People think they need huge cash reserves and decades of experience to mix with the property elite; the reality is most people on the Rich List in property are actually self made. Here is how the Candy Brothers made their millions through property.
Like the Candy Brothers – They used a £6k loan from their grandmother to renovate a £122k flat and sold it for £172k – their first ‘no money down’ property purchase, and their first ‘Joint Venture,’ which they probably couldn’t explain in those terms at that time.
I’m fortunate to co-own over 400 properties, all ‘no money down.’ Or at least ‘none of my own money down.’
And for the Candy Brothers, that was just the start – Delighted with the £50k profit they looked for another wreck to do up, and only 2nd property deal in and they are £90K up on profits. They probably weren’t aware of the smart strategy of buying properties others are put off by.
Or the concept of buying a property under the ceiling price so you have more room to add value.
They might have even stumbled on their now famously specific niche on providing slick and minimalist bachelor pads at the very highest end. The Candy Brothers were among the first property developers to introduce fingerprint recognition door locks and now have an entire innovations department.
They found a specific, targeted buyer, chose the high end where value ceilings could be smashed, and had the right strategy for the right time of the market. All of which can be learned. They bought flats in Mayfair and Chelsea, stuffing them with gadgets, state of the art security and sumptuous décor, then selling them at £2000 per square foot to Russians wanting to move their money to the UK.
Despite starting with no experience the Candy Brothers became known for the high end market (which didn’t get hit as hard in the recession) and created an exclusive brand that started to attract wealthy passive investors wanting to come to the party and get similar returns.
They probably didn’t intend at the outside to ‘Joint Venture,’ with wealthy investors. I certainly never knew that Mark Homer would be the single door I’d need to open to build a property empire. This lead the Candy Brothers to set up companies for property joint ventures with the super rich.
They amassed enough money to put up £13million for a former BT telephone exchange which they converted into 6 luxury boutique flats. After a simple planning gain, they had it revalued at £25million. They currently have hundreds of properties at different stages of development from Monaco to Moscow to Majorca, the south of France, Ukraine, Barbados and Grenada – not to mention recent forays into the Far East and the US.
They JV’d with investment from the group Qatari Diar on One Hyde Park, who paid almost £1billion for a plot which the Candy’s designed and built, and are now selling 320 private apartments for an average of £10million a go.
How did they get knowledgeable about the habits of the super rich?
They learned it by ‘studying the rich’ says Nick Candy. “Every day we’re learning. Our learning curve is so steep. The minute I stop learning I’ll be bored”. They ‘accidentally,’ discovered buy to sell, future proof high end niche-ing, commercial to residential conversion, Joint Ventures and ‘no money down investing.’
All now taught by Progressive Property so you can get similar, if possibly smaller scale, results.
Would the Candy Brothers sell now and sit on hundreds of millions of pounds?
‘No’ say’s Nick Candy – they are long term players and like what they do and have no intention of slowing down.
What’s your next (first step) going to be?
A lack of knowledge, experience or money are no longer valid excuses…
