Harrods sold to Qatari firm

jane01
By jane01

So my only question is whether we'll get a discount with our Qatari ID cards! How fab would that be!

From Al Jazeera English

Harrods, the iconic London department store, has been sold to Qatari investors in a deal reportedly worth $2.2bn.

Mohamed Al Fayad, the flamboyant Egyptian businessman who has owned Harrods for a quarter of a century, sold the store to Qatar Holding after deciding he wanted to retire and spend more time with his family, his financial advisers said.

Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al Thani, the Qatari prime minister, welcomed the deal during a visit to the store on Saturday.

"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 the British people," he said.

Global brand

Al Fayad had owned Harrods since 1985 and built the business into a globally recognised luxury brand during his time at the helm.

But during his ownership he had a series of disputes with the British establishment. He was unsuccessful in getting British citizenship, and believed that he had been unfairly targeted by UK tax authorities.

Al Fayad is best known in Britain for his belief that his son, Dodi, and Princess Diana, were the victims of an establishment plot when they died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

Al Fayad spent vast sums of money on trying to prove official involvement in the deaths after the accident.

Qatar Holding is Harrods' fifth owner since it opened as a small grocery in 1840.

P.S. Knightsbridge is soon going to be a Qatar Avenue! A friend told me today that Al Jazeera's address is 1 Knightsbridge.

By ademsemir• 10 Nov 2010 23:12
ademsemir

did you know that they used to sell lions in Harrods.

By anonymous• 15 May 2010 02:25
anonymous

all those comments because an other big business is owned by arab hahahhhh.you mix relegion and tradition with the story to make of it a big stinky meal .i feel sick everytime arabs are criticised and religion attacked. guess what arabs are holding on their religion and traditions because they have one while you don`t .you want to be number one ,well you are;the first nation who got sexually transmitted diseases why ???simply because you didn`t learn to shower after an intercourse hhh.

By flanostu• 13 May 2010 02:16
flanostu

can i sit in my car outside and honk my horn to get service?

By kbaisi• 13 May 2010 00:29
Rating: 3/5
kbaisi

@ overpaid. Of course they will, American corporations have been using sweatshops with impunity for several years now and have been very successful profit wise. It's only natural Qatar will follow in the ways of their closest ally when setting up shop abroad.

By anonymous• 12 May 2010 21:20
anonymous

@ s_isale,didn't know that,thank you...would you know which clubs specifically?...

By OverPaid• 12 May 2010 14:32
OverPaid

Soon they will fire all employees there and take some cheap labor from here and pay them 200 dollars a month....

By s_isale• 12 May 2010 08:34
s_isale

gadarene that is how it is in Spain.

By anonymous• 12 May 2010 08:31
anonymous

"So my only question is whether we'll get a discount with our Qatari ID cards! How fab would that be!"

Yes, awesome... then should French people get special discount at the Carrefours in Doha? Lol!

By anonymous• 12 May 2010 07:42
anonymous

@ s_isale,both clubs have a group of super rich fans who've come together to bid for the club,but it's a far from perfect world we live in eh?...in utopia yes,the clubs would belong to loyal fans who can afford the price tag & have the committment to running the club...my point was this,if Liverpool FC were to bought by the Qataris & they were smart about it & DIDN'T interfere in the actual running of the club,leaving that to the professionals,just like the Nahyans have done with Man. City,there is NOTHING stopping Liverpool FC from going back up to the top(a position they have occupied 18 times before,so no strangers to that.),i mean look from where to where Man. City has come in ONE season...but hey,we all live in hope eh?...

By s_isale• 12 May 2010 06:43
s_isale

well sell it to people who support you right. Liverpool and ManU were sold to the americans. Now look where they stand. Two historical clubs going down the drain.

By Amoud• 12 May 2010 00:25
Rating: 5/5
Amoud

AJ London office is 1 Knightsbridge..... quite the location I must say, one of the most sought after locations in London.

By hamadaCZ• 11 May 2010 13:06
hamadaCZ

I have seen the news. Although am not a Tory fan, but am looking forward to see some changes !

By Quiet-times• 11 May 2010 10:41
Quiet-times

Give the Germans a big enough bung and they can move into Buck House too.

Who cares who owns a'rrods? It's not me so why worry?

They now own a ham shop and a pub. Wow. Maybe Garveys will get their license back and we can all get some squiggly tailed beef.

Only fair ain't it?

