The will of Klaus Perch-Nielsen has been revealed as the Dane leaves behind an estate worth a staggering £1.8million.
The former director of iconic confectionary company Lees Foods, famed for their famous coconut covered Snowball and Macaroon Bar ranges, was killed in March when a heavy branch blew from a tree during high winds and struck him as he conducted tree surgery in his garden at Berryfield House in Lentran, around 5 miles outside of Inverness. He was 80.
Of his £1.8million estate, largely made up of various stock investments, Mr Perch-Nielsen has named his wife Lynda as the inheritor of his fortune.
He is survived by his wife and three children Anna, Niklaus and Ingrid and seven grandsons.
At the time of his death, Mrs Perch-Nielsen said: “He was a wonderful father and a wonderful husband, he was an extraordinary man.
“He was a friend to everyone whose life he touched, he was immediately their friend no matter who they were.
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“He was as happy talking to the man who came to clear the drains as he would be with Lord Lovat. That was very Danish of him. We had a wonderful life.”
Included in the £1,806,670.76 inheritance is Mr Perch-Nielsen’s Ranger Rover car, his private number plate and a gun collection, consisting of three shotguns, totalling £36,000.
An investment of 2,250 shares in IT service management company Keywords Studios totals £37,734.30 of his fortune, with larger investments of over £383,000 being made in Youngs & Co Brewery, a British pub chain operating nearly 220 establishments.
Born in Denmark in 1937, Mr Perch-Nielsen served in the Danish Royal Guard Regiment before later moveing to the UK in the early 1960s. He became a part founder of Moray Firth Malting, before taking over Lees Foods in the early 1990s alongside a business partner.
The company, based in Coatbridge and renowned for their sweet treats, released figures in 2015 revealing a turnover of £26million.
Mr Perch-Neilsen’s shares in the company amass to £762,000 of his fortune.
Mrs Perch-Nielson’s brother John Robin Bound referred to him as “the Great Dane,” adding: “He was my brother-in-law and best friend, a very bright light has gone out.
“He could talk to anybody, had time for anybody, always interested in people, their lives – he was interested in everything. Dynamic is a good way to describe him.”
