Land Scotland: Scotland's largest landowner Anders Holch Povlsen and the changing the face of a Highland village

Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen is transforming the village of Tongue in Sutherland after a “difficult start” in the community, but as relations improve, some remain sceptical about the impact of Scotland’s largest landowner.

Land Scotland: Scotland’s largest landowner Anders Holch Povlsen and the changing the face of a Highland village

Scotland’s largest landowner Anders Holch Povlsen is due to expand his empire in a Highland village in 2024 as new homes are built, work on a £10.5 million health centre begins and expansion of his multi-million pound tourism business continues to deepen the Dane’s mark on the far north of Scotland.

Wildland Ltd, the company set up by Mr Povlsen to manage his 220,000 acres – roughly 90,000 hectares – said it was due to be a “busy” year, with the focus chiefly on several core projects in Sutherland where the fashion tycoon owns seven separate estates.

Another five estates are held across the Cairngorms, with his land bringing together his large-scale nature restoration work with a ‘Scandi-Scot’ style of high-end hospitality and Mr Povlsen’s own personal retreats.

A request from The Scotsman to interview an intensely-private Mr Povlsen ahead of the Scottish Government’s publication of the coming Land Reform Bill, which aims to tackle concentrated patterns of landownership and accountability of landowners, was declined, with no direct contribution to the consultation on the draft legislation made by the billionaire or Wildland, who instead answered a series of questions about their work and vision.

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In Tongue, some claim relations have improved with the company after a “difficult start”. Members have told The Scotsman they believe Mr Povlsen has invested in the community in a way no other landowner in this part of the Highlands – a touchstone in Scotland’s turbulent history of landownership – has in this lifetime. However, some reservations about his power and monopoly in the area do remain.

In Tongue, the old RBS branch has been converted into a Wildland office and two flats for staff, with plans also for a hot-desking space to meet local needs. The site of the old Burr’s general store will be developed as a key stop on the North Coast 500, with a self-serve petrol pump now operational outside, bringing fuel 28 miles closer than before for locals and tourists.

Around 100 people attended a recent event on the future of the Burr’s site, which some claim reflects growing support for Wildland’s work – and a step change from its purchase 12 years ago of Kinloch estate and shooting lodge, which was first built for the Duke of Sutherland. Plans were met with surprise and scepticism by some who considered Wildland staff of the day abrasive.

Frances Gunn, chair of UpNorth! Community Development Trust, said progress had been made on community relations.

She said: “After a difficult start where Wildland tried to impose their will on our community; communication and thus relationships have improved. After so many years of no investment in the area, it is encouraging to see a major land owner recognising that with rights and control come responsibilities. As a development trust, we welcome all sustainable development to regenerate our community and Wildland is part of that.”

Mr Povlsen has directly backed several young business people in the area, with Wildland making loans and donations to local causes, usually without fuss or the need for recognition. The Povlsen family have a “fundamental belief” they can make a positive difference, Wildland said, with such grants helping communities become “vibrant places”, which is also good for growth.

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When Strathnaver Museum faced a crisis in its refurbishment due to a legal issue, Wildland approved a loan following a single phone call. Meanwhile, when a window at the 17th-century St Andrew’s Kirk needed an urgent repair, Wildland supplied the labour and materials for the job.

It was at this kirk that Mr Povlsen and his wife, Anne, attended a service following the appalling tragedy of the loss of three of his four children in the Sri Lankan Easter terrorist bombing of 2019. In Tongue, they prayed for the family and opened a book condolence for them.

This year, work is due to begin on a £10.5m care home and GP surgery following a deal struck between Wildland, NHS Highland and Highland Council, which will rent the building back from Wildland.

Eight family homes will also be built nearby, with six created for Wildland employees – the firm employs 86 people – with two potentially being made available to a community trust.

Mr Povlsen objected to the original location of the much-needed replacement care home, first called for 20 years ago, which would hamper views from his Lundie’s House boutique hotel.

Campaigners who lamented the poor ‘no frills’ design and lack of parking at the proposed care home asked the Countess of Sutherland, who died in 2019, for a piece of land in a better spot, but she declined.

Wildland found an alternative site, which they then bought from the Church of Scotland and brought in its own architects to create a larger development. It bought the piece of land by the hotel with the land to be kept as open space. The purchase of local authority land concerned some at the time.

Ngaire Mingham, of Caladh Sonah Action Group, said: “It is my personal opinion, but shared by many others, that we would never get the replacement health hub and care facility without Wildland investment.

“Everything they have built or restored locally has been done to the highest standard and is aesthetically pleasing, blending in with the local environment. The CSAG has campaigned for a rebuild of the care home since 2006, and 20 years later in 2026 it is to become a reality.”

Wildland attends quarterly community meetings along with Tongue Estates and Melness Crofters’ Estates, which Mr Povlsen took on in an unsuccessful judicial review of Highland Council’s approval for Sutherland Spaceport on their land. It later emerged he put £1.5m into the rival Shetland Space Centre on Unst.

Dr Josh Doble, policy director at Community Land Scotland, said there had been “quite a fraught situation” between Wildland and local communities in a number of areas Mr Povlsen owns land.

He said: “Local people are wary of speaking out against someone as powerful as Povlsen, who can use his wealth to fund local services like a doctors surgery/care home to curry favour with local service providers and politicians. It can lead to a dangerous situation in which a powerful landowner could feel untouchable.”

Mr Doble added: “A monopoly landowner such as Anders Povlsen in Tongue does not further land reform, it does not build community wealth, it is not empowering communities – it is the same dynamic that has existed for hundreds of years.”

Tim Kirkwood, chief executive of Wildland Ltd, said leaving a “positive long-term legacy” for communities in the Highlands was “central to Wildland’s 200-year vision for landscape-scale restoration”.

He said: “Wildland has been and remains determined to improve relationships and to understand how we can play a positive role as part of a wider connected community. With everything, it takes time to build trust and confidence, and most of all we have listened and tried our best to learn from any oversights that have been made unintentionally.”

Mr Kirkwood said Tongue had “struggled over decades with population decline and availability of good quality jobs for local people – linked trends that we hope to be able to play a small part in helping to reverse”.

He added: “Like other local businesses and organisations that care deeply about Tongue and the surrounding region, we’re seeing growing optimism in certain areas. We’re delighted to be playing any part, alongside our neighbours with the same commitment and mindset, to help make that happen. We look forward to doing what more we can to support this further in the future.”