BANKNOTE PRINTER DE LA RUE IN TROUBLE

De La Rue, the company that prints the UK's banknotes, has said there is a risk that the firm will collapse if its turnaround plan fails to work.

The announcement came as it suspended its dividend and reported a loss in the first half of its financial year.

De La Rue said its warning was based on a worst-case scenario.

However, it concluded that there was "a material uncertainty that casts significant doubt on the group's ability to operate as a going concern".

UK-based De La Rue prints cash for about 140 central banks and employs more than 2,500 people globally.

All current Bank of England banknotes are printed by the firm at a site in Debden, Essex.

It is unclear what would happen if the firm got into difficulties, but it is likely that a rival would take over its Bank of England contract. Its main competitors are all based outside the UK.

De La Rue has faced some big setbacks in the past two years, including the loss of the post-Brexit UK passport printing contract to a Franco-Dutch firm last year.

In May last year, it had to write off £18m after Venezuela's central bank failed to pay its bills.

It began producing banknotes in 1860, first for Mauritius and then elsewhere. Today it produces enough notes each week that if stacked up would reach the peak of Everest twice.

Its main competitor, German company Giesecke & Devrient, produces notes for roughly 100 central banks, while the Canadian Banknote Company and US-founded Crane Currency are also major players.

To read the complete article, see:
UK banknote printer De La Rue fears for its future (https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50557097)

To read the complete article, see:
The World's Biggest Banknote Printer Is Running Short of Money (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/the-worlds-biggest-banknote-printer-is-running-short-of-money/2019/11/26/41e480b2-1050-11ea-924c-b34d09bbc948_story.html)

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