De La Rue has agreed to sell their automated teller machine operation to the Carlyle Group, a US buyout firm for 360 million pounds in cash.

Following completion of the disposal, the Basingstoke based company intends to return 460 million pounds to shareholders, equivalent to 305 pence per share. The figure includes the 160 million pounds return of capital which De La Rue had announced alongside its full-year results on May 22.The sale is expected to complete by the end of September and is conditional on shareholder and regulatory approval.

Cash Systems, which makes cash-handling equipment, such as automated teller machines and coin counters for banks and retailers, was put up for sale in May following a strategic review by the company and made an operating profit of 35.5 million pounds on revenue of 286.6 million pounds in the year to March 29.

Following completion, De La Rue intends to focus on its banknote printing and security businesses.

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Sources: Bloomberg Reuters

Basingstoke based bank note printer De La Rue has drawn up a shortlist of bidders for its £450 million cash systems business, it is reported by The Press Association.

The move comes four months after the company, which prints one in five of the world’s currencies, announced a strategic review.

De La Rue’s cash systems business produces cash handling equipment and banking software and is valued by analysts at between £350 million and £450 million.

Bain Capital, Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a former owner of German software group Nixdorf, are among private equity groups thought to be in the running, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

If the division is sold it would leave the rump of De La Rue as its security paper and print arm, which also provides travellers cheques, passports and revenue stamps.

In November, De La Rue said half-year sales at the cash systems division grew by 2.1% to £161.6 million, while operating profits were 32.7% ahead of last year at £14.2 million.

This story is also covered in more detail at The Telegraph.

Basingstoke’s newest bank is celebrating after it was voted one of the top ten companies to work for in the UK.

Handelsbanken, which employs 4 staff locally, was ranked 10th in the 2008 Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For awards – the largest league table of UK workplaces, as viewed by company staff.

As well as improving its position from 11th in 2007, Handelsbanken was one of only two banking organisations to be awarded a top three-star accreditation from Best Companies Ltd for extraordinary performance.

Magnus Uggla, Head of Regional Bank Southern England, said:

It is a tremendous achievement to be ranked in the top ten best companies, given the increased competition and the fact that we have grown so rapidly during the last year.

I think one of the most appealing aspects of working for Handelsbanken is the empowerment and trust we place in our people. The bank is like a federation of independent business units which share the same business model; this means staff are given a lot of freedom in deciding how business should be conducted, which is quite unique,” he said.

An award like this strengthens our brand and makes it easier for us to attract highly qualified members of staff, enabling us to enhance our growth in the future.

The Basingstoke branch at Matrix House, Basing View opened in January 2008.

Craig Ward, branch manager of Handelsbanken Basingstoke, said:

The growth of our business has exceeded expectations. It is testament to Handelsbanken’s outstanding reputation that we are able to recruit the best managers available in the marketplace to support this expansion.

The survey revealed that 83 per cent of Handelsbanken’s employees love working for the bank, which was ranked as the second best company overall in terms of staff well being.

Handelsbanken first came to the UK more than 25 years ago to cater for Nordic businesses and their British subsidiaries, but quickly realised the potential to provide universal banking services locally; the branch network that has followed is one of the most successful banking operations set up outside of the high street banks.

Now in its 8th year, the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For awards is a comprehensive guide to the 100 best workplaces in the UK, as voted for by company staff.

The State of Qatar has chosen Basingstoke’s De La Rue Identity Systems to supply an integrated end-to-end ePassport solution, providing it with an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) compliant biometric document which includes the latest high security features and is integrated into Qatar’s existing eID scheme.

De La Rue has supplied Qatar’s travel documents for over 15 years. De La Rue’s latest integrated solution incorporates ePassport documents, MIDIS™ document issuing system and the recently launched SIPS™ 500e for automated ePassport personalisation. Used in conjunction with De La Rue’s secure laminate MLIS™, SIPS™ 500e automatically both encodes the chips with the holder’s personal and biometric data and personalises the physical document. Sophisticated tracking and audit control features ensure that the secure laminates and passports are recorded and tracked as the document moves through the system. This provides the reassurance that every passport issued is a unique document, properly assigned to the correct individual.

James Thorburn, Managing Director of De La Rue Identity Systems, commented,

We’re very proud to be working in partnership with the State of Qatar to launch the region’s first ePassport. The new document will enable the Government to offer an enhanced level of service and security to its citizens and visitors, marking a new phase in passport issuing in the Middle East.

The Competition Commission’s proposal to lift price controls on the UK’s four biggest banks demonstrates that competition is working for small businesses, the British Bankers’ Association said today.

The Commission’s proposal announced today to lift four years of price controls on the so-called Big Four is the latest in a growing list of evidence that there is increasing competition among banks for small business banking:

• the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) reported that 4.3 per cent of business accounts move from one bank to another every year. It also found that if the price of banking rose by five per cent or more, 19 per cent would change their bank and a further 48 per cent would consider switching;
• the Federation of Small Business recently reported that its members’ use of the Big Four banks fell from 83 per cent at the time of the Cruickshank Report in 2000 to just under 70 per cent in 2006; and
• the BBA’s online Business Account Finder regularly attracts more than 4,000 visitors per month.

Eric Leenders, Executive Director of Retail Banking, said:

Since the Competition Commission reported, smaller banks have been robustly challenging the Big Four for a slice of this market, added to the already aggressive competition between the Big Four themselves. Competition is growing and thriving, and is always the best way to drive down costs.

