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Britain’s best boss!

Billionaire rewards staff – all 17,000 of them – with an extra month’s wages

By Mike Merritt

HUNDREDS of retail staff in Scotland are to receive an extra month’s wages – thanks to the country’s biggest private landowner.

Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen, who owns 221,000 acres of the Highlands, runs worldwide fashion empire Bestseller.

After it reported record profits, Mr Povlsen, 48, announced he will pay the company’s 17,000 global employees bonuses worth £34 million in total.

Bestseller’s brands include Jack & Jones and Vero Moda. The company reported a net income of £410 million for the 12 months through July – almost nine times more than in the previous fiscal year when the pandemic shut down many of its shops.

In a translated statement, Mr Povlsen said the ‘remarkable year’ was allowing them to pay staff an extra month’s wages.

The bonus was a ‘special recognition of everyone’s effort to get the company through its challenges’, he added. ‘We’ve been able to adapt to the challenges we’ve met and we’ve managed to make the most of the right decisions we’ve made along the way.’

The results, he said, were ‘better than we had expected or had dared hope for’.

‘We have been through some difficult months, but we have fought back in the past year. Everyone has a huge share in it, and it testifies to the very special team spirit we have.’

Bestseller staff in Scotland are set to benefit as it has outlets in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Stirling.

The company has 2,700 branded chain stores across 38 markets worldwide and its products are sold in 15,000 retail outlets.

Mr Povlsen added: ‘I am impressed with the efforts of my colleagues and the way in which everyone has put our values into play.

‘We have delivered through an extraordinary year, where we have been skilled, timely and humble, but have also had a touch of luck that we do not want to underestimate.’

Bestseller was started by Mr Povlsen’s parents, who opened their first store in Ringkobing, Denmark, in 1975. He took over aged 28 and is now the sole owner.

According to Forbes, Mr Povlsen is worth £8.8 billion.

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