Anders Holch Povlsen (born 1972) is a Danish billionaire who is the CEO and sole owner of the international clothes retailer chain Bestseller (which includes Vero Moda and Jack&Jones), a company founded by his parents, the biggest shareholder in the British internet clothes retailer Asos.com, and second biggest shareholder in German internet clothes retailer Zalando. He is the second-largest individual private landowner in the UK and Scotland’s largest private landowners.
In 2018, Povlsen was the richest Dane according to Forbes.
Anders Holch Povlsen was born in 1972 to Troels Holch Povlsen and Merete Bech Povlsen.[1] The family's first clothes store opened in 1975 in the tiny Danish town of Brande, with a population of just 7,000.[3] Other outlets soon followed. Anders was only 28 when his father made him the sole owner of Bestseller.[3] The family also has an interest, along with two Danish partners, in Bestseller Fashion Group China, a company that designs its own collections for 5,000 stores in China.
In 2018/2019 it was reported that Povlsen owns 221,000-acres (89,000 ha) of land in Scotland, making him the largest landowner.[2][5] This has risen from a 2012 level of 120,000 acres (49,000 ha), when he had bought two further large estates, the 24,000-acre Ben Loyal, and 18,000-acre Kinloch Lodge, both in Sutherland, in addition to a 47,000-acre estate he bought in Inverness-shire in 2006 and a 30,000-acre estate near Fort William that he bought in 2008.[6] Other large Scottish landowners are the Prince of Wales and Hugh Grosvenor, better known as the Duke of Westminster.
In 2013 it was reported that Povlsen had bought the 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) Gaick Estate in Inverness-shire earlier that year, bringing his total to 150,000 acres (61,000 ha), second only to the Buccleuch Estates as Scotland's largest private landowner. In addition, Povlsen had bought land in the Borders specifically to trade it with the Forestry Commission, in return for 1,000 acres of woodland to add to his 43,000-acre Glenfeshie Estate, south of Aviemore. Povlsen bought Glenfeshie in 2006, and expanded it by buying the 4,000-acre neighbouring farm of Killiehuntly.[7]
In 2015 he bought Aldourie Castle on the banks of Loch Ness for £15 million. In October 2016 he bought 18,000-acre Eriboll estate in Sutherland for £7 million.[8]
He plans to combine his ajoining estates and re-wild them.[9]
Denmark
In Denmark, Holch Povlsen owns and resides at the old Constantinsborg Estate west of Aarhus, along with substantial farmland and forests.[10]
Anders Holch Povlsen Anne Storm Pedersen
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Bestseller CEO buys more shares in Zalando
March 13, 2019
Anders Holch Povlsen, the CEO of Danish clothing group Bestseller, has bought shares in Zalando in a transaction totalling around €8.9 million. Povlsen is also the largest shareholder in Asos, holding 27% of its capital shares. The Danish billionaire has a net worth of $6.5 billion, and is ranked 252 on this year’s Forbes Billionaires list.
Zalando said in a regulatory filing that Anders Holch Povlsen acquired shares worth €8.9 million at a price of €34 per share on 6 March. The transaction increases Povlsen’s shareholding in Zalando by 0.03 percentage points to a total of 10.05%. The Danish retail mogul is Zalando’s largest single shareholder, and Swedish investment company Kinnevik is the firm’s majority shareholder with a 31.29% stake.
Povlsen’s decision to increase its shareholding comes amid rumours of a possible sale of Zalando. In the case of a sale, Povlsen would enjoy great gains.
https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Bestseller-CEO-buys-more-shares-in-Zalando,1078304.html