Aussie soap star Holly Valance's billionaire husband Nick Candy inks new property mega deal

The billionaire husband of Aussie former soap star Holly Valance has struck a mega deal to build new luxury properties in the United Arab Emirates.

Nick Candy, the British developer responsible for some of London’s poshest residences, has struck an agreement through his company Candy Capital.

Nick, 51, and his brother Christian already have form – they have set real estate price records in London with their opulent apartment project One Hyde Park, in Knightsbridge.

Nick, who wed ex-Neighbours‘ star Valance (now Candy) in 2012, reportedly owns the penthouse of One Hyde Park, which costs £175m ($AU340 million). The couple stay mostly out of the limelight and live very privately.

He told a property conference in London in March he only spends 20 days a year in the apartment, according to The Guardian.

Abu Dhabi’s Modon Holding has formed a joint venture with Candy Capital to construct residential, commercial and hospitality properties throughout the UAE and North Africa, Bloomberg reports.

The sites include those already in Modon’s UAE pipeline and some owned by the Candy business.

Nick said his company has a track record of setting new benchmarks in property.

“I was the first to break the £1,000 per square foot mark in London, then the £2000 per square foot, and then £10,000 per square foot. I can move the market,” he said, in Bloomberg’s report.

Nick met Valance in 2010, after she moved overseas for acting and singing gigs, and they share two children.

His company, which includes renovations and interior design for high-net worth clients, is worth £1.5 billion (about AU$2.9 billion).

The move into Dubai will bank on the the city’s increasingly strong pull with wealthy buyers.

The city ranked third in global agency Knight Frank’s prime market forecast for 2024. The agency’s research arm predicts 14 per cent growth in Dubai over the next 12 months, after it topped the list last year.

“The appetite for luxury homes in Dubai continues, with residents and international buyers focusing on the emirate’s most affluent neighbourhoods,” the agency’s Global Prime Residential Forecast report said.

“Inland villas offering luxury living in green settings are also in demand, and now rivalling waterfront properties as the most sought-after property type. This shift in buyer preferences is leading to new prime neighbourhoods…”

Prestige property building in Dubai has been limited, at a volume far below other price points, the report said, which has protected it against economic challenges and helped the market to flourish.

Even in a city known for opulence, the Dubai luxe housing market is still cheaper than competitor markets, Candy said to Bloomberg.

The Candy brothers made their fortune after renovating flats in London in the mid-’90s and had set up their development business by the end of that decade.

Interior design projects for under Candy London have included elegant elegant manors, chic townhouses and super yachts.

One Hyde Park, which hit the market in 2011, was the endeavour that made the Candy siblings a big deal in global luxury real estate.

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