Holyoake settles bankruptcy dispute with Candy brothers

Investor Mark Holyoake settled a bankruptcy petition today (25 April) brought by creditors, including property tycoons Nick and Christian Candy. In a hearing that lasted less than two minutes, a lawyer representing the bankruptcy petitioners told Judge Prentis of the Insolvency Court the debt “has been paid in full”. The lawyer confirmed that the final amount that had been paid to settle the debt was £150,000. “I’m glad the saga is now over,” the judge said. He formally discharged the bankruptcy petition and said legal costs will be assessed at a later date. The dismissal of the bankruptcy petition comes more than five years after Holyoake lost a high-profile lawsuit he brought against the Candy brothers (pictured). In the 2017 court case, Holyoake unsuccessfully attempted to sue the brothers, seeking more than £100m. He claimed 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 2011. The Candy brothers refuted the allegations and argued that Holyoake was an unreliable creditor whose allegations of coercion were fabricated. After a three-month trial at the High Court in London, Mr Justice Nugee dismissed Holyoake’s case and told him to pay the brothers’ legal costs of more than £11m. In 2021, the Candys and various directors at CPC issued a bankruptcy petition against Holyoake. At the time, a spokesman for Holyoake said he “has paid the Candy brothers £10m in accordance with the order made by the High Court” but had “suspended” paying the final £1.3m and intended to dispute the bankruptcy petition. Photo © Mark Thomas/Shutterstock