Sri Lanka Easter suicide attacks: Billionaire Asos tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen buries three of his four children

NZ Herald

4 May, 2019 06:40 PM2 mins to read

Three of Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen's children died in the Sri Lanka terrorist attack. The picture of Astrid, Agnes and Alfred was shared by their sibling Alma days before the attack.

A funeral service has been held for the three children of Asos billionaire Anders Povlsen who were killed in the Sri Lanka bombings a fortnight ago.

Povlsen was seen comforting his wife Anne outside Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark on Saturday as coffins of his three children Alfred, Alma and Agnes left in hearses, the Daily Mail reports.

Astrid Povlsen was seen walking with her mother and father, cutting flowers from one of the coffins of her siblings.

Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and members of the Danish Royal Family attended the service.

Just days before the devastating attacks, one of Povlsen's children, Alma, shared a snap of her three siblings Astrid, Agnes and Alfred, next to a pool. Photo / Supplied

The Povlsen family were on holiday in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo when hotels and churches were targeted by suicide bombers on Easter Sunday.

The bombers, who pledged allegiance to Isis, killed over 250 people and injured hundreds more.

Days before the devastating attacks, one of Povlsen's children shared a holiday snap of her siblings next to a pool.

Povlsen, 46, is the second-largest individual private landowner in Britain and Scotland's largest private landowner.

His family have 11 Scottish estates and a castle, covering an astonishing 89,435ha. He is Britain's biggest private landowner, surpassing the Dukes of Atholl with 58,274ha and the Prince of Wales, who owns 52,609ha.

He began building this ever-growing property portfolio 12 years ago, in the autumn of 2006, with the $15.3 million acquisition of Glenfeshie, a 16,996ha patch of the Cairngorms National Park.

Povlsen and Anne are said to have a "200-year vision" for their estates, which involves rewilding the land, reports the Times.

His father, Troels, began his fashion empire with a single store in 1975. Povlsen now employs 15,000 people and owns brands such as Jack & Jones and Vero Moda, along with almost 30 per cent of Asos.