Story Highlights
- A High Court in Accra has authorized a police warrant to help a British firm and a court-appointed receiver take control of the luxury Number One Oxford Street Hotel.
- The order, granted on July 21 under Ghana’s Borrowers and Lenders Act, allows enforcement of security rights over the property owned by Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited.
- The dispute stems from a joint-venture hotel project financed in part by the International Finance Corporation and a related $14.9 million UK court judgment against businessman Nana Kwame Bediako.
- Mr. Bediako denies personal liability and has described efforts to recover the debt as an attempt at “unjust enrichment.”
- Nii Amanor Dodoo, a senior KPMG partner and experienced receiver, has been appointed to manage the hotel.
ACCRA, Ghana — A Ghanaian High Court has authorized police assistance for a British investment firm and a court-appointed receiver to take control of a landmark luxury hotel in the capital city of Accra.
This seizure is escalating a bitter debt dispute that has already produced a multimillion-dollar judgment against one of the country’s best-known businessmen.
Court Grants Police Warrant
Justice Samuel Faraday Johnson of the High Court’s Commercial Division granted leave for a warrant directed at the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander.
The order, issued under Section 64 of the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2020, allows Nii Amanor Dodoo, the receiver-manager of No. 1 Oxford Street Hotel, and Cola Holdings Limited of London to realize their security rights over the property owned by Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited.
The 14-story aparthotel, known as Number One Oxford Street Hotel & Suites, sits on prime land in the bustling Osu neighborhood.
Opened in 2022 under the Radisson Individuals brand, it features more than 100 luxury units, a swimming pool, spa, gym and restaurant, and has become one of Accra’s most recognizable modern buildings.
A Joint Venture Turns Contentious
Cola Holdings, controlled by the London-based Cola family, and the Ghanaian company are locked in a long-running conflict rooted in the hotel’s original financing.
The project was developed as a joint venture between the Cola Group and Wonda World Estate, part of the Kwarleyz Group founded by Nana Kwame Bediako, the businessman widely known as Cheddar. An International Finance Corporation loan helped fund construction of the roughly $51 million development.
In January 2025, a High Court in England and Wales ordered Mr. Bediako personally to pay Cola Holdings approximately $14.9 million plus interest. Ghana’s High Court later registered that foreign judgment for enforcement.
Denial of Personal Liability
Mr. Bediako has repeatedly denied personal liability, saying the underlying obligations belonged to Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited, a company in which he and Azad Cola, the principal of Cola Holdings, were shareholders.
He has described the dual pursuit of the debt — against him in Britain and against the company in Ghana — as an attempt at “unjust enrichment.”
Mr. Dodoo, a senior partner at KPMG Ghana and an experienced insolvency practitioner who previously served as receiver for the defunct UniBank, was appointed to manage the hotel. Together with Cola Holdings, he applied for the police warrant after the respondent opposed the application.
Counsel for the applicants included the prominent lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata; the respondent was represented by Bobby Banson.
Implications for Enforcement
The order, dated July 21, 2026, marks a significant step toward physical enforcement. Under Ghanaian law, such warrants are intended to prevent resistance when a secured creditor seeks to take possession of collateral.
The case highlights the risks that can accompany cross-border real-estate joint ventures in West Africa, where financing from development institutions, local political prominence and offshore ownership frequently intersect.
Mr. Bediako, a former independent presidential candidate, has insisted he will continue challenging the enforcement through Ghana’s courts.
As of Wednesday, neither Cola Holdings nor representatives of Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited had issued public statements on the new order. The hotel continued to operate under its existing management arrangements.
This article was edited with AI and reviewed by human editors
