Harrods’ Qatari owners take £180m dividend as sales jump

Department store business Harrods handed its Qatari owners £180 million in dividends for the past year after it bucked weakness in luxury spending.

The Knightsbridge retailer is owned by the state of Qatar through its sovereign wealth fund – the Qatar Investment Authority – which bought the business in 2010.

Freshly filed Companies House accounts for the year to February showed the owners gave themselves a £180 million payment for the second consecutive year.

It came as Harrods reported an increase in sales and operating profits for the year.

Harrods revealed that turnover grew by 8% to £898.4 million for the year, a record high for the retail business.

It comes despite pressure at department store rivals including John Lewis and Harvey Nichols amid a shift in shopping habits and pressure on consumer budgets in the luxury market.

In the latest accounts, it also reported that operating profits rose slightly to £162.9 million from £158.4 million for the year.

Harrods increased its staff numbers significantly as a result of the recent growth, adding more than 700 to its workforce, taking it to 4,550 at the end of the year.

The accounts also showed that its top paid director, understood to be managing director Michael Ward, was paid £2.1 million for the year, down from £2.3 million a year earlier.