By kbaisi• 10 May 2010 23:03
kbaisi

@ John of arc No offense, but how feasible do you think your approach is? Have you considered the potential repercussions to UK employees?

The USA has some similar policies to the ME in terms of certain categories of ownership, and it was the main reason Rupert Murdoch acquired US citizenship; he could now legally bypass some of those stringent rules and continue expanding his empire.This would mean the UK would have to also add the USA to the 'no selling list' along with the ME nations. Just the withdrawal of US investments alone on a tit for tat basis would have a huge impact on the UK if they were to implement what you are suggesting. Do you know how many UK citizens would be affected by such an action?

You can't expect foreign commercial laws/policy considerations to be finely tuned to your own national laws/policies, that is just outlandish and an unrealistic approach to the issue. More importantly, you can't expect your politicians to take actions based on 'your feelings'. The reality is Qatar and the like can afford to limit foreign investments in certain sectors and still maintain it's economy whereas the UK can't afford to do that.

By hamadaCZ• 10 May 2010 22:39
hamadaCZ

John,

How did the British nation feel when the British culture and values were imposed on colonial nations ? can you explain to me how come the British museum is so rich archaeologically ? I think we better stop this discussion here and don't dig deeper. a year ago, the PM toured the gulf nations asking them to invest and pump more cash into the European economic wheel because of recession. I know it might be sad to watch the glory of HM Empire fading away but that's life mate...

By kbaisi• 10 May 2010 18:56
kbaisi

@ john de arc if you are suggesting they stop selling it to the arabs specifically then they can't because it goes against the laws of ECHR, which the UK is subjected to, you can't target ethnic groups by the way of law. On the other hand, if you are suggesting they stop selling their prime real estate/companies to foreigners in general, then that is just foolish considering the fact that London's backbone is based on the flow of international currency all over the city.

By PITSTOP• 10 May 2010 18:51
PITSTOP

Owned by a Local as well ..

http://www.onehydepark.com

By motez1• 10 May 2010 16:50
Rating: 3/5
motez1

2.2 billion dollars! How cheap!... If i knew that, I wouldv paid for it myself! :PPPPP.

But on a serious note, I wish Qatar the best of luck and I think its very smart investing in Qatar and out of Qatar.

By hamadaCZ• 10 May 2010 15:55
hamadaCZ

Good point, what about your ancestors who forced their way of life overall the British colonies ? I guess its payback time...

By shahzad_14• 10 May 2010 10:51
shahzad_14

Imagine same like here.

FAMILY DAYs on WEEKENDs :D

By ka78• 10 May 2010 10:32
ka78

i'm waiting for the first burqa clad queen of england...

By flanostu• 9 May 2010 20:48
flanostu

i wonder how the brits will embrace family day.

By one_shot• 9 May 2010 20:36
one_shot

in my home town , we don't have any of these shops or restaurant.

i still remember when a rumer spreaded that we had "Mcdonald"

but after all we discovered that it was "Mdonland"

Ahhhh!!!

yes read it again , it is not the same restaurant. ;)

By one_shot• 9 May 2010 20:33
one_shot

i hope it is a good move, even now there is a lot of UK voices demanding to return back haroods to the "UK Blood"

as they say, and they are boycott this shop like others,

but this company seems strong enough to handle this, wish them luck, and it is a good move.

congratulation....

By one_shot• 9 May 2010 20:33
one_shot

lol

nice one darude, you are reminding me in my 4 violations wich i toke in less than one month :(.

By anonymous• 9 May 2010 20:20
anonymous

???

By anonymous• 9 May 2010 20:16
anonymous

they are architectural wonders

By anonymous• 9 May 2010 20:14
anonymous

with any other shop

By anonymous• 9 May 2010 20:06
anonymous

It's a shop,albeit a big shop @ the end of the day...making a REAL investment & buying Liverpool FC or any other Premier League club up for grabs could be called "magnificent"...quick question,how many people around the planet know of & idolize/worship Harrod's? & consequently how many people know of & support Liverpool FC around the planet?...it's not rocket science really...

By anonymous• 9 May 2010 19:30
anonymous

now

By anonymous• 9 May 2010 19:22
anonymous

investment

By GodFather.• 9 May 2010 19:21
GodFather.

Good luck hope they do well, and have good relationship with the Royals than Fayad had.

By DaRuDe• 9 May 2010 19:19
Rating: 3/5
DaRuDe

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