Nick Candy sells Chelsea home for record price
Deirdre Hipwell, Damian Shepherd And Jack Sidders
Nick Candy sold his family’s home in London’s exclusive Chelsea district to an anonymous buyer for more than £270 million ($517 million); this is believed to be the largest single home sale in history.
The British entrepreneur’s estate is located on two acres of land where the residence of England’s first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, once stood. It has been landscaped to mimic a large country estate.
Social media posts from Candy’s design company show a lake and swimming pool on the grounds, as well as original Georgian details inside the property.
Although the home was never officially marketed, demand for the property was so high that multiple offers were received, according to people familiar with the transaction who asked not to be named due to confidential matters.
Candy declined to comment. Marcus O’Brien of UK Sotheby’s International Realty, who apparently managed the transaction, was reached for comment but could not be reached.
The purchase price dwarfs the £210 million ($402 million) paid in 2020 for a mansion overlooking London’s Hyde Park owned by the family of Hui Ka Yan, founder of failed developer China Evergrande Group. The second-largest ever luxury home sale in London took place in 2024, when a house in Regent’s Park, a 40-room property previously owned by a member of the Saudi royal family, sold for £139 million.
This also tops the nearly $240 million sale of a New York penthouse to hedge fund manager Ken Griffin.
Candy’s sale dwarfs recent local sales. The most expensive house sale in London last year was the £41 million mansion purchased by Charles Lorenceau, founder of private equity firm Ace & Co, while American fashion designer and film director Tom Ford bought the Chelsea mansion in 2024 for over £80 million.
Last year, many of London’s most notable house purchases took place in attractive residential areas in West London, close to Candy’s former home. A flat in new apartment blocks in Chelsea sold for £25m at the end of last year, albeit at a more than 50 per cent discount to the asking price in early 2025.
High property taxes have helped reduce demand for the capital’s most expensive homes. Last year was the second year since 2011 that no sales of more than £50 million were recorded, according to data from property company LonRes.
According to LonRes, deals worth £5 million or more were 55 per cent lower in February than in the same month last year, and “activity had been trending lower for months”. The number of homes with that price tag on the market in February was 10 percent higher than a year ago, and inventory levels were well above the long-term average.
Nick Candy and his brother Christian are known for developing One Hyde Park, which opened in 2011 and has sold flats for tens of millions of pounds.
Lately, Candy has been turning its attention to luxury development projects in the Middle East. Candy London, the interior design and development management firm that designed the recently sold home, has also undertaken smaller-scale projects in London, New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere.
Other trophy real estate assets include the flagship duplex penthouse at One Hyde Park and The Reserve property in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles.
Candy, who also serves as honorary treasurer of the Reform UK political party, previously lived at the property with his wife Holly Valance. The couple announced their divorce last year.
Bloomberg
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