De La Rue Terminates Agreement with Portals; Latter to Close Banknote Paper Mill

On 26 July, De La Rue announced that it is terminating its ten year supply agreement with Portals Paper five years early, an agreement that formed part of private equity-backed management buyout of the paper maker in 2018.

On the same day, Portals announced that it is undertaking an orderly closure of its paper mill in Overton. The announcement not only brings to an end over 300 years in papermaking on the banks of the River Test in the UK. It also marks the end of independent commercial banknote paper manufacture.

De La Rue acquired the Portals paper business in 1995. In 2018 it decided to exit paper production and 90% of the company (with an enterprise value of £68 million) was sold to the management team, backed by the private equity firm Epiris. De La Rue retained 10% of the shares and a seat on the Board.