City Businessman and tycoon, Patrick Bitature has come out to reassure customers and suppliers of his business empire, Simba Group of Companies that they are “open and ready to serve” as he “he will face and resolve the current challenges.”
The statement comes in awake of a newspaper advert announcing the sale (by public auction) of his businesses, including the swanky Skyz Naguru hotel.
“Legal and commercial issues have arisen in our financing and these are being addressed and when the moment is right, I will speak to them. No doubt these are tough challenges I am responsible for and are challenges I will face and resolve. Social media is not the place to resolve these issues,” the city businessman’s statement reads in part.
The public auction advert issued by Quickway Auctioneers and Court Bailiffs in the Daily Monitor newspaper of Thursday 19th May 2022 claimed to offer Bitature’s properties – Protea Hotel – Naguru SKyz, Elizabeth Royal Apartments and Moyo Close Apartments, for sale upon the instructions of law firm, Kirunda & Wasige Advocates.
The advert exposed an ongoing legal battle between Bitature and Vantage Capital over $10m debt lent to Bitature in 2014 for real estate development in Kampala.
The statement that was issued on Sunday evening reads; “The last few days have been very tough for me personally and for our group as a whole as we made news for all the wrong reasons.
No doubt as a businessman and one always looking for new pathways, I knew that one day these kinds of headlines would cast a cloud over decades of hard work. As you all know today, we live in a world of 24hour news cycle full of opinions, suspicion and innuendos. For that I make no judgement and hold no grudge.
Legal and commercial issues have arisen in our financing and these are being addressed and when the moment is right, I will speak to them. No doubt these are tough challenges I am responsible for and are challenges I will face and resolve. Social media is not the place to resolve these issues.
I make this statement today to first and foremost reassure all our staff on the frontline of service to our customers, all our suppliers and you our customers that we are open for business and ready to serve you as we have done for the last 25 years.
As one of our proverbs says No matter how long this dark night may be, a bright morning will come. Be assured of my resolve to continue making our contribution to the transformation of our country.”
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