Christian and Nick Candy

Nick Candy (born 23 January 1973) and Christian Candy (born 31 July 1974) are British luxury property developers. The brothers are of partial Greek Cypriot descent,[1] and were estimated to share a joint net worth of £1.5 billion in the Estates Gazette rich list 2010, placing them at position 52 in the list of the richest property developers in the United Kingdom.[2]

The brothers were educated at Priory Preparatory School and Epsom College[3] in Surrey. While Christian was later studying for a business management degree at King's College London, Nick graduated from University of Reading with a degree in Human Geography.[4] In 1995, they bought their first property, a one-bedroom flat in Redcliffe Square, Earls Court, London. Using a £6,000 loan from their grandmother, the brothers renovated the £122,000 apartment while living in it. Eighteen months later they sold it for £172,000, making a £50,000 profit.[5]

In their spare time between 1995 and 1999, the brothers began renovating flats and working their way up the property ladder [6] Eventually they were able to give up their day jobs and establish Candy & Candy in 1999, of which Nick is CEO.[7] In 2004, Christian established CPC Group in Guernsey, to specialise in high-end residential developments around the world. Some of their more high-profile developments, however, have been in London.[8]

Development projects

One Hyde Park

In 2004, the brothers sought an investment partner to help them buy the site of Bowater House in Knightsbridge, with plans to demolish it and construct 86 luxury apartments.[9] After setting up a joint venture with Waterknights – a private company owned by the Prime Minister of Qatar – they purchased the site from Land Securities in 2005 for £150m.[10] They then hired the architect Richard Rogers to design the exterior, and used their own Candy & Candy to handle interior design. One Hyde Park: The Residences of Mandarin Oriental, London, was constructed in 4 years after obtaining planning permission in 2006, with the finished development housing 3 shops: Rolex, McLaren Automotive and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.[11] Despite its name, the building’s address is located at 68-114 Knightsbridge, London.[12]

NoHo Square

In 2006, the site of the former Middlesex Hospital was purchased for £175m by Project Abbey (Guernsey) Holdings Ltd – an investment consortium which included Kaupthing Bank, the now defunct Icelandic bank, and was led by the Candy’s CPC Group.[13] In February, 2007 the brothers applied to the Westminster City Council for planning permission to redevelop the 1.2 hectare (3 acre) site into a mixed use development of several hundred new residential units, and office space.[14][15] The plans were met with strong criticism from local residents over the Candy’s choice of NoHo Square as the name for the new development.[16] Planning permission for NoHo Square was granted in November 2007; however, the completion of demolition of the hospital in 2008 coincided with the collapse of Kaupthing as a result of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.[17] Kaupthing was the largest shareholder in the Guernsey-based consortium which bought the Middlesex site from University College Hospital in 2006, and with the bank in administration the NoHo Square development stalled. As a result of CPC Group being partners with Kaupthing in another property development over in the US, the Candy brothers were able to transfer their equity stake in NoHo Square to the bank and in exchange take full control of the US development.[18][19]

Beverly Hills 9900 Wilshire development

In April 2007, the Candy brothers purchased – through CPC Group – an eight-acre site in Beverly Hills, USA known as 9900 Wilshire, with their equity partners Kaupthing for a reported £250m.[20] CPC Group hired Richard Meier the architect to design a condominium and retail complex in place of the former Robinsons-May department store. The development, expected to commence in early 2008, was essentially a continuation of the project introduced in 2005 by New Pacific Realty, the former owners. Concerns over increased traffic as a result of construction, along with other issues related to financing, hampered the progress of the project. Victor Bardack of the Beverly Hills North Homeowners Association said: "To put two huge projects on the already-impacted intersection of Santa Monica and Wilshire boulevards is grossly detrimental to the community,[...] It'll be gridlock forever."[21]

There were also reports of a Jewish organisation concerned about the Candy’s associations with Middle Eastern financiers, notably Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the Prime Minister of Qatar. The controversy stemmed from the Sheikh being part owner of a Middle Eastern newspaper that has been accuse of being anti-Semitic and anti-American.[22]

Kaupthing being placed into administration at the beginning of October in 2008 left the bank unable to continue financing its share of the project, thus violating the shareholder agreement, of which Christian Candy remarked could "take three to six months just to straighten out the shareholders agreement." CPC Group served a written notice of default on Kaupthing shortly after. In the same month, the situation was made worse when the acquisition loan to the project from Credit Suisse became past due, and, additionally, it became increasingly difficult to get financing on the 250 condominiums that the original plans catered for. This was due to the collapse of the property market and banks pulling their funding.[23][24] It was later reported that CPC Group – after negotiating full control of the development from Kaupthing – defaulted on a $US365.5 million bank loan.[25][26]

In 2015 they have laid off a third of their staff in a move that helped lift profits, annual accounts show.

