Scotland’s wealthiest 'increased their fortunes during pandemic'

Scotland’s wealthiest people saw their fortunes soar over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

Danish retailer Anders Povlsen was named the richest person in Scotland in the latest study, increasing his wealth by £1.27bn to £6bn.

He is named as one of ten billionaires in the Scottish rich list.

Mr Povlsen, who owns more land in the UK than the Queen and the Church of Scotland combined, increased his fortune chiefly off the back of his retail empire, according to the study.

He has a 25% stake in the online fashion giant Asos – which recently acquired the Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge brands – with the bulk of his wealth stemming from the Denmark-based fashion retailer Bestseller.

Lockdown has also proved lucrative for Glenn Gordon and family, owners of the Willian Grant & Sons whisky business.

The family have registered gains of £409m in the past year to lift them to £3.595bn.

John Shaw and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw lifted their wealth to just under £3bn.

Glaswegian Mr Shaw and his wife own a 60% stake in Biocon, an India-based pharmaceuticals business.

Only five of the top 14 spots on the Scottish list failed to increase their fortune.

The Thomson family are listed in seventh at £1.271bn, down £136m and Trond Mohn and Marit Mohn Westlake and family are in eighth at £1.259bn, down £66n.

Jim McColl is tenth at £1bn, no change on last year; Lord Laidlaw is 12th at £787m, no change; and Sir Brian Souter and Dame Ann Gloag are 14th at £650m, down £80m.

The list revealed that there are now a record 171 billionaires in the UK, with Ukranian-born Sir Leonard Blavatnik topping the pile as the richest person in the country.