The Prince Who Can't Stop Interfering
THE INDEPENDENT: The Prince of Wales was accused of grossly exceeding his constitutional powers after a High Court judge criticised him yesterday for an "unexpected and unwelcome" intervention in a high-profile £3bn property development which was then withdrawn by its billionaire Qatari backers.

The heir to the throne waged a two-month campaign to persuade Qatari Diar, a hugely wealthy property investment company owned by the Qatari royal family, to scrap the modernist scheme drawn up by the architect Lord Richard Rogers to redevelop Chelsea Barracks in central London. Prince Charles said his "heart sank" when he first saw the proposals.

Mr Justice Vos, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice, ruled that Qatari Diar breached its contract with the millionaire developer Christian Candy when it withdrew its planning application for the 12.8-acre site last June. This followed a face-to-face meeting between Qatar's ruler, Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, and Charles at Clarence House.

But the judge ruled that CPC Group, the company owned by Monaco-based Mr Candy which was Qatari Diar's partner in the scheme, was not entitled to a payment of £81m set out in the contract, finding that the Middle Eastern company had been left "between a rock and a hard place" following Prince Charles's complaints.

Lawyers for CPC Group argued that the project for the £1bn site foundered as a direct result of the Prince's decision to voice his disapproval of the "Brutalist" plans, which were taken off the table days before they were due to be considered by planners at Westminster City Council. Qatari Diar said the decision was taken due to planning concerns.

Last night, constitutional reform campaigners and the body representing architects attacked Charles for meddling in the democratic process and using "inappropriate behind-the-scenes methods" to kill off the complex drawn up by Lord Rogers, a long-standing target for the Prince's complaints about the lack of "traditional values" in modern architecture. 'An unwelcome intervention': What judge said about Charles >>> Cahal Milmo, Chief Reporter | Saturday, June 26, 2010

Harrods Department Store Sold


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Qatari Royal Family Buys Harrods
Fayed invested £400m in Harrods, which was founded in 1840. Photo: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Harrods, the world famous department store, has been sold for more than £1.5bn to the Qatari royal family, Times Online can confirm.

Mohamed al-Fayed, the Egyptian owner of the London landmark, has decided to retire and will hand over the reins to Qatar Holding.

The firm was chosen because they would "maintain the traditions of Harrods", said Ken Costa, chairman of Lazard International - the investment bank advising the family trust on the deal.

Fayed received advances from Gulf-based suitors in the last two months, but initially offered them “two fingers” in a vehement refusal.

“People approach us from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar. Fair enough, but I put two fingers up to them all,” Fayed said last month.

“It is not for sale. This is not Marks & Spencer or Sainsbury. It is a special place that gives people pleasure. There is only one Mecca.”

But today Costa confirmed that the owner of Fulham football club has changed his mind. Harrods sold to Qatar Holdings for £1.5bn as Mohamed al-Fayed retires >>> Martina Lees | Saturday, May 08, 2010

Britain Sells Out to the Gulf
TIMESONLINE: Delta Two, the fund backed by the Qatari Government, has finished sifting through J Sainsbury’s books, signalling that a firm £10.6 billion offer for one of Britain’s oldest supermarket groups could come as soon as this week.

Sources said that lawyers and bankers for Delta Two had completed their due diligence process last week after gaining access to Sainsbury’s proprietary internal data in September.

Their reports are due to be sent to Delta Two’s financing banks - Credit Suisse, Dresdner Kleinwort and ABN Amro – early this week so that they can reconfirm their loans before Delta Two officially launches its 600p-a-share offer to shareholders.

Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s board is set to meet on Thursday and is understood to be ready to give the offer its recommendation.

The move means that the Qataris are within weeks of sealing only the second take-private deal for a FTSE 100 company, the £11 billion leveraged buyout of Alliance Boots earlier this year having been the first.

Although Delta Two is yet to reach agreement with Sainsbury’s pension trustees and the founding Sainsbury family, the supermarket’s board, led by Sir Philip Hampton, has already said that the offer is recommendable, subject to due diligence and financing. Qatari fund on brink of formal £10.6bn offer for Sainsbury’s (more) By Siobhan Kennedy

Mark Alexander

Three Qatari Princesses Who Should Clearly Stick to Riding Camels!

Photo of the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani thanks to the Daily Mail

DAILY MAIL: Three Arab princesses were thrown off a packed British Airways flight after refusing to sit next to male passengers they didn't know.

The dispute - in which the three princesses from the ultra-conservative Qatar royal family demanded segregated seating - left the London-bound plane delayed on a baking Italian runway for nearly three hours.

Furious passengers whistled and clapped as the row intensified before the captain eventually ordered the women to be escorted off the plane.

The princesses, wearing traditional Arab dress, were returning from a day's shopping in Milan. They arrived at the city's Linate airport and boarded Heathrow-bound flight BA 563, which was due to take off at 4pm on Thursday.

The women, all relatives of the oil-rich emir of Qatar, Bader Bin Khalifa Al Thani, were booked into business class in a party of eight which included the emir and an entourage of cooks, servants and other staff. Arab princesses kicked off British Airways plane to jeers and whistles after refusing to sit next to male strangers (more) By Ray Massey

Mark Alexander