De La Rue
Company type | Public limited company |
---|---|
LSE: DLAR | |
ISIN | GB00B3DGH821 |
Industry | Printing |
Founded | 1821 |
Founder | Thomas de la Rue |
Headquarters | Basingstoke, Hampshire, England |
Key people |
|
Revenue | £349.7 million (2023)[1] |
£(20.3) million (2023)[1] | |
£(57.2) million (2023)[1] | |
Number of employees | 2,042 (2023)[1] |
Website | www |
De La Rue plc (
History
The company was founded by
In 1921, the de la Rue family sold their interests. The company was first listed on the
In 1965 De La Rue established a joint venture with the Italian printer and inventor Gualtiero Giori called De La Rue Giori. Based in Switzerland, the company specialized in building banknote printing equipment.[6] The company printed banknotes for the Central Bank of Iran during the 1960s.[7]
In 1995, the company acquired
In 1997, De La Rue acquired Harrison and Sons, the stamp and banknote printers based in High Wycombe. The factory closed permanently in 2003.[9]
In early 2002, De La Rue purchased
Following the Panama Papers leak, it was revealed that from 2002 until 2010, De La Rue had secretly contracted New Delhi businessman Somendra Khosla to obtain contracts in exchange for a 15% commission.[11][12][13][14]
In 2003, the company acquired the Debden based banknote printing operations of the Bank of England.[15] In 2003 and 2004 the company supplied banknotes to Iraq.[16][17]
The company was recognised by Hermann Simon as a role model for other small- to medium-sized businesses in his book
The Highest Perfection,[19] a history of De La Rue was published in 2011. Written by Peter Pugh for De La Rue, it covered the years 1712–2003.[19]
In August 2014, the company announced the appointment of Martin Sutherland (formerly of BAE Systems Applied Intelligence) as chief executive officer.[20]
In 2016, the Cash Handling division (Cash Processing Systems) was sold to Privet Capital. In December 2016, the company announced it had purchased the DuPont Authentication division.[21][22]
In March 2018, the company sold the paper business. De La Rue retained a 10% share in the new business,
In October 2019 the company sold its Identity Solutions business to HID Global for £42m.[26]
On 26 July 2019, the Serious Fraud Office opened an investigation into De La Rue plc for suspected corruption in South Sudan. They later decided to close the case.[27][28]
In April 2023, it was announced that chairman Kevin Loosemore was stepping down in May 2023 to "draw a line under recent speculation surrounding the leadership of the company".[29][30] The firm's board launched a fast-track search for a replacement.[29]
Operations
Banknotes
De La Rue sells high-security fully finished banknotes, polymer substrate and security features for over 69 national currencies.[31]
Security printing and papermaking
De La Rue also produces other secure documents, including Tax stamps.[31]
Past products
Playing cards
In 1843, De La Rue's designs for playing cards are the basis for the modern standard design. The playing card business was sold to John Waddington in 1969.[32]
Postage stamps
The company has also printed postage stamps for the United Kingdom and some of its colonies, for Italy and for the Confederate States of America. The Cape of Good Hope triangulars were also printed by De La Rue & Co.[33]
Writing instruments
De La Rue developed the first practical fountain pen in 1881. Products were marketed under the "Onoto" brand. Production of fountain pens by De La Rue ceased in Britain in 1958 but continued for a few more years in Australia.[34]
Board games
During the 1930s De La Rue created a number of board games. These included a cricket game, Stumpz, which was produced in a number of different editions, and Round The Horn, a game which re-created the then annual race of grain-laden, square-rigged sailing cargo ships from Australia to London.[35]
Christmas cards
During the First World War, De La Rue made the Christmas Card included in the Princess Mary Christmas gift box.[36]
Gallery of products produced by De La Rue
-
TheKing of Diamondsfrom a De La Rue pack c. 1860.
-
Cape of Good Hope triangularpostage stamp of 1853.
-
A sheet of Stamps for St. Christopher, 1884.
-
Confederate States of America postage stamp, 1862
-
Ringgit MalaysiaOld Banknote RM1, 1986
See also
- List of mints
- Banknotes of the pound sterling
- Commonwealth banknote-issuing institutions
- Gemalto – a competitor
- Giesecke & Devrient– a competitor based in Munich
- Hong Kong Note Printing – founded in 1984 by Thomas De La Rue
References
- ^ a b c d e "Annual Report 2023" (PDF). De La Rue plc. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ Newcomb, Alyssa (3 December 2019). "World's largest printer of money is running out of money". nbcnews.com. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
It is the largest commercial printer in the world, produces passports for 40 countries, and has designed 36 percent of all banknote denominations in circulation...
- ^ a b c d e "Our History – De La Rue". www.delarue.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ "UK banknote printer fears for its future". BBC News. 26 November 2019.
- ^ Competition Commission Reports Archived 4 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 34 (2000), p. 141
- ^ Shargi, Ali (15 December 1998), ESKENĀS, vol. VIII/6, Encyclopædia Iranica, pp. 615–624
- ^ "Cash machine". The Economist. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Up to 350 jobs to go at printing firm". Your Local Guardian. 7 October 2002. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Sequoia Voting systems Receives Mandate from De La Rue, Kiosk Marketplace 29 May 2002
- ^ Marcus Leroux. "Banknote paper trail leads from Panama to India, say emails". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ Danny Fortson. "De La Rue's secret deal exposed by Panama leak". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ "Panama Papers: Currency maker De La Rue offered payoff for its India deal". The Indian Express. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ "After politicians and industrialists, Niira Radia named in Panama Papers | india". Hindustan Times. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ "Bank of England: Sale of Bank Note Printing Operations". Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ Moore, James. "Iraq windfall gives lift to De La Rue". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ "De La Rue shares surge on deal to print new banknotes for post-Saddam". The Independent. 8 July 2003. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-387-98147-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-184831-335-4.
- ^ "Banknote printer De La Rue appoints BAE's Sutherland as boss". The Telegraph. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ "De La Rue to Acquire DuPont Authentication Business | Healthcare Packaging". www.healthcarepackaging.com. Retrieved 4 January 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Goldsmith, Courtney (12 December 2016). "De La Rue shares rise after it says it will acquire DuPont Authentication". Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ "DE LA RUE PLC Completion of paper transaction". polaris.brighterir.com.
- ^ Elgot, Jessica (2 April 2018). "Post-Brexit passports contract: De La Rue to appeal against decision". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ Monaghan, Angela (18 April 2018). "De La Rue drops passport appeal and issues profit warning". The Guardian.
- ^ Keller, Sinead. "De La Rue announces sale of Identity Solutions Business". www.delarue.com.
- ^ "De La Rue Plc".
- ^ "SFO closes investigation into De La Rue Plc". 16 June 2020.
- ^ ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "London Stock Exchange | London Stock Exchange". www.londonstockexchange.com. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ a b "About us". delarue.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Wintle. "History of De La Rue". The World of Playing Cards. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ The first 50 years of postage stamp production were chronicled in John Easton's The De La Rue History of British and Foreign Postage Stamps 1855–1901 (Faber & Faber, London, 1958).
- ^ "History of Onoto Pens". onoto.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Stumpz by Thos. de la Rue & Co. Ltd". replaycricket.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Condell, Diana (1989). "A gift for Christmas: the story of Princess Mary's gift Fund". Imperial War Museum Review. 4: 69–78.