Deacons East Africa considers two PKF executives as administrators

Following an extended period of financial difficulties, Kenya-based apparel retail chain Deacons East Africa has announced its openness to the possibility of appointing administrators to help rescue the firm. Two executives from global advisory firm PKF Kenya are currently under consideration.

Deacons East Africa has been struggling to keep its business afloat, having reported consistent losses over the last two years. In the six months leading up to June 30th 2017, the firm’s losses stood at just over Sh 180 million, a figure that has jumped to nearly Sh 230 million for the same period this year.

Despite operating in the most lucrative region in Africa, most of these losses can be attributed to the shutting down of South African clothing retailer Mr. Price. The substantial dip in overall sales resulting from the closure reportedly cost Deacon East Africa nearly 21% of their annual revenues.

In order to help rescue its operations, Deacons East Africa is now considering the appointment of administrators. As elucidated by CEO of Deacons East Africa Muchiri Wahome, “The primary objective of placing the company under administration is to enable it achieve a better outcome for the creditors than would likely to be the case if the company were to be liquidated.”

Currently, the firm is considering two executives to oversee the administration process, namely Peter Kahi and Atul Shah of PKF International. PKF is a global network of consulting firms that offer services in the domains of assurance & advisory, taxation, corporate finance and – most pertinently – insolvency.

Kahi, who is a Partner at PKF Kenya, has an academic background in Commerce, and is a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya. He also holds a number of other qualifications, including the title of Certified Fraud Examiner, Associate at the National Board of Accountants and Auditors in Tanzania, and a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner in Kenya.

Shah, meanwhile, is the CEO at PKF Eastern Africa, in addition to being the Director of PKF Consulting and a Partner at PKF Kenya. He is also the Chairman of PKF’s Africa Borad, a Member of the PKF International Global Council and the Director of the PKF International Africa Board.

An MBA by academic background, Shah is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants (CICA) in the UK as well as a member of the CICAs in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. If appointed, he and Kahi will work as joint administrators for Deacons East Africa.