Strange plan for £3bn Europe’s tallest skyscraper 34ft higher than the Shard

A Danish fashion giant was on the verge of constructing one of the tallest towers Europe has ever seen.

At 1,050 feet it would have been 34ft higher than The Shard building in London and the tallest skyscraper in Western Europe.

The huge tower was going to be the new head office of the fast-fashion company Bestseller.

The plan was to build it in the small town of Brande, which has a population of just 7,394.

The skyscraper was the brainchild of Anders Holch Povlse, the fashion giant’s owner and the richest man in Denmark.

He boasted the skyscraper would put Brande firmly on the world’s map and commissioned the renowned architectural firm Dorte Mandrup to design and build it.

Planning permission was granted back in 2019 and construction was expected to be completed by 2023.

The imposing skyscraper would have included a hotel, office block and shopping centre.

It would have been visible from 37 miles away, given the flat surrounding landscape that is a characteristic feature of Jutland.

Visitors to Jelling, the royal seat of Harald Bluetooth, the Viking king who united Denmark, would have seen its slender form, as would have visitors to Legoland.

Locals were delighted at the prospect of having their very own skyscraper and the plan was universally well received.

“It’s hard to find anybody here who is opposed to the tower. Everybody thinks it’s a fantastic idea, and me too,” Morten Dickmann, a reporter for the local newspaper, told The Guardian at the time.

“The Danish news media tried hard to find someone opposed, but they couldn’t find anyone.”

Unfortunately, the outbreak of the Covid pandemic put a spanner in the plans, which were eventually ditched in 2020.

The Bestseller company was founded in 1975 and today has roughly 2,800 branded retail stores in 44 countries.

The family firm employs more than 22,000 people working across design, logistics, sales, technology and other functions.