Fayed leaves Hatreds — alive The Egyptian tycoon vowed he’d be entombed on the roof. The sale to the Qataris has dashed that pledge

Jenny Davey HE swore he would never sell — but he did. This weekend, Mohamed al-Fayed, who pledged to stay at Harrods until he died, agreed to sell the Knightsbridge department store to Qatar, the Gulf emirate. Fayed, 81, sold the company to a state-owned investment agency after months of discussions. The deal was sealed at a meeting in Amsterdam between the two sides’ advisers on Friday night. During the week there had been secret discussions between Fayed and a member of Qatar’s ruling family, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, who is prime minister and chairman of Qatar Holding, the country's investment fund. The Qatari royal family stayed at the Connaught hotel in Mayfair. Fayed was persuaded to sell after the Qataris pledged to underwrite the long-term growth of Harrods. Yesterday Fayed, who also owns Fulham football club, failed to speak at a press conference at Harrods. Bemused shoppers looked on as Hussain Ali Al-Abdulla, vice-chairman of Qatar Holding, described the acquisition as “truly magnificent”. He gave no details about future plans for the store and whether it would expand overseas. The Qataris would say only that they planned to hire advisers to develop a “roadmap” for the business. The Qatar * flag was flying in the store. Hamad said: *1 know if s important not only for the British people but for tourism and London and Britain. I can ensure that Qatar Holding