Luxury Harrods Hotel chain planned for London, Paris, New York and Kuala Lumpur

The owners of London's Harrods department store are planning to launch a branded hotel chain with properties in cities such as Paris and New York.

 Qatar Holding - a sovereign wealth fund - has signed an agreement with Malaysian partner Jerantas to build a hotel in Kuala Lumpur's Bukit Bintang shopping district.

And a hotel management company will be established to develop similar projects around the world, Qatar Holding said in a statement.

'The target plan is to open Harrods hotels at sites in key cities such as Kuala Lumpur, New York and Paris as well as in China,' it said on its website.

'Qatar Holding ultimately intends to grow Harrods into a global enterprise that defines the luxury retail and leisure sectors.'

The company - which also owns the newly unveiled Shard building - said preference would be to build on sites it already owned, naming London's Chelsea Barracks and Costa Smeralda in Sardinia.

Qatar Holding vice chairman Hussain Ali al-Abdulla said Kuala Lumpur had been chosen because its 'economy is growing'.

Construction on the estimated £406 million project is slated to start in a year, on the 5.5-acre site in the Malaysian capital,

The development is expected to consist of a 300-room hotel, apartments and retail space.

Qatar Holding bought the iconic London department store in 2010 from Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed al-Fayed in a deal reported to be worth around £1.5 billion.

The sale brought an end to 25 years of ownership by Fayed, who became its honorary chairman.

The sovereign wealth fund of natural gas-rich Qatar has assets including German sports car maker Porsche and stakes in British bank Barclays, French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and American jeweler Tiffany.

Courtesy Daily Mail

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