SCOTLAND’S largest private landowner, Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, was caught speeding by police as they filmed a documentary series for the BBC.
Officers filming for the first series of Highland Cops spotted a Volkswagen Caravelle driving above the speed limit on the A836, around Invershin.
In an incident shown in the series’ fourth episode, they clocked Povlsen’s vehicle going at 82mph when the speed limit was 60.
On the BBC series, officers explained to the Danish billionaire: “At that speed, there’s two ways we can deal with it. There’s a fixed penalty, which is three points and a £100 fine.
“Alternatively, if you don’t accept that I can send a report to the court which is in Tain.”
Povlsen (shown below stepping out of his vehicle) accepted the fixed penalty, taking the points on his driving licence and the fine.
The police said they had known who he was “straight away”.
“He does a lot for the Highlands,” the officer went on. “He's invested a lot of money up here, and he's got a really good interest in the environment and protecting the Highlands for what it is. But irrespective of that, we have to treat everybody equally.”
Povlsen – the majority shareholder in online fashion giant Asos – has spent millions buying some 220,000 acres in Scotland, spread across 12 estates.
His first purchase was the 42,000-acre Glenfeshie estate in the Cairngorms, which he bought for £8 million in 2006. The lodge there serves as his private Highland home, according to the BBC.
In 2019, it was reported that Povlsen’s Wildland Ventures Limited, which was set up in 2007 as part of a drive to conserve and protect some of Scotland’s most scenic landscapes, had taken control of the North Coast 500 Ltd.
The billionaire’s project says on its website that it is a “200-year vision of landscape-scale conservation in the Scottish Highlands”.
According to Wildland's accounts, the ultimate parent company is Povlsen's Denmark-based investment firm Heartland A/S.
According to Forbes, Povlsen is the 307th richest person in the world, with a personal fortune of around $7.4 billion (£5.9bn).
Povlsen's also owns retailer Bestseller outright, which is worth some $4bn and sells clothing under brandnames including Jack&Jones, Only and Vero Moda.
In 2019, Povlsen and his wife Anne hit the news after tragically losing three of their four “beloved and beautiful” children in the Sri Lanka terror attacks.
Five-year-old Alfred, Agnes 12, and Alma, 15, were among 253 people killed in a series of blasts targeting churches and hotels in the country on Easter Sunday. Their youngest daughter, Astrid, ten, survived.
