LONDON - Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed has sold world famous west London department store Harrods for £1.5billion, Sky News reports on Saturday. He has sold the exclusive store to Qatari Holdings. Al-Fayed has owned Harrods since 1985 when he bought the store for £615m. The value of the deal - reportedly concluded in the last 24 hours - was not immediately available, but Sky News sources valued it at more than £1.5 billion ($2.5 billion). It was understood that the sale was arranged by Qatar Holdings, the firm used by Qatar's royal family to invest overseas. Mr Fayed, who owned the store for 25 years, denied rumours in recent weeks that he was in talks to sell the London landmark, which covers nearly a city block in the upscale Knightsbridge retail district. Analysts questioned the deal's timing, as Harrods performed well during the recession by continuing to attract wealthy international clients and was not thought to be in financial difficulties. Harrods, though best known for being a huge retail empire, also provides a host of other services, including residential property sales and financial services. Mr Fayed also owns London's Fulham soccer team. His eldest son Dodi, known for being a leisure-loving playboy, was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 with Britain's Princess Diana, who was dating him, soon after leaving the Hotel Ritz Paris - also owned by Fayed.
