The Capital Markets Authority has suspended the trading of Deacons (East Africa) Plc shares following the appointment of joint administrators by the Board of the company to run its business in accordance with the Insolvency Act.
In a notice to the public, Nairobi Securities Exchange announced that the suspension in trading of the company’s shares takes effect from November 19, 2018 and shall remain in force for a period of 40 working days.
“All shareholders, investors and the general public are asked to take note of the suspension,” read the notice from the bourse.
Deacons, a clothing and footwear retailer, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as a result of financial difficulties it is currently facing.
Muchiri Wahome, the Managing Director, says it filed the notice on 16 November 2018 after a board resolution resolved it is in the best interest of the troubled business and the creditors for the firm to be placed under administration, subject to the compliance with the provisions of the Insolvency Act.
The directors of the listed firm say they intend to appoint Peter Kahi and Atul Shah of PKF Consulting Limited to be the joint administrators. They will be tasked to explore the possibility of rescuing the train crash as a going concern or achieving a better outcome for the creditors than would likely be the case if it was liquidated.
“Administration is one of the rescue procedures in law which is available to a company facing financial distress,” said Mr Wahome in a notice to the public.
Deacons also said it was not aware of any insolvency proceedings that have been filed against it within the year preceding the move.
The latest financial results shows that it widened its losses to Ksh229.5 million in six months ending June due to poor revenues. The loss of Mr Price franchise saw its income suppressed by 20.7 per cent.
Founded in 1958 as Deacons Kenya Limited, the retailer changed its name in May 2016 and has presence in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.
