Who are the Candy Brothers?

Holly Valance and husband Nick Candy

The Candy Brothers are property developers who have built luxury apartments in London and in the US.

The brothers have never disclosed their wealth, but they are thought to be worth more than a billion pounds.

Born in the early 1970s, they grew up in Surrey where their father ran an art studio and advertising production firm.

Their interest in property started in 1995 when Nick Candy was working in advertising and Christian was an investment banker.

Together they developed properties in London part-time, but within a few years were successful enough to make property full-time occupations.

Nick Candy (left) and Christian Candy

In 2006, in partnership with a Qatari investor, they embarked on their most high profile deal, One Hyde Park, in central London.

It involved demolishing an existing building in Knightsbridge and building 86 luxury flats with a reported starting price of £20m. The penthouse property was reported to have been sold for £140m.

Their business has hit problems over the years. They fought a lengthy legal battle over the development of the Chelsea Barracks site in London.

The brothers accused the Qatari royal family of dropping the £3bn plans for Chelsea Barracks in London after Prince Charles objected to the modernist development.

The won a partial victory in 2010.

One Hyde Park has some of London's most expensive flats

Also in 2010, they lost millions of dollars on a property deal in Beverley Hills California, admitting that they overpaid for the site, but were also undermined by the collapse of one of their investors, the Icelandic bank Kaupthing.

The personal life of older brother Nick Candy gained media attention after he married the Australian singer and actress Holly Valance.

She played Felicity Scully, also know as Flick, in the soap opera Neighbours from 1999 to 2003 and also made it through to the final rounds of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in 2011.

Ms Valance married Nick Candy in Beverley Hills in 2012. Hundreds of guests attended the ceremony and were entertained by singer Katy Perry who was paid £1.2m to perform.

Christian Candy married Emily Crompton, described as a socialite and former nightclub hostess, in 2010.