Ghanaian real estate mogul Eric Ebo Acquah has won a $1 million court battle against Shelter Afrique.
The High Court ruled in favour of Blue Rose Ltd over a $5.2 million loan dispute, awarding damages for breach of contract.
The court awarded Blue Rose Ltd over $1 million, including special damages for legal/appraisal fees and GH¢500K ($47K) in general damages, citing Shelter Afrique’s breach of the 2016 loan agreement by withholding funds.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Samuel Djanie Kotey, the judge reasons that Shelter Afrique failed to release the $5.2million despite Blue Rose meeting all pre-loan conditions, causing financial losses.
According to the court, the real estate company was vindicated when it repudiated the contract after injecting $3.03 million into the project.
The court added that the legal fees, all in a bid to secure the loan facility from Shelter Afrique, were only for the defendant to breach the contract by not releasing the loan facility.
“From the evidence adduced before this court, there is sufficient evidence that encourages a finding that Shelter Afrique had no lawful justification for refusing and/or failing to disburse the loan facility to Blue Rose Ltd; the latter having satisfied all the conditions precedent to first disbursement.
“Accordingly, this court finds that it constituted a breach of the loan agreement by Shelter Afrique when it refused to disburse the loan despite the plaintiff’s compliance with the terms of that agreement,” the judge stated.
The ruling, delivered July 24, 2025, also ordered GH¢100K ($9.5K) in additional costs.
The background to the story, according to Graphic online, reads, “On December 15, 2016, Shelter Afrique and Blue Rose Ltd executed a loan agreement where the defendant undertook to advance to the real estate company, $5.2 million to enable it to construct 170 housing units of two, three and four-bedroom houses and associated infrastructure for outright sale to the public.
It was agreed between the parties that the $5.2 million was to represent 64 per cent of the total construction cost of the houses to be developed.
The parties further agreed that Blue Rose Ltd would contribute the remaining 36 per cent of the cost of the project, amounting to $2.92 million.
The December 15, 2016, the agreement was further amended on October 4, 2017 and signed by the parties.
The amendment reduced the loan amount, forming the defendant’s equity contribution to the project from 64 per cent to 63.17 per cent and increased the plaintiff’s equity contribution to the project from 36 per cent to 36.83 per cent.
Under the agreement, Shelter Afrique was to be satisfied that the real estate company had injected its equity contribution into the project onsite and ascertained by the defendant before the facility would be disbursed.
After the real estate company had injected $3.03 million into the project, Shelter Afrique failed to disburse the loan because it believed that the plaintiff had not met the full obligations under the agreement”.
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— Ghana Chronicles (@_GhChronicles) August 27, 2025
🚨 Ghanaian real estate mogul Eric Ebo Acquah wins $1M+ court battle against Shelter Afrique. Accra High Court ruled in favor of Blue Rose Ltd over a $5.2M loan dispute, awarding damages for breach of contract. pic.twitter.com/VJEAMrVFgw