Savills stays silent on valuation allegation and High Court order

Savills is remaining silent on the issues surrounding the apparent filing of a High Court order that may oblige the agency to hand over emails, texts and other documents relating to a legal battle involving the Candy developers.

According to The Guardian, the High Court order from businessman Mark Holyoake follows his earlier accusation that Christian and Nick Candy - the developer brothers behind the high profile Candy & Candy business - extorted him.

Holyoake claims the Candys required him to make excessive loan payments on a property development and then cut him out of profits on the deal.

The newspaper says Holyoake has recently applied to the High Court for the disclosure of documents ahead of what may be a separate legal action by him against Savills.

Separately, Business Insider UK reports that it has seen documentation relating to the High Court application: it suggests that possible legal action by the businessman against the estate agency - if it happens - could be “for alleged breach of confidentiality, misuse of private information, and breach of contract.”

Both press reports suggest the core of the latest dispute surrounds an allegation that Savills staff allegedly passed on information about the value of a home owned by Holyoake on the island of Ibiza. Holyoake was a client of Savills.

Business Insider says Holyoake’s submission to the High Court includes the statement: "I am concerned that the evidence...shows that Savills breached its legal obligations to me, and there is good evidence to suggest that they were also involved in the conspiratorial actions of the Candy Brothers."

The suggestion in the application to the High Court is that if Savills had passed on such information, it may have made Holyoake more vulnerable to alleged financial pressure from the Candy brothers.

Holyoake is believed to have named a senior Savills director who is said to have had lunch with one of the Candy brothers.

During the earlier trial involving Holyoake and the brothers, Nick Candy is reported to have said of the valuation: "I can’t remember whether I was offered it by Savills or whether I asked for it. But either way, I acknowledge it was wrong." 

Christian Candy also acknowledged at the trial that the valuation was a confidential document which he should never have seen.

Savills declined to comment to The Guardian and Business Insider, and a spokeswoman for the company has told Estate Agent Today: “We do not comment on matters which are the subject of legal proceedings.”

You can see The Guardian article here and the Business Insider article here.

The Holyoake v Candys trial lasted nine weeks and concluded in April; judgement is expected later this year.