“There’s a rat in the room”: Nick Candy claims he has been misportrayed in £132m High Court extortion trial
Property tycoon Nick Candy told a High Court judge this morning that he has been “misportrayed” in the £132m extortion case against him and his brother Christian Candy.
He made the complaint at the end of the fifth week of a trial that has scrutinised the business dealings of two men at the centre of London’s luxury property market.
“Something doesn’t smell right here, there is a rat in the room,” Candy said.
Mark Holyoake, a former seafood magnate, is claiming the Candy brothers demanded £37m of repayments on a £12m loan made in 2011 to purchase a Grosvenor Gardens property. He is also accusing the two of threatening to hurt his pregnant wife and unborn child, and to sell his debt on to violent Russian creditors.
“What makes me sick about this case is the allegation of threats to [Holyoake’s] family. I loved his children, and I love them to this day”, Candy insisted.
He described his friendship with Holyoake as “the worst decision of his life.” “The way it’s being portrayed is Holyoake was some kind of childhood sweetheart of mine," he said, adding: “I regret the day I ever met this man.”
Candy said he knew he was nicknamed “Ricky Butcher” by Holyoake, who thought he was “as thick as two short planks”, but did not know he was dubbed “Clown Candy” by Holyoake’s children.
Challenged by Roger Stewart QC over allegations he secretly owns half of Christian Candy’s CPC group but fails to reveal this for tax reasons, Candy denied that the two brothers were “equals” in business affairs.
After failing to remember whether their jointly owned property development business Candy and Candy had made a profit from 2001 to 2006 or ever declared a dividend, Nick admitted: “I’m not very astute with financial accounts. I’m a failed accountant."
Complaining about the media’s obsession with the two brothers' relationship, he revealed he and Christian share OCD traits and said: “I will love him until the day I die.”