Equity Bank has placed Nairobi’s luxury Glee Hotel under administration, taking control of the property’s assets and management as it moves to recover billions of shillings in one of the country’s biggest hospitality sector debt disputes.
A notice issued under the Insolvency Act, 2015, on July 7, states that Kamal Anantroy Bhatt of Anant Bhatt LLP has been appointed as administrator of Glee Hotel Limited, with effect from July 6, 2026.
Equity Bank Kenya made the appointment on July 7, effectively transferring control of the hotel’s affairs, assets and operations to the administrator.
With the appointment, the powers of the company’s directors to deal with or transact using the hotel’s assets have ceased.
Creditors have been given 30 days to submit claims to the administrator, while the directors have been directed to provide a Statement of Affairs within 12 days.
Mary Wambui’s Glee Hotel Saga
The latest move marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running debt battle involving businesswoman Mary Wambui Mungai and Equity Bank over loans estimated at Ksh8.267 billion.
Court filings indicate that the debt was linked to credit facilities advanced to Wambui and associated entities.
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The administration comes just weeks after the High Court ordered Wambui to deposit Ksh100 million within seven days as a condition for stopping the lender from exercising its statutory power of sale over Glee Hotel and other charged properties.
The order followed an application seeking more time to implement a debt settlement agreement with the bank.
According to court records, Equity Bank had agreed in February 2026 to accept Ksh7.75 billion as full and final settlement of the debt through a refinancing arrangement that was expected to be undertaken by KCB Bank.
However, the refinancing failed to materialize within the agreed timelines, reopening the dispute and paving the way for fresh recovery efforts by the lender.
For months, the parties have been engaged in court battles as Wambui sought to prevent the sale of the property.
She had argued that the bank should pursue other guarantors and securities before moving against the hotel, while also informing the court about ongoing efforts to secure refinancing.
Equity Bank maintained that it had the right to determine which securities to enforce in its recovery process.
The administration process now places the future of the hotel in the hands of the appointed administrator, who will oversee operations while assessing the company’s financial position and engaging creditors.
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Under Kenyan insolvency law, administration is intended to provide an opportunity to rescue a company, achieve a better outcome for creditors, or facilitate the orderly recovery of debts.
Inside Nairobi’s Luxury Hotel
Glee Hotel sits on an eight-acre property along the Northern Bypass in Runda. The 211-room hotel opened in late 2023 and boasts conference facilities, restaurants, entertainment amenities, a spa and extensive event spaces.
A valuation referenced in court proceedings placed its open-market value at about Ksh9.5 billion.
The takeover adds Glee Hotel to a growing list of hospitality properties facing financial distress amid rising debt obligations and a challenging operating environment.
The Glee Hotel case stands out for both the size of the debt and the value of the property, making it one of the most closely watched insolvency matters in Kenya’s hospitality sector.
Recently, lenders have increasingly turned to administration and receivership to recover large outstanding loans while preserving business operations where possible.
For now, operations at the luxury hotel are expected to continue under the administrator’s management as stakeholders await the next phase of the insolvency process.
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