A planned auction of a tea estate in Nandi and an office block in Mombasa linked to billionaire businessman David Lang’at has been cancelled.
Garam Investments Auctioneers cancelled the sale, which was slated for Tuesday in Nairobi and Mombasa.
The auctioneer did not give reasons for the cancellation and Mr Lang’at did not reply to a text message Business Daily sent to him.
The tycoon has vast interests in, among others, real estate, agribusiness, hospitality, and the energy sectors and has largely kept off the limelight.
A source at the auctioneer told the Business Daily that they hoped to sell the expansive tea estate at Sh1.9 billion in the auction.
The sale was to be conducted at the auctioneer’s offices in Nairobi’s Westlands.
The Koisagat Tea group of companies based in Nandi Hills comprises land measuring about 1,342 acres, plants and machinery.
The auction notice stated that the land is developed with an exclusive tea zone for export-oriented commercial tea cultivation.
The estate also has 2.47 million tea bushes occupying 958.75 acres, 100,942 eucalyptus trees and 2,223 cypress trees.
“Other portions of the tea estate are under residential use (managerial houses and labour camps). Woodlots are periodically harvested to provide wood fuel to the tea processing,” the notice stated.
The tea estate also has two schools —Francis Kibet Memorial School and Koisagat Primary School — a factory section, a factory building, a storey administration building, estates and partnerships offices, a fuel station, a main store, factory workshop, a carpentry workshop and weighbridge office.
There is also a chemicals store, factory washrooms, labour camps with shops, a social hall, managerial houses, guest houses, a swimming pool and a chairman’s residence.
Sh200m target
“Water is sourced from at least three mini dams/reservoirs across the property and pumped to a central treatment point before being distributed and stored in the many concrete tanks and water towers,” the notice said.
The notice had also announced the planned auction of another property in Shimanzi in Mombasa town, registered under the name of Koifan Developers Ltd. The sale was also cancelled. The auctioneer had hoped to raise Sh200 million from the sale.
The property comprises a 0.7-acre plot developed with a four-storey office block and five go-downs and is used for processing and packaging tea products, among others.
