Worth £4bn, so why DID he get £2.5m of public cash?
HE has spent a fortune buying up huge swathes of the Highlands. But for billionaire Anders Hoch Povlsen, it really is a case of ‘speculate to accumulate’.
The Danish tycoon’s decision to purchase more than 200,000 acres across the North of Scotland has netted him millions of pounds in public grants.
He has received more than £2.5 million in awards – funded by the taxpayer.
The 44-year-old, who is estimated to be worth more than £4 billion, was handed money from both the Scottish Government and the Euro
‘Absurd to dish out taxpayers’ money’
pean Union. He has been given the public cash – the awards range from just £139 to £1.6 million – to use his private land to further his dream of ‘rewilding’ Scotland.
It included funding to plant trees, rear cattle and use more environmentally-friendly cultivation techniques.
Mr Povlsen, who has bought 218,364 acres of the Highlands since 2006, is Scotland’s second biggest private landowner, just behind the Duke of Buccleuch.
Last night, representatives for Mr Povlsen, owner of international fashion business Bestseller, insisted he was entitled to the cash and said it was being put to good use. However, critics hit back, calling it ‘absurd’.
His land grab began in 2006 with the acquisition of 42,000-acre Glen Feshie estate in the Cairngorms.
In 2008, he spent £15.5 million on another three – Braeroy near Fort William, nearby Tulloch and Lynaberack in the Cairngorms.
He then bought Kinloch near Tongue, Sutherland, with its 19,000 acres in 2011 for £5.1 million.
Next, he snapped up 24,000-acre Ben Loyal for £6.9 million and also added the 20,000-acre Gaick estate in the Cairngorms.
In 2015 he paid another £15 million for Aldourie Castle on the shores of Loch Ness.
Last year, Mr Povlsen also bought the Eriboll, Polla and Strathmore estates in Sutherland.
Recent accounts value his company Wildland Ltd at £103 million.
Using a mix of published sources and data obtained using Freedom of Information laws, The Scottish Mail on Sunday found that Mr Povlsen and his companies have successfully applied for public grants from EU and Scottish Government funding pots. Awards have been made under various headings, including ‘Encouragement of tourism activities’ and ‘Payments to farmers in areas with handicaps other than mountain areas’.
He was also given cash for ‘Other direct aids’ and ‘First afforestation of agricultural land’.
The largest single grant was £1,619,706 paid to Glen Feshie Estate Ltd, for ‘Investment in forest area development and improvement of the viability of forests’. The smallest – £139.80 – came under the same heading.
Other benefits flowed from more familiar farming subsidies that form part of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. ‘Single area’, ‘basic payment’ and single farm payment schemes netted him £698,000. A Rural Priorities scheme, which gives money for projects that bring environmental, social or economic benefits, added £186,000.
All in all, Mr Povlsen’s network of estates and companies received just over £2,587,000 in agricultural grants between his first estate purchase in 2006 and February 2017.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘This shows how absurd it is to dish out taxpayers’ money in subsidies to protect favoured industries or meet spurious climate targets. ‘Now that we are leaving the EU we have an opportunity to reform sectors like agriculture and start to withdraw subsidies so taxpayers’ cash doesn’t line the pockets of rich landowners.’ Tim Kirkwood, chief executive officer of Mr Povlsen’s Wildland organisation, said: ‘Grants allocated to Wildland projects make up less than 1 per cent of the total investments by Wildland. ‘All investments and grants remain in Scotland and the lasting benefits are there for the nation.’