Trouble as Nyama Mama parent firm goes under administration
It appears that popular Nairobi restaurant franchise Nyama Mama’s fate has been sealed after it was put under administration, months after its owners were charged with fraudulently acquiring a Sh520 million loan.
It appears that popular Nairobi restaurant franchise Nyama Mama’s fate has been sealed after it was put under administration, months after its owners were charged with fraudulently acquiring a Sh520 million loan.
In a newspaper advert on Wednesday, Mr Harveen Gadhoke, the CEO of corporate advisory firm Adili Associates, announced he had been appointed the administrator effective February 10.
“Following the appointment, all the affairs, business and property of the company are being managed by the administrator. The directors of the company no longer have any power or authority to deal with these matters,” the advert stated.
The company also asked people with claims against the eatery to submit them.
“Any party having a claim against the company should submit their claim in writing, together with relevant supporting documentation and a proof of debt form, to the Administrator on or before March 4, 2022, for consideration,” it stated.
End of the road
Putting the Good Earth Group, the umbrella company that owns a group of restaurants including Nyama Mama, under administration signifies the end of the road for the business, which opened around 2015.
Until 2019, Good Earth enjoyed robust revenues and its owners opened outlets in Nairobi, targeting different clients and cultivating a Kenyan-African traditional foods brand.
But trouble began late last year when its directors, Jayesh Shanghavi and his wife Ninaa Shanghavi, were charged with obtaining a Sh520 million loan from Victoria Commercial Bank sometime between December 2018 and November 2020.
The couple denied the charges and were freed on bail.
On Wednesday, in a newspaper advert, Adili Associates announced: “Notice is given that Harveen Gadhoke of Adili Associates LLP, ALN House, Eldama Ravine Close, Off Eldama Ravine Road, Westlands, Nairobi and P.O Box 764-00606, Nairobi has been appointed as the Administrator of The Good Earth (Group) Limited (Under Administration), company number CPR/2014/170971, effective February 10, 2022.”
Covid-19 effects
The company had in May last year publicly indicated the extent of the hit it took from ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic, disclosing that it had reduced its 350 workers by at least 70 per cent and was earning a mere 10 per cent of its pre-Covid revenues.
At the time, the group said it was scouting for equity partners or private investors in its local and regional expansion bid, hoping Nyama Mama would give it an edge.
“We have had sleepless nights in the past year thinking about how to keep this business going, what innovation to do on these investments,” Ms Ninaa told the Nation then.
She said even with problems inflicted by Covid-19, closing down was never an option.
“You can never go wrong investing in food and beverage. This is where we hope to get investors looking for good returns like the African diaspora. We are still here. Because we want to make sure that we bring this business back to where it was,” she said.
But even as the business took a hit from the pandemic, the loan the group and its directors took and the lack of investors in its hour of need were the final stroke that broke the popular Nyama Mama’s back and its sister businesses.
