Kenya’s listed insurer CIC Insurance Group has received a $13.95 million windfall from the partial sale of its prime property in Nairobi, marking a major breakthrough in its bid to pay off a $26.35 million bank loan that has weighed on its books for nearly six years.

The debt, acquired in 2019, had eroded earnings through escalating finance costs while reducing dividend payouts to shareholders. Its repayment is expected to strengthen the insurer’s finances and sustain growth momentum, with profit before tax surging 56 percent to $30.23 million in 2024 from $19.37 million in 2023.

The insurer has also paid out $1.03 million to Naivas Supermarket under a political violence and terrorism cover, compensating for damage caused during the Gen Z protests in 2025.“This is to update that we have successfully closed on the sale of a 50-acre block neighbouring Tatu City and 100 acres in Kajiado,” Group Managing Director Patrick Nyaga said in a statement dated 11 February 2026. “The two transactions will inject $13.95 million into the balance sheet of CIC Insurance Group Plc, further strengthening liquidity and overall performance.”Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, CIC is working to dispose of land parcels to repay the loan procured from Co-operative Bank in 2019, originally due on 15 October 2024. The loan carried a fixed interest rate of 12 percent over five years, structured as a single drawdown with bullet repayment at maturity. Interest was payable tri-annually, with a $2.75 million principal repayment made in 2024.

The loan is secured by Kiambu land (LR No 28800/951), valued at $39.22 million as of 31 December 2024. Though due in October 2024, the bank granted extensions to November and later January 2025 to allow restructuring negotiations. The loan formed part of funds mobilised to settle a $38.75 million corporate bond in October 2019, tied to the sale of 200 acres in Kiambu County.

The insurer had advertised property sales in 2019, but deals were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Assets included 495 acres in Kajiado and 200 acres in Kiambu. As of December 2024, deposits totalling $3.8 million had been received into an escrow account with Co-operative Bank.

Voluntary exitsCIC has pursued measures to boost revenues and cut costs amid a challenging environment of shrinking household and business incomes due to multiple state taxes. In 2023, it implemented voluntary exits and redundancies to streamline operations through technology. The restructuring aimed to optimise capabilities, eliminate duplication, and simplify reporting lines.

In 2025, the insurer recapitalised $2.02 million by issuing 261.5 million new ordinary shares of par value $0.0075 each, allotted as bonus shares in a 1-for-10 ratio.

CIC is majority-owned (74.3 percent) by the Co-operative Insurance Society Ltd, with Co-operative Bank of Kenya Chief Executive Gideon Muriuki holding 6.04 percent as of December 2024.

Operating in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and Malawi, CIC offers insurance and investment services across general insurance, life assurance, microinsurance, asset management, and pharmaceutical services.

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