Licence to print money: De La Rue extends banknote deal with BoE

De La Rue has extended its exclusive contract to print notes for the  Bank of England until 2028, it announced today.

The agreement to extend the existing contract by three years comes a year after Clive Vacher was parachuted in as chief executive to rebuild investor confidence after the firm lost out on the  £490million contract to make the new British passports.

It  continues the partnership between one of Britain’s oldest listed companies the Bank of England that stretches back to 2003, with notes  

De La Rue will continue making the notes at its Debden, Essex site, having introduced the first polymer notes in the UK four years ago. 

Sarah John, the BoE’s chief cashier, said, “In 2021, the release of the new Alan Turing £50 note will complete our polymer set. We are very pleased to announce the extension of the contract today, which will enable us to continue to develop our Debden facility as a global centre of excellence for banknote printing."

It remains unclear how many notes will be needed longer-term, with the coronavirus pandemic seeing a huge shift towards a cashless society.

But De La Rue has previously said the notes are cleaner and less likely to transmit viruses compared with traditional paper notes. 

Vacher said: “We are delighted that our contract with the Bank of England has been extended to 2028, highlighting De La Rue’s commitment to UK manufacturing.” 

Relations between the company and the UK Government were strained in 2018 when it lost out on the new post-Brexit passport contract. 

Bosses threatened court action over the decision, but, this was subsequently dropped and the company sold its passport division. 

A Serious Fraud Office (SFO) also loomed over the company with allegations of fraud at its South Sudan business, although this was dropped after investigators said the evidence did not “did not meet the relevant test for prosecution”.