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 the new treasurer of Farage’s party.
Candy is the latest high-profile Tory member to defect to Reform UK, after former MP Andrea Jenkyns joined 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 following Keir Starmer’s “reset” speech.
Alongside his role as treasurer, Candy, who is married to Australian singer and actor Holly Valance, brings heavy financial backing.
Speaking to The Independent, Candy bullishly claimed he will raise more money for Reform UK than any political party in the UK has ever raised, adding that he believes Farage will win the next general election.
But who is Nick Candy, how did he make his money, and what do we know about the well-connected businessman? The Independent takes a look.
Who is Nick Candy?
Nick Candy, 51, was born to a Greek Cypriot mother and an English father in London.
He went to independent school Epsom College and later graduated from the University of Reading with a degree in human geography.
In 1995, he and his brother Christian bought a one-bedroom flat in Earl’s Court, London, with the help of a £6,000 loan from their grandmother. After renovating the property while living in it, they sold it at a £50,000 profit.
It led to the launch of a business venture, with the pair buying and renovating flats. They later gave up their day jobs in advertising and banking to launch Candy & Candy in 1999.
This was the start of a successful career for the entrepreneurial brothers, who went on to make millions of pounds through their work as luxury property developers.
How did he make his money?
As Candy & Candy grew, so did the projects the pair took on. They spotted a gap in the market for high-end boltholes, with gadgets and security features, aimed at the nervy, super-wealthy international elite moving to London.
Among the firm’s 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, in 2018, Nick Candy took sole ownership of the siblings’ business, which he renamed Candy Property, and has since diversified his portfolio through its investment arm Candy Ventures, which includes investments in mines in the Philippines.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Candy is now worth around £2bn.
How does he spend his money?
Aside from buying and selling property, Candy also has a number of interests that he has invested in heavily in recent years.
One of these is the Conservative Party. As a longstanding member until his defection to Reform, he has poured more than £270,000 into the party since 2020. Prior to 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, 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 help improve the lives of children facing severe disadvantage and disabilities.
What do we know about his personal life?
Nick Candy will be better 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 opera Neighbours.
Valance is also a prominent Reform backer.
The pair married in Beverly Hills, 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 Candy sold his penthouse in One Hyde Park for £175m.
Candy is said to be good friends with comedians Jimmy Carr and David Walliams. In 2022, he was also pictured with Farage and Donald Trump at the then former US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
