Mohamed Al Fayed raises £350m www.alfayed.com

Plans for a new £70m stadium at Fulham's Craven Cottage ground were boosted yesterday after it emerged that Mohamed Al Fayed, the club's owner, has raised £350m by mortgaging his Harrods department store.

In what is likely to be one of the biggest property deals this year, Al Fayed has struck a complex 20-year agreement with the Royal Bank of Scotland to extract immediate value from Harrods' prestigious building in Knightsbridge.

Max Clifford, acting as a spokesman for Al Fayed, confirmed that the deal would release funds for several exciting projects" which the Harrods owner has under consideration, one of which is the completion of a 33,000 ll-seat stadium at Craven Cottage.