DOHA: Qatar Airways has acquired a 10% stake in International Airways Group, the parent company of British Airways, in the latest UK investment by the Gulf state.
The move will cement what is already a close commercial relationship between British Airways and the airline, whose owner, the Qatari government, is already a significant investor in the UK. The state’s investment fund owns Harrods, the Shard skyscraper in central London and stakes in Sainsbury’s, Barclays bank and Heathrow.
The airline’s chief executive office director, Akbar Al-Baker, already sits on the board of Heathrow where Qatar owns a 20% stake.
