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Press and Journal
16-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Major Highland landowner Anders Holch Povlsen sees wealth soar by almost £1 billion
A list of Scotland's richest people shows major Highlands landowner Anders Holch Povlsen has grown his net worth by almost £1 billion in the past year. The new Sunday Times Rich List 2025 reveals he has retained his position as Scotland's richest person. Meanwhile, media and television personality Georgia Toffolo is ranked as the wealthiest person in Scotland under 40, after marrying Brewdog co-founder James Watt earlier this year. The top entrepreneurs from the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeen have been unveiled ahead of Sunday's magazine which will list the 350 richest in the UK. Fashion billionare Anders Holch Povlsen is Scotland's largest private landowner, owning more than 220,000 acres of land – including a dozen of Highland estates. He remains Scotland's wealthiest man with a fortune of £7.7bn. His home, Aldourie Castle, sits on the shores of Loch Ness. Anders' Highland company Wildland Limited posted pre-tax losses of £8.1 million for the year ending July 31 2024. His wealth stems from the Danish fashion retailer Bestseller, founded by his father, Troels Holch Povlsen, in 1975. Anders, 52, is now chief executive and sole owner of the business. He also has a stake in the struggling fast-fashion outfit Asos. He is the 23rd richest person in the UK. Chairman of Moray-based distiller William Grant and Sons, Glenn Gordon is the second richest person in Scotland. The family firm owns brands including Glenfiddich and Grant's whisky, Drambuie, Hendrick's gin and Sailor Jerry rum. The Glenfiddich chief has seen a £779m rise of net worth in the past 12 months. Aberdeen oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood has seen a slight rise to his fortunes in the past year. The third wealthiest in Scotland, 80-year-old Sir Ian was born in Aberdeen and is behind Granite City firm Wood, which is currently subject to a takeover bid. This year, the billionaire picked up the 2025 Significant Contribution Award at the Offshore Achievement Awards (OAAs). Lord Laidlaw is a Keith-born businessman and a former member of the House of Lords who has seen his wealth drop by £11m in the past year. The founder of the Institute for International Research (IIR), which became the world's largest conference and training company. He sold the firm in 2005 for around £770m to Informa Plc and is the 10th wealthiest person on the Sunday Times Scottish list. Georgia Toffolo ranked as the wealthiest person under the age of 40 in Scotland. The reality TV star has seen her net worth soar as the list values hers, and her husband James Watt, wealth as a couple The number of billionaires has dropped for three successive years and now sits at 156. The list of 350 individuals hold a combined wealth of £772.8bn – down by 3% in the 37th edition. Sunday Times Rich List compiler Robert Watts said: 'Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling. 'We are also finding fewer of the world's super rich are coming to live in the UK. 'Homegrown young tech entrepreneurs and those running centuries-old family firms are also warning of serious consequences to a range of tax changes unveiled in last October's budget. 'Our research continues to find a wide variety of self-made entrepreneurs building fortunes not just from artificial intelligence, video games and new technologies but also mundane, everyday items such as makeup, radiators and jogging bottoms.'
The Guardian
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Dame Denise Lewis: ‘I love an apple crumble – just don't talk to me while I enjoy myself'
I was a naughty athlete. Ask Daley [Thompson] and Linford [Christie]: they didn't drink, and they still don't drink. Not a drop passes their lips. Those are the consummate athletes. I was a mischievous athlete. You know the little miniature bottles of Drambuie? My roommates would notice at the end of a competition that Lewis would have a little Drambuie. Delicious! But when I won the gold medal [at the 2000 Olympics] I actually had a bottle of bubbly for that. My roomies must have thought it was going to happen, so they had a little bottle for me. My early memories are of food associated with my heritage and my mum: a lot of big flavours, a lot of curry chicken. One dish I can actually taste in my mouth now is snapper, which is a very popular fish in the Caribbean. Especially on Good Friday – we only had fish, so she would prepare whole snapper in a pan, with onions, peppers, a lot of black pepper and fish seasoning. It was just heaven. Whether you ate it hot or cold, that snapper would just be exquisite. My mum worked two jobs, but we'd stock up at the weekend and she was probably batch-cooking a bit. So up early to the market and on the bus, because my mum didn't drive. I was part of a team: Mama and I carried the bags – I think that's where my early weight-training days came into play. We'd go to the big marketplace in Wolverhampton: the butchers, fresh produce, that fresh fish smell. I hated the smell, but looking back, I didn't realise how blessed we were really. It's well documented: I love an apple crumble. An apple crumble, with cinnamon and custard – mmmm! Just don't talk to me while I enjoy myself. My boys are 18 and 16, 6ft 4in and 6ft 2in. They're big boys, and you can't shop enough. They'll go through half a pack of bacon and four eggs, and that's just one of them. I'm like, 'Have you seen the price of eggs?' So now I keep the really good eggs for myself, but I literally have to squirrel them away. I hide my Burford Browns in the top cupboard. He'll probably read this now and know where they are. But we have talked about it in jest: let's get some chickens, because this is the only way we're going to stave off that insatiable appetite. I had the privilege of being a guest judge on Great British Menu. Oh. My. Goodness. I was so excited. I don't think they even got the words out before I was like, 'Yeah, I'm there.' You think you can cook until you see a professional. It's all in the sauces, isn't it? It's just genius. If I'm cooking, I love a little G&T, prepared well. It's an occasion, so the cucumbers will go in, lime, a little bit of music. It's not just flung in the glass. You know everyone's got their stock of really nice glasses they don't really use? I bring mine out for the G&T. It's my moment, my time, the G&T moment. How often are G&T moments? This is not a therapy session. And you don't need to know. As and when. I know I look well. But definitely my body has changed. It's not as lean as it used to be, but that's OK, because I'm not training for a purpose any more. I'm not trying to be the best athlete in the world. When you retire, there is an element of blowout, because I lived a very routine, meticulous but not obsessive lifestyle: sleep, food, rest, recovery, all part of the big game. And, naturally, you can't sustain that to the levels you used to do, and I wouldn't want to. So I'm glad I had that period [after retiring] where I danced with the devil for a bit. I delved into the fun side of food, which is great. FoodOxtail with rice and peas, the Caribbean dish. It's just divine and very comforting. And, actually, we talk about the importance of collagen: back in the day, that's where you'd get your collagen, by sucking that bone dry. So I'd say there's health benefits. DrinkMy go-to is a cup of herbal tea. It's the last thing I have at night, no matter where or what time I come in. Place to eatIt's closed now, but I remember having a really fantastic taster menu at Maze, Gordon Ramsay's restaurant. That was exquisite. Dish to makeI've cooked a lot of salmon, and I've got that down pat. Just pan-fried salmon, very easy, but the key with fish is not to overdo it, so it's still succulent. Some wilted spinach, a little squeeze of lemon at the end and maybe a herb salt. I feel very saintly when I've done that. Adaptability: Seven Lessons for Success in a World of Competing Demands by Dame Denise Lewis (Piaktus, £25) is out now
