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  1. #1
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    Fayed sells off Harrods for £1.5bn

    Fayed sells off Harrods for £1.5bn
    Maurice Chittenden
    May 9, 2010

    MOHAMED AL-FAYED, a thorn in the side of the British Establishment for a quarter of a century, signalled his plans to retire yesterday by selling Harrods, the London department store, to the Qatari royal family for £1.5 billion.

    The Egyptian billionaire will make what could be his last big public appearance this Wednesday when Fulham, the football club that he owns, play Atletico Madrid in the final of the Europa League in Hamburg.

    The sale of Harrods will almost certainly have put paid to Fayed’s long-held ambition to be entombed on the roof of the store in a pyramid — like a modern-day pharaoh.

    It could also mean that Fayed’s shrine to Diana, Princess of Wales is likely to be moved out of Harrods. Fayed’s son, Dodi, died in the Paris crash which killed Diana in 1997.

    Fayed’s purchase of the store in 1985 — a majority share cost him £615m — sparked a Department of Trade inquiry and a long-running feud with Roland “Tiny” Rowland, head of the Lonrho conglomerate, who also wanted to buy it.

    Fayed triggered the cash-for-questions scandal of 1994 after offering money to two Tory MPs to table parliamentary questions on his behalf. Tom Bower, Fayed’s biographer, said: “I think the rejection of his ludicrous claims about the royal family being involved in Diana’s death was the end of him. He was humiliated by his failure to prove a conspiracy.”

    business.timesonline.co.uk



    earlier .............

    Harrods owner Mohamed al Fayed has told staff that the store is not for sale, following a takeover approach from Qatar, Sky sources can reveal.

    Harrods Owner Mohamed Al Fayed Tells Staff Store Not For Sale After Takeover Approach From Qatar | Business | Sky News

  2. #2
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    toslti's Avatar
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    From one Westernised Oriental Gentleman to another... the sale of British national treasures goes on.... we've sold all our utilities companies to furriners, foreign railroad operators now run many of our train and bus companies and yet the public just sit back and applaud......

    I somehow can't imagine the French allowing an abdul to buy Galleries La Fayette, SNCF or EDF...

    I realise that Harrods was a private enterprise.

    Rant over.

  3. #3
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    not bad for a corner shop.

  4. #4
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    Harrod's was a great establishment long before he bought it. He was a maniac who treated his key management like shit. Good riddance.

  5. #5
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    I went there once.

    I saw Paul Daniels shopping.

    I never went back.

  6. #6
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    ^ Could have at least slipped some unpaid for merchandise into his pocket.


    1.5bill... not bad.

    Still not enough for a British passport though.

  7. #7
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    Best thing about Harrods is the Crispy Creme doghnuts in the food hall!

    Overpriced, full of Japanese tourists and with threadbare carpets everywhere

  8. #8
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    Thaksin shoulda bought it.

  9. #9
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    He turned a 615 million investment into 1.5 billion in 25 years. Not that great.

  10. #10
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    Hardly worth getting out of an Egyptian bed for!

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by RamboII View Post
    He turned a 615 million investment into 1.5 billion in 25 years. Not that great.
    That's not taking into account 25 years of profit sharing- I would imagine Harrods did fairly well.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by buriramboy
    not bad for a corner shop.
    It does come with its own bank.

  13. #13
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    Wonder if Harrods Energy Thailand is included? he has a big interest in one or two fields in Thailand.

  14. #14
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    Best part of Harrod's is the food hall. The rest of it is just a dowdy British department store.

  15. #15
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    Much ado about nothing. Big deal, an arab purchased a frumpy store and has now sold it. At least Mohammed had the decency to pay for the shop. Historically, the English just plundered the riches of other countries like Canada, India and Africa while killing the locals that had the audacity to protest the looting. There is a reason all the former colonies tossed the English out. Same rason the French, Spanish, Germans and Portuguese have been tossed out too. The English should be pleased the store has been sold. At least they won't have to put up with the crackpot conspiracy theories as to how the Queen is alleged to be some evil mastermind behind the death of Princess Bimbo.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by zygote1 View Post
    Much ado about nothing. Big deal, an arab purchased a frumpy store and has now sold it. At least Mohammed had the decency to pay for the shop. Historically, the English just plundered the riches of other countries like Canada, India and Africa while killing the locals that had the audacity to protest the looting. There is a reason all the former colonies tossed the English out. Same rason the French, Spanish, Germans and Portuguese have been tossed out too. The English should be pleased the store has been sold. At least they won't have to put up with the crackpot conspiracy theories as to how the Queen is alleged to be some evil mastermind behind the death of Princess Bimbo.
    He bought it by entering the UK on a diplomatic Haitian passport that the scumbag had paid £1m to Papa doc Duvalier for, then by tricking another little cvnt Rowlands, out of half his shares in 'The House of Fraser' and then used money he and his brother had stolen from the Sultan of Brunei (Prince Charles friend, hence no British citizenship) to pay the balance.

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