenya

Timeline of Tuskys’ Financial woes

Tuskys supermarket chain, has been in financial trouble for several years.

The company has been struggling to pay its debts, and its suppliers have been complaining about unpaid bills.

In July 2020, Tuskys announced that it had entered into a debt restructuring agreement with its creditors.

However, the company failed to honor the agreement, and its financial situation continued to deteriorate.

In November 2020, Tuskys was placed under administration, and a court-appointed administrator was put in charge of the company.

In May 2021, a mystery investor expressed interest in investing in Tuskys.

A Tuskys supermarket branch A Tuskys supermarket branch Pulse Live Kenya

However, the investor had several conditions before pumping any more money into Tuskys, including convincing creditors to restructure their debt and await the retailer’s revival.

The investor's identity was not revealed, but it was reported that the investor was a foreign private equity firm.

The creditoes maintained their push for insolvency demanding specific details regarding the mystery investor.

On May 31, 2023 the High Court of Kenya ordered the liquidation of Tuskys.

The court held that there was no hope of rescuing Tuskys and that the best option for the company was liquidation.

The court-appointed administrator was directed to oversee the liquidation process and ensure that the company's assets were sold to pay off its debts.

Tuskys' debts are estimated to be in the range of Sh20 billion against assets estimated to be worth Sh6 billion. The company owes money to its suppliers, landlords, and employees.

The liquidation process is expected to take several months, and it is unclear how much money the creditors will recover.