Ders Holch Povlsen might carry a name that sounds more like a game changer on the pitch than off it. But the Danish billionaire’s interest in Dundee United might just have Tangerine fans dreaming of both.
Reports in the ASOS tycoon’s homeland in the last 24 hours have credited the 51-year-old Midtjylland owner with having already undertaken legal and practical checks on what it would take to buy into the Tannadice club. And while there has been no contact between the two parties yet, Povlsen’s interest in adding a British club to his sporting stable is said to be serious.
The Dane has a fortune of over £7billion according to the Sunday Times Rich List – making him not only Denmark’s richest man but also the wealthiest in Scotland too given his estates across the Highlands which make him the country’s largest individual private landowner. His fortunes have been made in retail where he is the largest shareholder in online shopping giant ASOS on top of owning clothing chain Bestseller, Jack & Jones and Vero Mode. Most recently his Heartland company bought 75 per cent of Topshop and Topman from ASOS.
But Povlsen has built up a sporting empire too. His ‘Football Collective’ already includes Midtjylland, African talent academy FC Ebedei based in Nigeria, CD Mafra in the Portuguese second division and FC Fredericia in the Danish lower leagues. Now he is understood to be keen on expanding across Europe. And with his huge land portfolio in Scotland, Dundee United have come into sight.
United owner Mark Ogren admitted a year ago that he has more years behind than in front of him at Tannadice. He is open to external investment. And having seen Hibs boosted by Black Knights billionaire Bill Foley to the tune of £6m and Hearts are set to welcome an even bigger windfall through Brighton owner Tony Bloom, the opportunity for a tie-in with Povlsen would likely be welcomed.
United’s credentials may well have fallen on his lap through Povlsen’s relationship with Brentford’s owner Matthew Benham, whom he bought Midtjylland from just last year. Benham was previously interested in a link-up at Tannadice last season and made contact with Ogren.
Whether Povlsen steps up his own interest remains to be seen. Midtjylland made full use of Povlsen’s Scottish land during the winter when they spent three days in the freezing cold Cairngorms as part of a team building exercise with temperatures dipping as low as -21C. Their ‘mentality coach’, BS Christiansen, said the aim was for the players to find out “who we really are”.
Their experience was documented on their YouTube channel and Danish television. The tycoon’s Scottish estates amount to 221,000 acres according to recent reports – stretching across Sutherland, Inverness-shire and Fort William.
He also owns substantial farmland and forests in his homeland and a section of land in the Carpathian Mountains in Romania where he is said to have created a wilderness reserve for wildlife. Polvsen’s family were struck by tragedy in 2019. Three of his children were killed in the Sri Lanka terrorist attacks in 2019 as they stayed at a luxury hotel which was targeted by suicide bombers.