Associated Motors Limited, one of Kenya's oldest vehicle dealerships, has been placed under receivership by Family Bank, weeks after losing its decades-long franchise arrangement with Isuzu East Africa, notices published in April 2026 show.
- •On 19 March 2026, Isuzu East Africa confirmed in a public statement that Associated Motors had ceased being an authorised dealer, and directed customers to transition to its broader network.
- •The automaker offered no explanation for the termination of a partnership that dated to 1966, when Associated Motors was appointed the sole distributor of Isuzu products in Kenya and became the country's first assembler of Japanese vehicles.
- •The company subsequently grew into one of East Africa's flagship 3S dealerships, with branches in Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Nakuru, Meru and Chuka.
Family Bank appointed Kamal Anantroy Bhatt and Dhir Kamal Bhatt of Anant Bhatt LLP as Joint Receiver and Managers over the income of Associated Motors' charged properties on 9 April 2026. The appointment covers three titles: NTIMA/IGOKI/2729, Eldoret Municipality Block 12/12 and Eldoret Municipality Block 12/181.
The bank moved on the same date against a related entity, Sclaters Holdings Limited was also placed under receivership by Family Bank on 9 April, with the same joint receivers appointed over its charged property at Land Reference No. 209/6745/2 IR No. 56214, a Gilgil Road, Enterprise Road address in Nairobi's Industrial Area that publicly available records link to Associated Motors' principal place of business. Both notices cite charges dated 30 August 2021, pointing to a coordinated security package arranged under a single borrowing relationship.
The loss of the Isuzu franchise removed the company's principal revenue stream. The Eldoret properties named in the receivership notice correspond directly to Associated Motors' long-established Eldoret branch on Kisumu Road, opened in 1976. Family Bank's enforcement action, arriving three weeks after the Isuzu termination, suggests the bank concluded that a going-concern recovery was no longer viable once the franchise was gone.
Jamii Distributors Also Closes Shop
A third insolvency action was disclosed concurrently. I&M Bank appointed Kamal Anantroy Bhatt and Jai Kamal Bhatt of Anant Bhatt LLP as Joint Administrators of Jamii Distributors (E.A) Limited on 1 April 2026, under the Insolvency Act No. 18 of 2015.
The administration extinguishes the powers of the company's directors and places all assets and business operations under the administrators' control. Creditors have 30 days from the date of appointment to lodge claims, and directors are required to file a Statement of Affairs within 12 days.
All three insolvency appointments were handled by Anant Bhatt LLP, a Mombasa-based certified public accountancy firm and member of TAG Alliances, a global network of accounting and law firms.
The actions add to a growing register of Kenyan companies entering formal distress proceedings, as banks accelerate enforcement on non-performing exposures against a backdrop of elevated NPL ratios and a difficult operating environment.
