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It’s a coup that could further rock the landscape of British politics.
Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage has secured the support of billionaire property tycoon Nick Candy, who has left the Conservatives to become Mr Farage’s party’s new treasurer.
Mr Candy is the latest high-profile Tory member to defect to Reform UK, after former MP Andrea Jenkyns joining Reform last month to become the party’s mayoral candidate for Lincolnshire.
Conservative Home founder Tim Montgomerie also switched last week as the party tasted a surge in the polls after Sir Keir Starmer’s “reset” speech.
With him, Mr Candy, who is married to Australian singer and actress Holly Valance, brings heavy financial backing.
Speaking to The Independent, Mr Candy bullishly claimed he will raise more money for Reform UK than any political party in the UK has ever raised, adding that Mr Farage will win the next general election.
But who is Nick Candy, how did he make his money and what do we know on the well-connected businessman? The Independent takes a look:
Who is Nick Candy?
Nick Candy, 51, was born to a Greek-Cypriot mother and English father in London.
He went to independent school Epsom College before later graduating from the University of Reading with a degree in human geography.
In 1995, he and his brother Christian bought a one-bedroom flat in Earls Court in London. with the help of a £6,000 loan from their grandmother. After completing a renovation while living inside, they would go on to sell it for a £50,000 profit.
It led to the launch of business venture by the pair of buying and renovating flats, with the two later giving up their day jobs in adveritising and banking to launch Candy & Candy in 1999.
It was the beginning of entrepreneurship for the brothers, who went on to make millions of pounds through their work as luxury property developers.
How did Nick Candy make his money?
As Candy & Candy grew, so did the projects it took on.
And the brothers began spotting a gap in the market for top-end boltholes, with gadgets and attendant security features, aimed at the nervy, super-wealthy international elite moving to London.
Among the big projects was the luxury residential and retail complex One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, completed in 2011, with the penthouse apartments reportedly fetching some of the highest prices on record.
Seven years later, Nick Candy took over sole ownership of the siblings’ business, renamed Candy Property, in 2018 and has diversified his portfolio through investment arm Candy Ventures, which includes investments into mining in the Philippines.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Nick Candy is now worth around £2bn.
How does Nick Candy spend his money?
Well, aside from buying and selling property, Nick Candy also has a number of interests that he has invested in heavily in recent years.
With an involvement in politics having been a Tory member, he plugged more than £270,000 into the party through donations since 2020. Prior that, he donated £70,000 through his company, according to The Times.
He has bankrolled Tory campaigns including the failed attempt to replace London mayor Sadiq Khan with Shaun Bailey.
Two years ago, Nick Candy made a reported bid of more than £2bn to buy Chelsea Football Club, where he is a season ticket holder, before it was eventually sold to a consortium led by US businessman Todd Boehly.
Away from politics and sport, in 2018 he set up The Candy Foundation, which provides money to helping improve the lives of children facing severe disadvantage and disabilities.
What do we know on Nick Candy’s personal life?
Nick Candy will be more well-known to some people as the husband of Australian actress and singer Holly Valance, who first shot to fame playing Felicity Scully in the soap Neighbours.
Ms Valance is also a prominent Reform backer.
The pair married in Beverly Hills in California in 2012, and a year later had their first daughter, Luka Violet Toni. A second daughter, Nova Skye Coco, followed in 2017.
Three years ago, the couple reportedly spent £10m on a new seven-bedroom mansion in Oxfordshire, after Nick sold his penthouse in One Hyde Park for £175m.
Before being with Ms Valance, Nick Candy was married to British socialite Emily Crompton. The pair have two children, Isabella Monaco Evanthia and Cayman Charles Wolf.
Nick Candy is said to be good friends with comedians Jimmy Carr and David Walliams. In 2022, he was also pictured with Mr Farage and Donald Trump at the US president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
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