Property tycoon Nick Candy defects to Reform from Conservatives
Property tycoon Nick Candy has defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK in a boost for the insurgent party.
The former Tory donor, who is married to pop star and ex-Neighbours actor Holly Valance, told The Sun that there has been “too many broken promises and a complete breach of trust with the wealth creators in our country”.
He added that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is a “close personal friend of mine” and that his party “represents the future of British politics”.
According to the red top, Candy has resigned his membership of the Conservative Party.
The move comes after a poll put Reform UK one point ahead of the Labour Party for the first time.
Research by pollsters at FindOutNow put Nigel Farage’s party on 24 per cent, one point above Labour on 23 per cent.
While Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party came higher than both, at 26 per cent, with the Lib Dems on 11 per cent and the Greens on nine per cent.
It’s also been recently reported that Elon Musk is considering donating £78m ($100m) to Reform in the wake of Donald Trump’s election win in the US.
Candy started his property empire with his brother Christian when they used a £5,000 loan from their grandmother to acquire a one-bedroom flat in Redcliffe Square, Earl’s Court.
They later sold it for £172,000 after renovating the flat while living there.
The brothers have since gone on to develop properties including London’s One Hyde Park and NoHo Square, while they oversaw the redevelopment of the former Chelsea Barracks.
They established Candy & Candy in 1999 after Nick left his position in advertising at J. Walter Thompson and Christian gave up his role at investment bank Merrill Lynch.
Nick served as the company’s chief executive while the business was renamed Candy Property in 2018.