Glee Hotel Ltd, a luxury Runda-based hotel associated with businesswoman Mary Wambui, has been placed under administration after Equity Bank moved to recover a Sh7.75 billion debt.
In a public notice, the lender announced the appointment of Kamal Anantroy Bhatt of Anant Bhatt LLP as the hotel’s administrator, effective July 6, 2026, signalling that control of the company’s operations and assets had shifted from its directors.
“Pursuant to section 563(2) (b) of the Insolvency Act 2015 OF Kenya, notice is hereby given that effective 6 July 2026, Kamal Anantroy Bhatt, of Anant Bhatt LLP, has been appointed as administrator of Glee Hotel Ltd by Equity Bank Kenya Ltd,” the notice read.
Equity Bank further directed any individual or organisation with claims against the company to submit them to the administrator.
The notice added that the administrator had assumed responsibility for the company’s assets and affairs, effectively ending the directors’ authority to manage or transact on behalf of the hotel.
“By virtue of administration, the powers of the directors of the company in terms of dealing and or transacting with the company’s assets have ceased,” part of the notice stated.
The development comes weeks after the High Court gave Mary Wambui seven days to pay Sh100 million as a condition for temporarily stopping Equity Bank from exercising its statutory power of sale over the hotel.
“The suspension is on condition that the applicant pays to the respondent a sum of Sh100 million within seven days of the date of this ruling, in default of which the order of suspension shall automatically lapse,” the judge said.
The dispute stems from a consent agreement reached on February 24, 2026, under which Equity Bank agreed to accept Sh7.75 billion as full and final settlement of debts owed by Ms Wambui and related entities. The amount represented about 85 per cent of the total outstanding debt and was expected to be financed through a refinancing arrangement with KCB Bank Kenya.
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Under the agreement, payment was to be made within 45 days, with both parties recognising that time was a fundamental term of the settlement. The agreement also provided that failure to meet the deadline would allow Equity Bank to cancel the settlement and pursue recovery of the full outstanding debt, together with interest and costs, by enforcing the securities held against the loan.
Among the assets securing the borrowing were several parcels of land, including those on which Glee Hotel stands.
After failing to raise the agreed amount within the stipulated period, Ms Wambui sought a further 60 days from the High Court, arguing that the refinancing process with KCB Bank had made significant progress but had been delayed by the complexity of the transaction and extensive due diligence requirements.
Equity Bank opposed the application, maintaining that the dispute had already been resolved through a binding consent judgement and arguing that the court had no jurisdiction to amend the terms agreed by both parties.
Representing the bank, Anastacia Wanjiru submitted that the application amounted to an attempt to alter the consent judgement without the lender’s approval.
The court agreed, finding that it could not vary the negotiated settlement. It held that the discounted settlement amount and the 45-day payment period formed essential terms of the agreement between the parties.
“The defendant’s willingness to accept the discounted settlement figure was plainly predicated on payment being made within the stipulated time frame. To extend that period would be to alter a fundamental term of the bargain struck by the parties,” the judge said.
The court further noted that Ms Wambui had not alleged fraud, misrepresentation, collusion, mistake or any other legal grounds that would justify setting aside the consent judgement, observing that she had acknowledged both the debt and the validity of the agreement.
Although the court dismissed her request for an additional 60 days, it considered her alternative application seeking a temporary suspension of the bank’s statutory remedies.
The judge observed that while there was evidence showing progress in discussions with KCB Bank, no conclusive proof had been presented to demonstrate that the refinancing arrangement had been completed.
Find expanded coverage of this story in the May–June issue of Nairobi Business Monthly, available at epaper.nairobibusinessmonthly.com.
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