De La Rue
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De La Rue plc (Template:IPAc-en, Template:IPAc-en) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that produces secure digital and physical protections for goods, trade, and identities in 140 countries.<ref name=ar/> It sells to governments, central banks, and businesses. Its authentication division provides government revenue technology, brand protection, and ID security, such as polycarbonate data pages for passports. Its currency division designs and produces banknotes, secure polymer substrate and banknote security features. This includes security holograms, security threads and security printed products for central banks and currency issuing authorities. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is the world's largest commercial printer of banknotes.<ref name="Newcomb">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In April 2025, the company agreed a £263 million takeover by Atlas Holdings, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and set to be completed in the third quarter of 2025.<ref name=":3" />
HistoryEdit
The company was founded by Thomas de la Rue, who moved from Guernsey to London in 1821 and set up in business as a Leghorn straw hat maker, then as a stationer and printer.<ref name="history">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1831 he secured a Royal Warrant for his business to produce playing cards. In 1855 it started printing postage stamps and in 1860 banknotes.<ref name="history"/> The company's first banknotes were made for Mauritius.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1896, the family partnership was converted into a private company.<ref name="history"/>
In 1921, the de la Rue family sold their interests. The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1947.<ref name="history"/> Then called Thomas De La Rue & Company, Limited, it changed its name in 1958 to The De La Rue Company Limited. A takeover bid for De La Rue was made by the Rank Organisation in 1968, but this was rejected by the Monopolies commission as being against the public interest.<ref>Template:Usurped</ref> In 1991 the company's name was changed again – this time to De La Rue plc.<ref name="history"/>
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.<ref>International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 34 (2000), p. 141</ref> The company printed banknotes for the Central Bank of Iran during the 1960s.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
In 1995, the company acquired Portals Limited which had been listed on the London stock market since 1904. For almost 300 years Portals had been one of the leading banknote paper manufacturers in the world, having manufactured banknote paper for the Bank of England since 1724.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1997, De La Rue acquired Harrison and Sons, the stamp and banknote printers based in High Wycombe. The factory closed permanently in 2003.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In early 2002, De La Rue purchased Sequoia Voting Systems, a California based company that was a large provider of electronic voting systems in the United States, from Jefferson Smurfit plc for $23 million.<ref>Sequoia Voting systems Receives Mandate from De La Rue, Kiosk Marketplace 29 May 2002</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2003, the company acquired the Debden based banknote printing operations of the Bank of England.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2003 and 2004 the company supplied banknotes to Iraq.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The company was recognised by Hermann Simon as a role model for other small- to medium-sized businesses in his book Hidden Champions.<ref>Simon, Hermann: Hidden Champions of the 21st Century : Success Strategies of unknown World Market Leaders. London: Springer, 2009.- Template:ISBN.</ref>
The Highest Perfection, a history of De La Rue was published in 2011. Written by Peter Pugh for De La Rue, it covered the years 1712–2003.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>
In August 2014, the company announced the appointment of Martin Sutherland (formerly of BAE Systems Applied Intelligence) as chief executive officer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In March 2018, the company sold the paper business. De La Rue retained a 10% share in the new business, Portals International Limited.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In April 2018, the company decided to appeal against the decision of the British government to manufacture passports in France.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It subsequently decided against appealing.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In October 2019 the company sold its Identity Solutions business to HID Global for £42m.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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".<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following the launch of a fast-track search for a replacement, the company appointed Clive Wiley in May 2023.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In February 2024, it was announced that the company had been contracted, alongside the Bank of England, to design new bank notes carrying King Charles III's portrait.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In October 2024, the company sold its authentication business to Crane NXT for £300 million.<ref name=":3" />
In April 2025, the company's board agreed a takeover by Atlas Holdings which valued the business at £263 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref> The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and set to be completed in the third quarter of 2025.<ref name=":3" />
OperationsEdit
BanknotesEdit
De La Rue sells high-security fully finished banknotes, polymer substrate and security features for over 69 national currencies.<ref name=about>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Security printing and papermakingEdit
De La Rue also produces other secure documents, including tax stamps.<ref name=about/>
Corporate affairsEdit
The company's board is chaired by Clive Wiley.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its non-executive board members are Nick Bray, Mark Hoad and Brian Small.<ref name=":2" />
Past productsEdit
Playing cardsEdit
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Postage stampsEdit
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.<ref>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).</ref>
Writing instrumentsEdit
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Board gamesEdit
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Christmas cardsEdit
During the First World War, De La Rue made the Christmas Card included in the Princess Mary Christmas gift box.<ref name=Condell>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Gallery of products produced by De La RueEdit
- Delarue-king-diamonds.jpg
The King of Diamonds from a De La Rue pack c. 1860.
- Cape Triangular Postage Stamp.jpg
Cape of Good Hope triangular postage stamp of 1853.
- St. Christopher 1884 1 penny stamp sheet.jpg
A sheet of Stamps for St. Christopher, 1884.
- Confederate stamp Jefferson Davis 5c 1862 issue.jpg
- 1980s Malaysia Ringgit (De La Rue).png
One ringgit note of 1986
- Tampak Belakang Uang Kertas 5 Ringgit Malaysia Seri Kedua Varian 1986.jpg
Five ringgit note of 1986
See alsoEdit
- 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