Grit Plans to Sell Its KSh20 Billion Kenyan Property PortfolioGrit Plans to Sell ItsKSh20 Billion KenyanProperty Portfolio

The Kenyan portfolio includes Rosslyn Grove, a diplomatic housing estate in Nairobi that hosts US Embassy staff, Buffalo Mall in Naivasha, Eneo at Tatu City, Orbit Africa in Athi River and the Imperial Distribution Centre along Mombasa Road.

Grit says it has accepted a conditional binding offer for interests in its development platform and is seeking buyers for other properties. It has not announced completed sales of the full Kenyan portfolio. Transactions still require lender approvals, releases of existing security and regulatory and third-party clearances.

Properties worth about KSh20.5 billion

Grit's latest reported valuation put its income-producing Kenyan properties at US$158.2 million, about KSh20.5 billion at the exchange rate cited in the report. That represented roughly 16 per cent of its total property portfolio, valued at US$989 million at June 2025.

The assets cover several parts of the property market. Rosslyn Grove provides diplomatic accommodation in Nairobi. Buffalo Mall is a retail centre in Naivasha. Eneo at Tatu City houses business process outsourcing operations, while Orbit Africa and Imperial Distribution Centre serve logistics and industrial users.

The sale could affect commercial tenants, employees, lenders and service providers. A change in ownership would not automatically mean tenants must leave or leases will end. That depends on the final transaction terms and the contracts attached to each asset.

Debt pressure behind the planned exit

In its trading update, Grit told the London Stock Exchange that its board and advisers had assessed options for the group's assets in consultation with lenders. The company said the best offer received for other assets had secured support from senior secured creditors, subject to conditions.

Business Daily reported that Grit has faced higher financing costs while the value of its property assets has fallen. Its lenders include Standard Bank Group, Absa Bank Kenya and NCBA Group.

Kenyan banks had lent Grit about KSh12.3 billion by June 2025, based on the exchange rate cited in the report. The facilities were linked to different subsidiaries and properties. The company has also reported a large overall debt burden and losses as it struggled with costly borrowing and weaker property valuations.

Grit's shares were suspended from trading on the London and Mauritius stock exchanges in May after delays in publishing its financial statements. The suspension has made it harder for investors to trade the company's shares while its restructuring continues.

What happens to the Kenyan properties

The proposed transaction involving Grit's development platform includes its interests in Gateway Real Estate Africa and Africa Property Development Managers, together with certain associated assets and liabilities. Grit holds a 54.2 per cent stake in Gateway Real Estate Africa, while South Africa's Public Investment Corporation owns the balance.

The company has not fully disclosed who will acquire every asset or the final price for each property. It says definitive agreements and implementation arrangements still need to be completed.

The wider disposal programme also includes bids for other properties. Grit says it expects to dispose of all its real estate assets through ordinary disposals, the development-platform transaction and a separate property portfolio sale.

Why this matters to Kenya's property market

A sale of assets valued at about KSh20.5 billion would be significant for Kenya's commercial property market. It could bring new owners into retail, office, logistics and diplomatic accommodation properties, while testing how much investors are willing to pay for income-producing buildings in a high-cost financing environment.

The process also highlights the pressure facing property companies that borrowed heavily in foreign currency. When rental income is earned in one currency and debt repayments are tied to another, exchange-rate movements and higher interest costs can squeeze cash flow.

Mwenendo previously examined the company's Kenyan holdings in Grit's KSh20.9 billion property portfolio under pressure. The latest disclosure moves the story from financial strain towards a planned disposal of the wider portfolio.

Grit's exit is not yet complete. The next developments are signed transaction agreements, lender releases, regulatory approvals and disclosures naming buyers and prices. Until those steps are completed, the Kenyan assets remain part of a sale process rather than a portfolio already transferred to new owners.