Property developer Christian Candy has denied telling one story about his brother Nick’s involvement in his business to the tax authorities and another story about the situation to others.
Candy was speaking from the witness stand at the start of the fifth week of a court case brought against him, his brother and Christian’s company CPC Group by former business associate and businessman Mark Holyoake.
Today he was quizzed over an early version of a promotional video for the One Hyde Park development, which was published by the Guardian on 13 June 2016, and is still available on its website.
It was put to Candy by Holyoake’s barrister Roger Stewart QC that, in that “draft video”, he could be heard in clear terms saying that he had visited the One Hyde Park every single week for five years, when his residence in Monaco would have limited the number of nights he could spend in the UK for tax reasons.
Candy said that this was an “exaggeration” in what was intended as a scripted “promotional video”, adding: “There was stuff said in that video clearly to enhance sales. It’s a promotional video – there is some sort of artistic exaggeration here.”
He said that he lived by the tight limits on visits to the UK imposed by the tax legislation, and “wouldn’t come back for pleasure. I came back for work.”
However, when it was put to him that he says different things for different purposes – saying one thing when seeking to make a deal, but something else to the tax authorities – he said: “That’s not true, my lord.”
Candy earlier told the High Court that, although his brother Nicholas Candy is his “lifelong business partner” he is not, and has never been, a director of development company CPC Group.
Asked about references in the video by himself and others that suggested that the Candy brothers operate the development business together, he said: “The media want to sell newspapers and have misrepresented the position over the last 10 or 12 years.”
He said that they had obtained “hundreds, if not thousands” of letters of correction on that point.
Stewart also asked Candy about his late father, following claims by an earlier witness, chartered accountant Clive Hyman, that they had had a difficult relationship.
Candy replied: “That’s the biggest joke I have ever heard. I was beyond close to my father. My nickname for dad was ‘rock star’. I spoke to my father every day. He was the best father.”
He said that the claims made by Hyman in his witness statement had been “malicious”.
Holyoake is suing brothers Mark and Christian Candy for more than £100m, claiming they “coerced” him out of millions of pounds after Christian Candy’s company CPC lent him £12m to buy Belgravia Mansion Grosvenor Gardens House in late 2011.
The Candy brothers strongly refute the allegations and say that Holyoake was an unreliable creditor who lied to them from the start. They say that Holyoake’s allegations of coercion are fabricated.
The trial continues.
• To send feedback, e-mail jess.harrold@estatesgazette.com or tweet @jessharrold or @estatesgazette
