Slur on singer Holly in Candy brothers court case
Wife of man suing tycoons tells court she was scared because of the mysterious deaths of men linked to pair
Christian Candy, the property tycoon, disliked Holly Valance, the singer married to his brother Nick, above, the High Court heard. Christian’s wife, Emily, had allegedly suggested the actress had a “dubious” background and tried to stop the wedding
THE links between the billionaire Candy brothers and several highprofile figures who died in mysterious circumstances “made me fear for my husband’s life”, the wife of a property tycoon who is suing them told a court.
Emma Holyoake made the claims during a £132 million lawsuit which her husband, Mark, has launched against Christian and Nick Candy at the High Court in London.
Mr Holyoake borrowed £12 million from Christian Candy’s company CPC in 2011 to finance a property development scheme but eventually had to pull out, at a loss of £100 million in potential profits.
He ended up paying back more than £37 million on the two-year loan after signing a series of finance deals and is seeking £132 million for lost profits, overpayments, legal costs and aggravated damages.
The married father-of-three claims Christian Candy repeatedly threatened to destroy his life and ruin his business during a campaign of blackmail and intimidation that left him fearing for his life.
Mrs Holyoake said she feared her husband might be killed because of the mysterious deaths of other men associated with the Candys, such as Boris Berezovsky.
She said: “I used to worry constantly that Christian might take steps to hurt or even kill Mark when Mark travelled on business. I used to warn Mark constantly to take care, to ensure that he wasn’t being set up, to make sure he kept himself as safe as possible.
“I thought that the simplest way for Christian to resolve his issue with Mark would just be to get rid of Mark.
“This is not as outlandish as it seems. There are men in the Candys’ extended circle who have died mysteriously.”
Mrs Holyoake named Paul Castle, the millionaire property tycoon who leapt to his death in front of a London Underground train in November 2010; Scot Young, also a wealthy property developer, who fell to his death from his fourth floor flat in 2014; and Mr Berezovsky, the Russian billionaire found hanged in his bathroom in 2013.
An email between Christian and Nick Candy which referred to a man named “Knuckey” also suggested Christian was thinking of sending thugs to Ibiza, where she lives, she told the court. Mrs Holyoake said: “I can only assume (this was to) harm or intimidate Mark, myself or our children. It is chilling to realise that my concerns at the time really appear to have been very close to the mark.”
Mr Holyoake claims he trusted the Candys because he shared a house and was close friends with Nick Candy at university, but he claims the highly secretive brothers acted like Bond villains after lending him the £12 million. He claims the property moguls made threats against his wife when she was pregnant having previously suffered a miscarriage. In her statement to the court, Mrs Holyoake, said: “What kind of human threatens violence against a pregnant woman and her children?
“What kind of man threatens to exert so much pressure that a woman could potentially suffer another mis- carriage? Sadly the Candys are without shame and so driven by the love of money they have lost all sense of decency. There is no depth they will not plumb, no stunt they will not pull, no lie they will not tell.”
Revelations about a strained relationship between the wealthy brothers and their wives have also emerged during the court case. The court heard yesterday that Christian Candy, 42, bullied his older brother and disliked his sister-in-law Holly Valance, the pop star and actress.
Mrs Holyoake told the court her own friendship with Ms Valance became a casualty of the dispute between the husbands. She added that Ms Valance had told her that Christian’s wife, Emily, had allegedly suggested at a dinner that the actress had a “dubious” background and tried to dissuade her brother-in-law from marrying her.
Mrs Holyoake revealed that Christian had referred to the actress at a party in Ibiza in 2012 by saying “if she sees me coming she better f------ cross over on to the other side of the road”.
Christian Candy also spoke to Nick, 44, in “a disrespectful and aggressive manner” and on one occasion the abuse left his brother weeping while lying “in a foetal position on the floor of a hotel room”, the hearing was told.
A spokesman for the Candy brothers said: “Emma Holyoake has accepted in evidence that her statement is based on information provided to her by her husband whose claims are denied in their entirety.
“The statement has the sole purpose of causing reputational damage to the defendants.
“The defendants remain committed to having these matters decided at trial by the judge.”
The hearing continues.