Real estate magnate: Nick Candy with his wife Holly Valance
It is the latest development in the bitter High Court showdown between Nick Candy, one of Britain’s best-known property developers, and Robert Bonnier, a controversial dealmaker and fallen star of the dotcom boom.
For more than a year, the two former business partners have traded furious legal blows amid the failure of a tech startup that promised to revolutionize social media.
Candy, who is married to Australian singer and actress Holly Valance, accused Bonnier of fraud after he was convinced to make a multimillion-dollar investment in fledgling social media company Aaqua.
Dutch-born Bonnier returned fire with a £150 million lawsuit alleging that Candy’s efforts to freeze his assets around the world caused his business “irreparable harm”.
Now, in a major escalation of hostilities, it can be revealed that Candy has accused Bonnier’s wife Nashida of carrying out a series of “artificial trades” in shares of podcast company Audioboom, which Candy claims “bears the seal” of “laundering negotiation”. – a form of market abuse.
Bonnier has strenuously denied the “egregious allegations”, while his spokesperson has said the transactions were normal transactions.
The Mail on Sunday can also reveal that Bonnier, a former investment banker, is now fighting on two fronts after an investment group behind Aaqua filed bankruptcy petitions against him and his wife.
Candy, 51, is best known for developing One Hyde Park, a luxury apartment block in Knightsbridge, central London. When it opened in 2011, it was dubbed “the most expensive building in the world.” The properties within were valued at a total of £2 billion.
Bonnier, 54, was one of the city’s most prominent young businessmen. He founded online business directory Scoot, which was worth more than £2bn at the height of the dotcom boom before its shares plummeted and he ran out of cash.
Last night, Candy said that Bonnier “must be held accountable.” She said numerous prominent investors have suffered “substantial losses” in Bonnier’s schemes over decades.
In 2004, Bonnier was fined £290,000 by the City regulator for misleading the stock market and in 2008, banks repossessed his £11 million London home. It was Britain’s biggest recovery.
Despite such setbacks, sources say he has continued to enjoy the lavish lifestyle of a super-rich tycoon in recent years, with an apartment in Paris, private jet flights and stays in sumptuous hotels.
In fact, Bonnier and his wife are such valued customers of the five-star Mandarin Oriental Jumeira in Dubai (having spent tens of thousands of pounds on an extended penthouse stay) that a palm tree by the hotel’s pool bears a plaque in honor of “Mr. and Mrs. Bonnier”.
Founded by Bonnier in 2020, Aaqua promised to “fundamentally reset” social media and connect “creators” with major brands. Candy’s investment in February 2021, through his company Candy Ventures (CVS), involved a deal in which he sold £6.8 million worth of Audioboom shares in exchange for a stake in Aaqua.
Candy, however, claims that Bonnier convinced him to invest by repeatedly and falsely claiming that Apple and French luxury goods empire LVMH were about to invest money in the company. Apple and LVMH were described as “founding partners” in one document, while another suggested that together it is claimed they could buy around £675m worth of Aaqua shares. Candy accused Bonnier of “false” and “fraudulent” statements.
In recent legal revelations, Bonnier’s lawyers said he met Apple bosses Steve Jobs and Tim Cook in 1999. Talks with LVMH boss Bernard Arnault – the world’s richest person – or members were said to have of his family, took place at “multiple social events.”
Big spenders: Robert Bonnier with his wife Nashida
Bonnier vehemently denies “all allegations of fraud” and says he “honestly” believed Apple, LVMH and others could be partners once Aaqua had been able to demonstrate “proof of concept.”
Candy added: ‘Bonnier claimed throughout that Apple was investing in Aaqua. He made these claims to CVS, to many other investors, to executives he was trying to hire, and to his own shareholders. Bonnier has now been forced to admit that his only interaction with Apple consisted of two meetings, including a ten-minute conversation with Tim Cook, that took place 25 years ago, in 1999.
Meanwhile, court documents reveal that Candy accused Aaqua and Nashida Bonnier of a series of “artificial trading” of Audioboom shares in an attempt to increase its value.
The legal documents allege that in an attempt to “increase the market value” of Aaqua’s shares in Audioboom and generate funds for its holding company, “a series of artificial transactions in those shares were arranged between Aaqua and third parties, including the wife of the Mr. Bonnier, who bear the hallmarks of an illegal process known as “wash trading.”
Wash trading is when a trader sells and buys the same stock to give a false impression of market demand.
Last night, Candy said he complained to the Financial Conduct Authority, but the regulator refused to investigate.
Speaking to the Ministry of Industry, Candy said: ‘The evidence of market abuse is clear. My legal team immediately notified the FCA and provided all trading information showing how Bonnier and his wife were artificially manipulating the market. The FCA has done nothing.”
Bonnier’s adviser, Joel Hogarth of Eliot & Luther, said Aaqua had “compelling evidence” that the trades were “normal” transactions.
The FCA said it could not comment on “ongoing litigation” but added: “We take market abuse concerns seriously.” The Ministry of Finance has also learned that investment group All Active Asset Capital (AAAC), which owns a 35 per cent stake in Aaqua, has initiated bankruptcy proceedings against the Bonniers.
In December, the High Court ordered Robert Bonnier to repay a £1.3 million short-term loan he received from AAAC and for the couple to pay more than £100,000 in costs.
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