BY Issah Olegor
The prolonged legal battle over the ownership, financing and control of the Oxford No.1 Hotel on Accra’s Oxford Street has taken another dramatic turn, with the High Court reportedly reversing the attempted takeover of the property and directing the court-appointed receiver to return the hotel keys with immediate effect.
The development marks a significant setback for Cola Holdings Limited in its efforts to enforce a claimed multimillion-dollar financial interest in the luxury hotel and brings renewed attention to the increasingly bitter dispute involving businessman Nana Kwame Bediako, popularly known as Cheddar, and businessman Azad Cola.
The controversy surrounding the property dates back several years and is rooted in financing arrangements used to develop the hotel.
The property was developed by Kensington Residential Partners 1 Limited (KRP1 Ltd), a company in which, according to the company’s earlier account, Cheddar and Azad Cola are the two directors and equal shareholders.
Oxford No.1 Hotel was partly financed through shareholder capital and a facility obtained from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The hotel opened its doors in December 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the hospitality industry in Ghana and across the world.
The pandemic subsequently affected the hotel’s ability to generate the revenues anticipated when the financing arrangements were entered into. KRP1 said the economic difficulties meant it could not service the IFC facility at the expected level and that management was therefore engaging the IFC on a possible restructuring of the facility.
The dispute escalated when Azad Cola, acting through Cola Holdings Limited, informed KRP1 that he had personally settled the outstanding IFC facility.
Cola Holdings subsequently sought reimbursement from KRP1 for the amount it claimed to have paid to settle the financing obligation.
KRP1, however, challenged the circumstances surrounding the alleged repayment and raised questions about the manner in which the transaction was undertaken.
The company argued that because Cola was a director of KRP1, he owed fiduciary obligations to the company, including duties relating to disclosure and approval of transactions involving the company’s interests.
KRP1 further maintained that neither Cola nor Cola Holdings had provided the company with evidence demonstrating that the IFC facility had actually been settled as claimed.
Those assertions formed part of the wider disagreement that eventually found its way into the courts, with Cola Holdings pursuing legal avenues to recover the money it said was owed to it.
The dispute later reached a critical point when the Commercial Division of the High Court issued an order on July 21, 2026, authorising police assistance for Cola Holdings and its appointed receiver to take possession of Oxford No.1 Hotel.
The order triggered reports that the receiver had taken control of the property.
KRP1 immediately disputed those reports, insisting that the hotel remained under the control and possession of its management and directors.
The company argued that the court order was subject to a seven-day period before it could take effect and that the period had not elapsed when it issued its July 23 statement.
KRP1 subsequently instructed its lawyers to challenge the decision and seek orders preventing the receiver from taking possession while the legal challenge was pending.
The latest court development has now altered the position, with the takeover being reversed over alleged breaches of court rules and the receiver directed to return the keys to the property with immediate effect.
The order is significant because the attempt to take possession of the hotel had been presented as part of Cola Holdings’ efforts to enforce a financial claim reportedly exceeding US$14.9 million, together with interest.
The legal dispute has consequently evolved beyond a straightforward disagreement over a debt and into a wider battle over the enforcement of security, possession of the hotel and the rights of the parties involved.
Cheddar-Cola Dispute Deepens
At the centre of the dispute are Cheddar and Azad Cola, whose business relationship and respective interests in KRP1 have become increasingly contentious.
KRP1 has previously stated that the two businessmen are its only directors and equal shareholders.
While Cola Holdings has pursued its claimed financial interest, KRP1 has consistently challenged aspects of the claim and maintained that the circumstances surrounding the alleged repayment of the IFC facility require scrutiny.
The company has also raised concerns about what it described as the possibility of “double recovery”.
According to KRP1, Cola Holdings was seeking recovery of the amount it claimed to have paid to IFC from both KRP1 and Cheddar personally through separate legal proceedings.
KRP1 argued that recovering the same amount twice would amount to unjust enrichment and maintained that the courts would not permit such an outcome.
The dispute has therefore involved several interconnected legal questions, including the alleged debt, enforcement of security, the circumstances surrounding the IFC repayment, the rights of the shareholders and directors, and the authority of a receiver to take possession of the hotel.
Earlier Court Battles
The latest development also follows earlier legal proceedings in which Cola Holdings pursued enforcement of its claimed financial interest.
Previous proceedings reportedly resulted in a ruling that Cola Holdings was entitled to pursue enforcement of its security interest under the applicable borrowers-and-lenders framework.
That decision paved the way for the subsequent attempt to secure possession of the hotel.
KRP1, however, maintained that the litigation was far from over and that it intended to challenge decisions that it considered prejudicial to its interests.
The company also disclosed that two previous applications brought by Cola Holdings in connection with the dispute had been dismissed by the High Court.
The latest ruling concerning the receiver’s possession of the hotel now adds another layer to a dispute that has already generated substantial litigation.
Hotel remains at centre of multimillion-dollar dispute
Oxford No.1 Hotel, situated on the commercially important Oxford Street in Osu, Accra, h¹as become the physical focal point of the financial and legal disagreement.
