Heather Shunker/Reuters/BI
Crowdmix cofounders Ian Roberts (left), Gareth Ingham (right), and investor Nick Candy.
The company went into administration in July after it was unable to pay its creditors, and wages also went unpaid. It was auctioned off to the highest bidder, which Business Insider has learned is a company controlled by Nick Candy.
Sources inside Crowdmix say staff have been notified that the buyer is 52 Grosvenor Street Limited, a company owned by Candy Ventures SARL.
That means that Candy, who was Crowdmix's main investor, is now totally in control of the music app. He invested over £8 million in the company, and internal meetings were regularly held inside his own offices.
Business Insider speculated in July that Candy may want to buy the company and relaunch the app with a much smaller team, along with the help of cofounder Gareth Ingham. Candy had pushed for more equity and control in the company during fundraising, but CEO Ian Roberts was able to hold firm. Now Candy has complete control over the startup.
Crowdmix fell into administration after spending money on parties, flights, and consultants. It also failed to launch its app, only managing to release an invite-only version before it collapsed.
The company wanted to let users listen to music directly using embedded music players in its app. Users could share tracks, comment, and then see charts change to reflect their listening patterns.
Crowdmix
Nick Candy is one half of the Candy brothers, a well-known pair of property investors who live between London, Beverley Hills, and Monaco.
The Candy brothers own a vast property empire valued at around £9 billion. The luxury developments they own include One Hyde Park and NoHo Square. They've also been criticised for their tax arrangements. Nick's brother Christian Candy once said, "I don't pay tax. I am a tax exile" during a game of Monopoly with a reporter for The Financial Times.