Personal life

Christian wed Lady Emily Crompton, daughter of Spencer Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton, a socialite turned criminal psychologist, in a lavish ceremony in 2010. They had twins in 2013, Isabella Monaco Evanthia and Cayman Charles Wolf. They live between UK and Monaco.[27]

On 29 September 2012, Nick wed the Australian actress-musician-TV presenter Holly Valance in Beverly Hills, California.[28] In November 2013 they had their first child in London, a daughter, Luka Violet Toni Candy.[29] They live between the UK, Beverly Hills and Monaco.

References

  1. ↑ "A property fairytale: from £6,000 to £9bn". This is Money. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Cahill, Julia. "Rich List 2010" (PDF). Estates Gazette. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  3. ↑ Adams, Guy (2 February 2008). "Candy and Candy: Sweet dreams - Profiles - People - The Independent". The Independent (London). Retrieved 7 November 2012. Nick was born in 1973, Christian in 1974, and both went to public school in Epsom.
  4. ↑ "Nicholas Candy | Joint CEO and Founder, Candy & Candy Ltd". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  5. ↑ BARRIONUEVO, ALEXEI (29 June 2012). "The Upstarts’ Empire". New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "Candy and Candy: Sweet Dreams". The Independent. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Candy and Candy profile". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "One Hyde Park". Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Maley, Jacqueline (25 February 2006). "£20m flats offer the ultimate in lateral living". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  10. ↑ "Land Securities sells Bowater House, Knightsbridge". Land Securities. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "One Hyde Park Background Information" (PDF). Candy & Candy. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  12. ↑ BARRIONUEVO, ALEXEI (29 June 2012). "The Upstarts’ Empire". New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  13. ↑ KEILTHY, PAUL (31 October 2008). "NOHO SQUARE DEAL IN RUINS". West End Extra. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  14. ↑ "Old Middlesex Hospital, London, United Kingdom". World Architecture News. 9 Feb 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "Planning » Application Summary". Westminster City Council. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  16. ↑ Davis, Anna. "Noho? No way, this is Fitzrovia". Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  17. ↑ "07/09993/ADCAC | Details of demolition timing pursuant to Condition 1 of conservation area consent dated 19 October 2007 (RN: 07/01121). | Middlesex Hospital Mortimer Street London W1T 3AA". Westminster City Council. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  18. ↑ KEILTHY, PAUL (31 October 2008). "NOHO SQUARE DEAL IN RUINS". West End Extra. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  19. ↑ Bar-Hillel, Mira (20 February 2010). "Candy brothers lose millions of dollars on LA property deal that turned sour". The Telegraph (London). Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  20. ↑ Thomas, Daniel. "Candy brothers buy Kaupthing property stakes". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  21. ↑ Vincent, Roger (11 April 2009). "In Beverly Hills, high end indeed". LA Times. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  22. ↑ "Jewish lobby threatens Candy brothers' US deal". The Independent (London). 23 July 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2012. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  23. ↑ "9900 Wilshire Owners Cope With Iceland Chaos". The Beverly Hills Courier. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  24. ↑ Karp, Jonathan (30 October 2008). "Beverly Hills Development Is in Doubt After Default". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  25. ↑ KEILTHY, PAUL (31 October 2008). "NOHO SQUARE DEAL IN RUINS". West End Extra. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  26. ↑ Bar-Hillel, Mira (20 February 2010). "Candy brothers lose millions of dollars on LA property deal that turned sour". The Telegraph (London). Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  27. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/20/candy-brothers-nick-christian-property-tycoons-brand-opulence
  28. ↑ "Holly Valance marries sweetheart Nick Candy in a fairytale wedding in Beverly Hills". heraldsun.com.au. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  29. ↑ Eden, Richard (24 November 2013). "Strictly Come Dancing star Holly Valance gives birth to her first child". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 2 December 2013.

External links

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