Egyptian-born businessman Mohammed Al Fayed has sold prestigious London department store Harrods to the investment vehicle of the Qatar royal family in a deal reported to be worth around GBP1.5 billion ($2.3 billion).

A spokesman for Lazard, which advised the Al Fayed family trust, declined to confirm the value of the deal which was reported by Sky News, citing unnamed sources.

'After 25 years as chairman of Harrods, Mohamed Al Fayed has decided to retire and to spend more time with his children and grand-children,' Lazard Chairman Ken Costa said on Saturday.

'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.'

Al Fayed, who also owns English soccer club Fulham, bought Harrods in 1985 for about 615 million pounds at a time when the group also owned the House of Fraser department store chain, which was later spun off.

A colourful figure, Al Fayed waged a long campaign claiming his son Dodi and Princess Diana, who died together in a Paris car crash in 1997, were murdered in a conspiracy.

Qatar Holding is the prime vehicle for strategic and direct investments by the State of Qatar. It is an arm of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen its economy by diversifying into new asset classes.

'Our latest acquisition forms part of our effort to realize the vision of His Highness the Emir, and His Highness the Crown Prince, of Qatar. Harrods generates good and stable returns as a business, it will add much value to our international portfolio of investments,' said Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar and chairman of Qatar Holding at a news conference in the store in London's Knightsbridge area.

Qatar Holding, Sheikh Hamad said, will do their best to upgrade this monument, to make it even greater and better for the tourism and the British people.

Dr Hussain Ali Al-Abdulla, vice chairman of Qatar Holding lauded the 'truly magnificent' acquisition. 'Such a rare opportunity does not arise every day and today we celebrate this landmark transaction,' he remarked.

Ahmad Mohamed Al-Sayed, managing director and CEO of Qatar Holding, said: 'We are happy to acquire Harrods, a unique company that combines an iconic luxury brand and one of world's most prestigious retail properties with best-in-class financial metrics.'

'This acquisition further expands our global portfolio of world-leading companies,' Al Sayed stated. Credit Suisse had advised Qatar Holding on the transaction, he added.

“We are delighted to announce that Mohamed Al Fayed has accepted our invitation to become honorary chairman of Harrods,” he said.

“We look forward to working with Michael Ward, Harrods' managing director, and the outstanding team that Mohamed Al Fayed has assembled to continue to maintain Harrods as the world's pre-eminent luxury retailer, Al-Sayed concluded.- Reuters and TradeArabia News Service