The Nairobi High Court has struck down the Notification of Sale dated 16 March 2026 issued by Synergy Industrial Credit Limited for the auction of 14 Riverside Drive, citing procedural breaches in the execution documents.

Justice Moses Ado allowed Synergy to commence fresh execution proceedings, but only after the creditor obtains an updated professional valuation from Knight Frank Valuers Limited or another registered valuer within 30 days.

The required valuation must detail both open‑market and forced‑sale values, identify the specific interest being valued and list any registered long leases or other interests attached to the property.

Cape Holdings Limited, the property owner, must grant the appointed valuer reasonable access to the premises upon reasonable notice, and the cost of the valuation will be included in the execution costs.

The court also dismissed Synergy’s request to discharge interim orders issued on 23 May 2026 and rejected its applications for rental proceeds to be held in a joint account and for restrictions on further applications by Cape Holdings.

The ruling follows Cape Holdings’ earlier application to halt a public auction scheduled for 26 May 2026, arguing that the sale notices and warrant of sale dated March 2026 were irregular, unlawful and omitted key details such as a reserve price and registered long leases.

The dispute originates from a 2015 arbitral award granting Synergy Sh1.666 billion plus interest against Cape Holdings, later adopted as a High Court decree in March 2021, which grew to a decretal sum of Sh4.498 billion.

A 2022 prohibitory order under Order 22 Rule 57 of the Civil Procedure Rules barred the sale of the property, appointing Moran Auctioneers to conduct a future auction with a reserve price of Sh5.2 billion based on a forced‑sale value of 75 % of a Sh7 billion valuation dated November 2020.

Subsequent court decisions affirmed that execution was complete upon registration of the prohibitory order, leaving only the realisation of the property to be carried out in accordance with the law.

After a June 2025 ruling found merit in Cape Holdings’ concerns about valuation and reserve price, Justice Mong’are ordered an independent valuation and stayed the sale pending the report, which was later accepted in March 2026 before fresh warrants were issued for a May 2026 auction.

Cape Holdings challenged the March 2026 execution documents, claiming they reproduced outdated 2022 instruments and omitted reserve price and encumbrance details, prompting the High Court’s recent intervention.