The State has revealed the list of Cytonn Investments real estate properties set for auction to realise money to compensate more than 3,000 investors owed Sh11 billion.
Business Registration Services (BRS) has published a list of six properties in Nairobi and Kiambu counties as it opens auction bids. The properties are linked to Cytonn High Yield Solutions (CHYS) and Cytonn Real Estate Project Notes (CPN) —the two Cytonn Investments’ vehicles that collected investors’ money but defaulted.
Among the assets listed is The Ridge, a mixed-use development located in Ridgeways, Nairobi, near the junction of Kiambu Road and the Northern Bypass. The project sits on a 9.874-acre piece of land and has apartments with one to three bedrooms totalling about 800 units.
Taraji Heights, which has 267 units made up of two- and three-bedroom houses with domestic staff quarters is also set for auction. The project is located in Ruaka, on Limuru Road and sits on 2.989 acres.
BRS will also auction the luxurious Applewood Villas in Miotoni, Karen. The project is made up of 18 luxury homes, with each villa sitting on about half an acre. The entire project occupies 10.4 acres.
In addition, the auction will see the company lose three properties named ‘Cytonn Towers’, which is a project that was supposed to be a mixed-use development on a four-acre parcel in Kilimani. The three are located at the junction of Argwings Kodhek and Elgeyo-Marakwet Road and sit on one acre, 1.5 acres and 1.497 acres.
Tenderers have up to April 30, 2026 to bid for the properties by submitting 10 percent of the bid price as irrevocable bank guarantee. The viewing date for the properties is set at between March 23 and April 24, 2026.
“For property number 4, 5, and 6 (under Cytonn Towers), priority shall be given to tenderers who submit bids for all the properties noting that the said properties are contiguous/together,” said BRS.
The auction comes months after Cytonn Investments lost all 19 appeals challenging the liquidation of the two investment vehicles. In November last year, the Court of Appeal upheld High Court verdicts, dismissing attempts by creditors and certain investors to halt the liquidation process.
The decision to liquidate Cytonn’s two funds came after they failed to meet their financial obligations to investors. Defaults on interest kicked in a legal process that saw CHYS and CPN placed under liquidation on January 6, 2023 in bid to recover investors’ money.
Cytonn's financial troubles first became public knowledge in 2021 when its promoters (Edwin Dande and Cytonn Investments Management Plc) petitioned the court for administration orders regarding CHYS and CPN, admitting their inability to meet financial obligations.
The special purpose vehicles were registered under the Limited Liability Partnership Act as distinct legal persons. However, company records showed Mr Dande appearing as the principal partner in nearly all of them, convincing the court that there was not much genuine corporate separation.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court's characterization of the SPVs' operations as "a scheme akin to fraud," clarifying that this strong language was not indicative of judicial bias but rather an accurate description of the financial arrangements under scrutiny.
