From a Nakuru Stall: The Family That Built Quickmart Is Selling Half

Quickmart began as a family stall in Nakuru in 2006. Twenty years on, the owners want the public to buy about half of it.

Sokoni Retail Kenya Limited, the vehicle that holds the chain, plans to sell two billion existing shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. That is about 50 per cent of Quickmart. An extra slice of up to 15 per cent of the offer could take the sale to about 57.5 per cent if demand is strong. The price is still sitting in an Information Memorandum that needs Capital Markets Authority approval.

The supermarket itself issues no new stock. It receives none of the cash. Shoppers who apply are buying from today's owners, not funding the next aisle.

A stall, a bar, then 72 tills

Zipporah Kinuthia has said she and her husband John farmed and kept livestock after they married in 1976, then ran a bar, a butchery and lodging. She pushed for a supermarket. He hesitated. They opened a small Nakuru kiosk in 2006.

John died in 2016. Their son Duncan stepped in. By 2017 the family business had crossed KSh 1 billion in annual sales. Adenia Partners bought into Quickmart in 2019 and into Tumaini Self Service a year earlier, then merged the two from 1 January 2020 under the Quickmart name.

The group now counts 72 stores in 16 counties: hypers, supers and express shops, 35 of them open all night. About five million transactions go through the tills each month. The Q-Points card has about 2.5 million members and drove about 74 per cent of sales in 2025 and the first half of 2026.

Group chief executive Peter Kang'iri said a listing would let Kenyans own a share of a shop they already use. That line is true only after the regulator stamps the paper.

What the books show

Audited revenue for 2025 was KSh 50.4 billion. Adjusted profit after tax was about KSh 1.7 billion. Revenue compounded at 18.4 per cent a year from 2021 to 2025. First-half 2026 revenue was KSh 27.3 billion.

Stores are leased, not owned. The company has talked of more than 100 outlets over the medium term, adding 10 to 15 a year, paid from cash the business already makes.

If the base offer lands, Sokoni keeps about 50 per cent. If the extra slice is used in full, that holding falls to about 42.5 per cent. Adenia partner Martha Osier has said the existing group intends to keep a substantial interest.

What a saver should check

The portal at ipo.quickmart.co.ke is live. It is not a licence to send money. There is no public price. There is no closed book. Nakumatt and Uchumi taught the country that a familiar brand is not the same as a safe share.

The founder story is real. The listing is still an application. Until the memorandum is approved, the only certain fact is the one the family already proved: a Nakuru stall can become a national chain. Selling half of it is a different trade.