Spencon Services Ltd. was a construction company headquartered in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

History

The company was established by Jitendra Chhotabhai Patel. In September 1979 incorporation occurred. In addition to its business in Kenya, began operating in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

in circa 1984–1985, 1988, and 1994, respectively. It also had operations in

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, and Southern Sudan. When the company was at its largest, its workforce numbered 5,000. Joel Gunter and Charles Young of the

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stated that it was "one of the largest construction firms in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

." According to court testimony from Patel, Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) invested KSh. 1.5 billion (

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

15 million) into the company and used it to take 37.4% of the company in 2009 by changing the money into

ordinary shares Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Com ...

. By early 2014 the company had been experiencing financial issues, so ECP assumed control of the company and appointed Briton Andrew Ross to help turn around the company in November of that year; ECP brought on Briton Steven Haswell in April the following year. Gunter and Young stated that "By the middle of 2016, Spencon was on its knees." In November 2016 the company collapsed, with Gunter and Young stated that it resulted in "hundreds of Kenyans out of work, some already missing months of pay." An additional 110 Kenyans were laid off by January 2017. In 2017 Patel sued ECP in the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a United States district court, federal district court in Washington, D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and ...

to get discovery, accusing ECP of illicitly buying a controlling stake in the company.

Corporate affairs

Historically its head office was in Rahimtulla Tower, in Upper Hill, Nairobi. The headquarters moved to a depot, in Muguga,

Kiambu County Kiambu County is a county in the former Central Province of Kenya. Its capital is Kiambu and its largest town is Thika town. Kiambu County is the second most populous county in Kenya after Nairobi County. Kiambu County borders Nairobi and Kaji ...

, in July 2015 as a cost-saving measure. The offices were in prefabricated buildings formerly used as workshops. The property also had a golf facility installed after July 2015. The holding company was registered in

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

References

External links

* * * {{cite web, url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_16-mc-02581/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_16-mc-02581-0.pdf, title=UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA IN RE APPLICATION OF BARNWELL ENTERPRISES LTD AND JITENDRA CHHOTABHAI PATEL FOR AN) ORDER PERMITTING DISCOVERY PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. § 1782 Case No. 16-mc-2581 (RC/GMH), publisher=

Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal gove ...

BBC. Spencon: Inside the collapse of an African construction giant.
(Article) *
BBC. Spencon: Inside the collapse of an African construction giant
(BBC Documentary on the BBC News Africa official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

). 5 April 2020. Companies based in Nairobi Companies established in 1979 2016 disestablishments in Kenya Kenyan companies established in 1979