Harrods owners to invest in Versace? Qatar Holding, the owners of luxury London department store Harrods, is said to be very interested in buying a stake in Italian fashion house Versace. The storied Italian fashion house, which was founded by Gianni Versace in 1978, indicated in April that they were exploring options to accelerate the brand's future in overseas markets. The label is currently owned by the creative director Donatella Versace as well as other members of the Versace family - Gianni was murdered in 1997. READ: Versus' next collaboration will be with K-Way According to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore , Qatar Holding are reportedly "looking carefully" at Versace, which they would take a stake in alongside Italian state-controlled investment fund Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI), a holding company which "acquires minority interests in companies of major national interest that have a sound financial position, adequate profitability and growth prospects." Last November, Qatar Holding and the FSI finalised an agreement to invest in Italian companies in sectors including luxury fashion. The newspaper also stated that aside from Qatar Holding and the FSI, there have been 10 further expressions of interest in Versace, although it is not known who by. Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, the Arab state's sovereign wealth fund, bought Knightsbridge landmark Harrods from Mohammed al-Fayed for a reported £1.5 billion in 2010. Additionally, they are majority shareholder of Sanisbury's.