Yusuf Investments Ltd first demanded K185 billion for Amaryllis Hotel sale

* PSPTF Board of Trustees counter offered at K110 billion but the owners reduced to K160 billion before getting to K150 billion

* When the PSPTF went to K123 billion, the two parties finally agreed at K128.75 billion — that is to have K132 billion minus K123 billion then divided by 2 “so that either party loses some sort”

By Duncan Mlanjira

The sale of Amaryllis Hotel continues with more ridiculous contract negotiations. During its sale agreement signing between Yusuf Investments Ltd and the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF) Board of Trustees, the owners first put on the table an offer of a whopping K182 billion.

The PSPTF Board, led by chairperson, Chizaso Eric Nyirongo, counter offered at K110 billion but the owners reduced it to K160 billion before getting to K150 billion.

When the PSPTF went up to K123 billion from K110 billion, the two parties finally agreed at K128.75 billion — that is to have K132 billion minus K123 billion then divided by 2 “so that either party loses some sort”.

This is contained in the minutes of the negotiations which was held on November 17, 2025, at Amaryllis’ administration office when Chizaso Nyirongo, was accompanied by chairperson of investment committee, Idrissa Mwale; chairperson for finance audit & risk committee, Yona Phiri and acting principal officer, Boyd Hamella.

The sellers were represented by Yusuf Investments Ltd chairperson & director of Amaryllis Limited, Shiraz Yusuf and chief executive officer for Amaryllis Hotel, Yusuf Shiraz Yusuf.

According to the minutes to the Subscription and Asset Sale Agreement, under the style of Amaryllis Hotel as an on-going concern with all its assets, the PSPTF indicated that a report by consultants, EMJ Advisors, who were hired to do an independent analysis of the acquisition, indicated that “the enterprise is a viable business” — thus the sale offer of K185 billion.

Yusuf Investments Ltd are reported to have justified such an offer, saying they had taken into account “detailed information about the durability of the construction materials, and the equipment fitted in the hotel, much of which were purchased outside the country”.

They maintained that the materials were of the highest quality hence the ability of the hotel to maintain the 5-Star hotel rating after being reviewed successfully throughout the years it has been in existence.

The owners justified further that “since 2022, the hotel has been operating with positive returns and has a well-established customer base” and that “this goodwill and a diversified customer base, values the hotel highly”.

However, the PSPTF counter-offered a price of K110 billion, explaining that “the hotel business requires a lot of operational costs and a K185 billion will mean a lot to be injected as capital expenditure as some of the fittings might have started deteriorating since the inception of opening of the hotel”.

Nyirongo is further minuted as indicating that he was negotiating “from an informed point of view that the realistic price of the hotel cannot go beyond K110 billion”.

Apart from a well-researched and analysed price, says the minutes, the PSPTF indicated that it could not secure the funding for the investment being indicated but the seller maintained that the K185 billion was taken into account all the factors necessary and as the owner, he has the detailed information about the durability of the construction materials, and the equipment fitted in the hotel, much of which were imported.

The PSPTF also indicated that it has another hotel under construction at Khristwick along Masauko Chipembere Highway in Blantyre close the Crock Tower roundabout and next to Build Africa complex — to be named Lifestyle @ Cresta Hotel, saying there were possibilities of having two competing hotels in the same vicinity — thus it called for a reasonable price to complement the hotel under construction.

Nyirongo also argued that the very reason PSPTF was buying Amaryllis was “to cushion against the costs being incurred as the construction of the other hotel was in progress”.

With this complementarity aspect, Yusuf Investments Ltd was asked “to move down to reasonable price that can be agreed by both parties”, to which the seller suggested as final the offer of K160 billion, saying a discount of K25 billion was considered as “extraordinary for a hotel of that magnitude”.

But the PSPTF still considered it as being on the higher side and “for the sake of the transaction and that the seller has gone down a bit”, a counter-offer of K118.5 billion was put on the table.

But Yusuf Investments Ltd went down to K150 billion again as “a final offer”, which PSPTF also rejected; indicating that if the seller would reject the K118.5 billion being offered, they would leave the negotiation table — but Yusuf Investments put the price to K140 billion.

After a private discussion amongst themselves, the Fund’s negotiating team came up with K123 billion, indicating that “the price cannot go beyond that as there will be capex and other cost associated with acquisition of property of this nature that will be borne by PSPTF”.

By the seller still toyed the buyer even further by offering a discount of K8 billion from K140 billion as “his last offer price”; a total of K53 billion from K185 billion and “to ease the stand-off, the parties agreed to meet headway, that is to have K132 billion minus K123 billion divided by 2 so that either party loses some sort” — agreeing at a purchase price of K128.75 billion.

Meanwhile, the controversial sale is under scrutiny of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as well as President Arthur Peter Mutharika, who pledges his full support to the PAC investigation and reiterated his administration’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and the rule of law in the ongoing PAC inquiry.

PAC continues to meet stakeholders who were involved in the deal, which according to the PSPTF chairperson, James Daire Kumwenda at the hearings, confirmed-what-Malawi-Law-Society-revealed-that-former-spc-colleen-zamba-influenced-purchase-of-amaryliss-hotel/.