Povlsen owns the international clothing chain, Bestseller. He is also the biggest single shareholder in clothing giant, Asos, and is the UK’s largest private landowner.
“Unfortunately, we can confirm the reports,” a Bestseller spokesman said in an email to BBC.
“We ask you to respect the privacy of the family and we therefore have no further comments.”
The death toll in the Sri Lanka attacks is now at 290 and while most were Sri Lankan nationals, 36 foreign nationals are among the dead.
The international victims include: At least eight British citizens – including two with joint US citizenship; three Danish citizens; one Portuguese citizen and six Indian nationals.
Also deceased are: two engineers from Turkey; two Chinese nationals; two Australians, one person from the Netherlands and one person from Japan.
