Billionaire property tycoon Nick Candy loaned £6.5 million to music startup Crowdmix

Crowdmix, the London music startup that recently lost its CEO and laid off 8% of staff, has tried to keep its investors a secret.

But Business Insider has learned that in 2015 the startup received £6.5 million from a company owned by billionaire property tycoon Nick Candy, one of the Candy brothers.

Crowdmix is building a social network that's focused around music. Fans can create communities, known as "crowds," about their tastes, and see which songs are most popular. The app also lets people stream songs directly through the platform.

A financial disclosure document filed with Companies House shows that Candy Ventures, a company owned by Nick Candy, loaned Crowdmix £6.5 million, with the option to convert that into shares in 2017.

If Crowdmix is unable to pay back that loan, then the brothers are legally entitled to seize the company's assets.

Crowdmix initially denied that the Candy brothers gave the company money, but after Business Insider pointed out the document filed with Companies House, Crowdmix said that it does not comment on the identity of its investors. It says that its investors "are made up of angel investors and high net worth individuals."

A spokesperson for the Candy brothers told us, "Candy Ventures maintains a portfolio of private investments across a number of sectors and as such we do not comment on the nature of these."

The Candy brothers own a vast property empire that has been valued around £9 billion. They own luxury developments including One Hyde Park and NoHo Square. They've also been criticised for their tax arrangements. Christian Candy once said "I don't pay tax. I am a tax exile" during a game of Monopoly with The Financial Times.