High Court authorises Police assistance for takeover of No. 1 Oxford Street Hotel

The Commercial Division of the High Court in Accra has authorised the use of police assistance to enable UK-based Cola Holdings Limited and its appointed Receiver, Nii Amanor Dodoo, to take possession of the No. 1 Oxford Street Hotel in Osu.

The order was issued by Justice Samuel Faraday Johnson on July 21 after Cola Holdings and the Receiver informed the court that attempts to gain peaceful possession of the property had been unsuccessful.

Court documents indicate that the application was opposed by Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited through one of its directors, Nana Kwame Bediako. However, the court rejected the objections raised against the application.

In his ruling, Justice Faraday Johnson held that Cola Holdings had properly registered its security interest over the property with the Collateral Registry and had obtained a Memorandum of No Objection authorising it to enforce that security.

The court further ruled that under the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2020 (Act 1052), the company was entitled to seek police assistance after encountering resistance in its efforts to take possession of the property.

Justice Faraday Johnson also found that Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited had failed to present sufficient evidence to justify the refusal of the application.

The court consequently granted permission for a warrant of police assistance, paving the way for Cola Holdings and the Receiver to take possession of the hotel and enforce their security interest in accordance with the law.

Court records show that Cola Holdings and the Receiver were represented by lawyers Tsatsu Tsikata and Tata Kosi Foliba, while Bobby Banson and Isaac Akerefie-Mensah appeared for Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited.

The court clarified that the order relates solely to the Receiver's request for police assistance and does not determine any other legal issues or claims that may exist between the parties.

The ruling forms part of an ongoing legal dispute over the enforcement of a security interest in the No. 1 Oxford Street Hotel. According to court records, Mr Dodoo was appointed Receiver by Cola Holdings under the Borrowers and Lenders Act after the company initiated steps to realise its security over the property.

The dispute is linked to earlier proceedings concerning the enforcement in Ghana of a judgment issued by the High Court of England and Wales in favour of Cola Holdings Limited.

In January 2026, Mr Bediako publicly disputed liability under the foreign judgment, stating that he had instructed his lawyers to challenge its enforcement in the Ghanaian courts.

He maintained that the matter stemmed from a financing facility obtained by Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited from the International Finance Corporation and disclosed that he had appealed an earlier High Court decision relating to the registration of the foreign judgment, with plans to pursue all available legal remedies.

The latest High Court decision, however, is limited to granting police assistance to the Receiver and does not determine the merits of any pending appeals or other legal proceedings involving the parties.