Nick and Christian Candy have fended off an application for a worldwide freezing order against them, in the latest hearing in a £100m-plus dispute.
Property developer Mark Holyoake had applied for the injunction as an upgrade to a court order already in place that affects the Candy brothers’ handling of high-value assets.
But the chancellor of the High Court, Lord Justice Etherton, dismissed that application, and in addition ordered Holyoake to provide £5m in “fortification” within seven days if he wants to keep the existing notification order in place.
In May, Mr Justice Nugee made changes to the notification order he granted previously in the ongoing proceedings in which Holyoake is suing the Candys and Christian’s CPC Group for more than £100m.
The judge then ordered Holyoake to make £5m available by way of fortification – its payment effectively a condition of the notification order remaining in force.
Holyoake provided an insurance policy that purported to cover security for damages, but the policy expressly provided that it would not pay out in the event that it was found that Holyoake had acted fraudulently in bringing the claim.
The chancellor has now found this is not sufficient, and ordered proper fortification by way of cash, bank draft or insurance policy without carve out for fraud, within seven days.
An initial, temporary injunction had restrained the Candy brothers and their CPC Group from disposing, dealing or otherwise engaging in transactions with their assets worth more than £1m without giving seven days’ notice to the solicitors representing property developer Mark Holyoake.
But, among the various technical amendments made to the order In May, the limit was raised to £5m.
Holyoake alleges an unlawful conspiracy on the part of the Candy brothers after they loaned him £12m in 2011 to pursue a Belgravia property development.
However, in their defence to the action, the Candy brothers and CPC say that Holyoake settled any claims he may have had in a compromise agreement made in October 2013.
The case is expected to fully come to court in a seven-week trial, expected to begin in February 2017.
In a statement, a spokesperson for CPC Group said it was pleased that the judge found that the application for a worldwide freezing order had “no merit whatsoever”.
The statement said: “The judge described it as an ‘abuse of the court’s process’ and dismissed it without even having to hear arguments from CPC’s lawyers.
“During the application for the freezing order Mr Holyoake also sought to make slanderous and entirely false allegations about the defendants’ businesses and tax responsibilities, relying on the privilege of court to make them. Nick Candy, Christian Candy and Christian’s company, CPC Group have an open relationship with HMRC, and have complied with all their UK tax obligations.”
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