On May 7, 2024, Lipton announced the sale of its tea estates division to Browns Investments, a subsidiary of LOLC Holdings PLC (a Sri Lankan conglomerate). The tea estates are on land that was violently seized from the Kipsigis and Talai clans by the British army in the early 20th century. In 2019, Kenya’s National Land Commission ruled that the land had been seized unlawfully at that time. Kenya's Environment and Land Court ruled in 2023 that the NLC did not have the authority to revoke title deeds, particularly on land that has never been public or government land.

Concerns have been raised by members of the local community in relation to this sale:

• During the sale process, a consortium of cooperatives in Kenya made an offer to Lipton to acquire the Kericho estate, and match the price offered by Browns. The consortium said that “acquiring the tea estates at a fair valuation would restore ownership of the lands to the descendants of the indigenous residents of the Rift and Valley Highlands and address the debate in Kenya in respect of historical land injustices”. Yet, it is reported that Lipton ignored this approach and did not provide fair access to the sale process.
• Moreover, Lipton’s Responsible Sourcing Policy (May 2023 – Item 11), commits Lipton to adhere to the “free, prior and informed consent” of local communities for use/transfer of land. It is reported that Lipton has ignored this commitment during the sale process.
• LOLC – the majority shareholder of Brown’s Investments – is a large micro-finance business which has provided the funds for Brown’s acquisition of Lipton. LOLC Cambodia, one of its largest subsidiaries, is currently under investigation for allegations of human rights abuses and has not provided any response to BHRRC on these matters. Lipton selected Browns as a buyer for their tea estates prior to the conclusion of the investigation of the allegations of human rights abuses by LOLC Cambodia.

The Kipsigis Community Clans have released numerous statements outlining the historic land rights injustices and calling on Lipton to redress them.

In June 2024, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre contacted Lipton to seek its response in relation to the allegations outlined, asking the company to provide:

1. Information about the process Lipton undertook to secure “free, prior and informed” consent from the local communities ahead of the estate sale to Browns Investments
2. On what basis Lipton made the decision to sell to Browns Investments, a Sri Lanka-based organisation linked (via its majority shareholder) to human rights abuses, rather than taking the opportunity to redress historic land rights injustices by selling the land to a consortium of cooperative societies with deep roots in the area
3. Information about the due diligence process Lipton has undertaken prior to announcement of the sale to ensure Lipton’s responsible sourcing and human rights policy commitments were upheld, despite the ongoing investigation into alleged human rights abuses by LOLC Cambodia.

Lipton's full response can be seen below. The company stated in its response that any questions about Browns or its shareholders should be directed to those organisations.