The Banking Code enshrines an obligation on banks to ensure that moving an account between banks is easy and as stress-free as possible, for businesses as well as for individual clients. Business clients tend to be more ’sticky’ – their relationship with their bank manager is paramount, and the longer they stay with the bank, the better the deals they tend to strike. Banks are in business to do business; and that means that competition works for clients who stay with their banks as well as those who move.

Small business is vital to the UK economy and is integral to UK banking. When the Competition Competition ruling came into force in 2003, UK banks managed 3,120,000 small business accounts; in 2006, they managed 3,339,000. Banks loaned more than £46 billion to small businesses in 2006, and held £46.4 billion on deposit. During 2006, more than 590,000 new small businesses established banking relationships.

Saga, the over-50s travel and insurance group, is to be merged with the Automobile Association, with head offices in Basingstoke, in a £6.2bn deal.Saga’s 3,900 staff will join the AA’s 7,200 employees under the combined ownership of the private equity houses Permira, CVC and Charterhouse. Permira and CVC have owned the AA since 2004. (more…)

Leading disability insurer, Unum, with offices in Basing View, has announced impressive financial results for the year ended 31st December 2006, increasing profits and maintaining its position as UK Group Risk market leader in 2006. This is set against a backdrop of transition in the current business environment.

Unum is the UK’s leading provider of group income protection insurance, with over 35 years of experience and by the end of 2006, they were protecting almost 2 million lives through more than 18,600 schemes with total benefit claim payments of £285 million – of which more than £191 million related to income protection claims.

Profit before taxation reached 131.6 million, which represents a profit increase of nearly 20 per cent since 2005, with total assets growing 3.9 per cent on 2005 to £2 billion.

Product development has been a key driver in this success and included the addition of a salary-based payment option to its Capital Options product in November 2006 to provide employers with greater choice. Earlier in the year also saw the launch of the Pay Direct product that allows employees to receive benefits direct from the insurer.

With a keen focus on early intervention and an innovative approach to rehabilitation, Unum has also helped 947 claimants return to work in 2006, representing an increase of 43 per cent over 2005.

Commenting on the results, Susan Ring (pictured) , Unum’s UK Chief Executive Officer said:

I am delighted to report a continued increase in profits and the retention of our position as clear Group Risk market leader in 2006.

This is particularly pleasing in light of the fact that this success has been achieved against a backdrop of increased market competition and significant change in the current business environment.

Whilst we have succeeded in adjusting to the new market context, we recognise that the company needs to move through this transition phase and create new and profitable growth in future. We therefore continue to focus on critical business drivers, such as maintaining and developing relationships with our distributors, service delivery and growing the group and individual protection markets.

As part of this strategy, in early 2007 Unum launched WorkMatters, a new range of insurance-related services, covering both assessment and occupational rehabilitation training programmes. This is a key initiative for Unum and one that they expect to reinforce their position as a market leader in disability insurance through 2007 and beyond.

For more information please visit www.unum.co.uk.

Basingstoke-based De La Rue Plc, the world’s biggest printer of paper money, posted a 25 percent jump in second-half profit as demand for passports and counterfeit-proof banknotes boosted production to near maximum capacity.

Net income was 40.5 million pounds compared with 32.3 million pounds a year earlier. Sales rose 12 percent to 359.1 million pounds. The company said,

The strong order book in currency is expected to result in the business running throughout 2007/2008 at the high levels of capacity experienced in the second half.

Shares of De La Rue have risen 16 percent in the past six months as full-year net income advanced 38 percent to 70.2 million pounds, De La Rue said in a stock exchange statement.

Ref. Bloomberg

Barclays Asset & Sales Finance, based in Churchill Plaza, have been awarded “Best Leasing & Asset Finance Provider” by Business Moneyfacts magazine for the sixth consecutive year.

The award comes at a time when businesses are facing increasingly competitive and fast-changing market conditions as the face of UK industry continues to develop. Reports continue to highlight that businesses are under constant pressure to keep up-to-date with new technology, legislation and working practices, placing even greater strain on cash flow and operational funds. Alongside this, businesses continue to need new solutions to meet strategic goals such as expansion, acquisition and MBOs.

Barclays has proven expertise in helping companies to overcome these difficulties through the provision of flexible, innovative and highly effective financing solutions. Not only does a tailored solution enable companies to purchase the assets they need when and how they want, manage their cashflow or release valuable working capital, they can also provide an immediate boost to business, encouraging growth and new developments.

The award recognises the factors which have helped to make Barclays Asset & Sales Finance (BA&SF) stand out from the competition. The Barclays Asset & Sales Finance division has always prided itself on its ability to provide a network of business knowledge and expertise, which allows for the development of innovative approaches and provide solutions to meet customer needs, however simple or complex, using a range of Barclays quality products.

Getting ahead by listening to and understanding the customers businesses and challenges, means that Barclays Asset & Sales Finance can then seek to effectively use all the resources at their disposal across BA&SF and the rest of the Barclays group to ensure customers can meet their goals. – Increasingly, leasing and invoice finance are being used in partnership to provide a viable source of funding to make strategic business changes and acquisitions possible.

Keith Sangwin, Sales Director at Barclays Asset & Sales Finance, commenting on the factors he felt underlay the award decision, said,

Although businesses today have a very wide range of financing solutions and suppliers available to them, they are increasingly looking for an integrated mix of products to fund their day-to-day working capital finance needs as effectively as possible. Our portfolio includes products that are flexible, offer tax benefits and can be tailored to help each organisation meet its specific goals.

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