Qatar investor buys UK department store Harrods

LONDON (Reuters) - The investment arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has bought the famous London department store Harrods from Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed al-Fayed in a deal reported to be worth around 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion). Qatar Holding, the prime vehicle for strategic and direct investments by the State of Qatar, would not confirm the estimated figure reported by Sky News. The country’s prime minister, who is also chairman of Qatar Holding, said there were plans to upgrade the luxury store, popular with tourists and an historic landmark in the upmarket Knightsbridge area of London. “What I can assure you is Qatar Holding will do their best to upgrade this monument, to make it even greater and better for the tourism and also for the British people,” Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani told reporters in an impromptu news conference at the store. He said it will create a “road map” to upgrade Harrods in the next few months. The deal brings to an end 25 years of ownership by al-Fayed, who will become honorary chairman. A COLORFUL FIGURE “Mohamed al-Fayed has decided to retire and to spend more time with his children and grand-children,” Ken Costa, chairman of Lazard International, said in a statement on Saturday. Lazard advised the al-Fayed family trust. “Qatar Holding was specifically chosen by the Trust as they had both the vision and financial capacity to support the long term successful growth of Harrods,” Costa added.

Qatar · 7 May 2010

Linked: Qatar Holding LLC