Tax dodge? No, I gave my brother £265m out of love
Property tycoon Nick Candy financed by brother, court files show
THE billionaire lifestyle enjoyed by Nick Candy is funded by multi- million pound gifts from his property tycoon brother, court files revealed yesterday.
Developer Christian Candy has given his older brother a London penthouse worth £160million, a Chelsea townhouse valued at £95million and £10million in cash. Loans from his business empire have also helped to finance Nick’s £26million, 200ft luxury yacht.
The brothers gave a rare glimpse into their personal finances as they denied tax evasion accusations from a former friend.
They insisted the gifts were not an attempt to dodge tax but sprang from brotherly love and familial duty – because ‘blood is thicker than water’.
A High Court judge had questioned the apparent financial gulf between Nick Candy’s interior design business, which lost money last year, and his lifestyle.
He is married to former pop star Holly Valance and the pair live in a two-floor penthouse in One Hyde Park – one of the capital’s best addresses. He owns a £1.1million collection of watches and his wedding to the former Neighbours actress was reported to have cost up to £3million, including a £1.2million appearance by Katy Perry as their wedding singer.
The High Court hearing has forced the brothers, who have donated £70,000 to the Conservative Party, to lay bare their finances, including the gifts to Nick from his brother.
The Daily Mail told earlier this month how the case threatened to raise embarrassing questions about how Nick Candy could afford his lifestyle.
Mr Justice Nugee said: ‘There is a disconnect between the lavish billionaire lifestyle that Mr Nicholas Candy appears to be able to afford, including living in an opulent apartment and purchasing a luxury yacht, and any apparent means to finance that lifestyle.’
He added: ‘A person who publicly flaunts his wealth, but whose declared holdings in his corporate interests do not begin to justify the wealth which he displays, is open to the charge he is willing to say one thing and do something else.’
Christian, 42, said: ‘ We have remained close over a long period of time, and have a strong fraternal bond. Whilst we do not agree on everything, blood is thicker than water.
‘When deciding to make gifts to Nick, I have also taken into account that our father, who died from cancer in 2013, had said not long before his death that he wished the two of us were equally wealthy.’
The married father- of- three described himself as ‘a wealthy individual’ who had been ‘successful’ in business.
Wealthy may be considered an understatement. His high-end development company owns properties worth up to £900million and his total assets are valued at £1.2billion.
Meanwhile his older brother Nick, 43, said his brother’s ‘generosity’ was based on ‘acts of family kindness, and to respect the wishes of our father’.
The brothers are being sued for £132million by a former friend, Mark Holyoake, who has accused them of threatening him and his pregnant wife after they lent him £12million in 2011 to save a property deal, allegations the Candys strongly deny. The
From the Mail, July 2, 2016 businessman, who was at Reading University with Nick Candy, has told the High Court he was forced to take out more loans and sell the property in Belgravia, London, at a loss after Christian allegedly threatened to ‘destroy’ him.
He has also accused the brothers of tax evasion, an allegation they have denied vehemently.
His legal team has submitted emails claiming Nick Candy was a ‘de facto director, shadow director or controlling mind’ in Christian’s property development firm CPC.
Private banker William Pym, a former friend of the brothers, said Nick repeatedly described himself as a billionaire and a co- owner of CPC. A full trial is due to start in February next year, when the brothers and Mr Holyoake could be asked to give evidence in court.
Threats, tax avoidance and Britain’s flashiest property tycoons