Latest news with #EdiTruell
Reuters
15-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Edi Truell's consortium no longer plans to make offer for banknote printer De La Rue
May 15 (Reuters) - Britain's De La Rue (DLAR.L), opens new tab said on Thursday a consortium of British financier Edi Truell's companies no longer intends to make an offer for the banknote printer. Last month, De La Rue backed a $347 million takeover bid from U.S. private equity firm Atlas Holdings, while rejecting a higher preliminary proposal from Truell, citing concerns over its lack of committed financing and clear structure. De La Rue, which printed the new King Charles III currency notes in the UK, has been working to stabilise its finances following a pandemic-era slump in demand driven by the rise of contactless payments.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘I can save Britain from Spain-style blackouts'
Power generated by Icelandic volcanoes and sent at hyper-speed down a 1,000-mile subsea high-voltage cable could help save Britain from Spain-style blackouts, one of the City's most prominent financiers has said. Edi Truell, a self-proclaimed 'disruptive capitalist', made the claims as he edges closer to a decade-long dream of building a £3.5bn subsea cable that will funnel geothermal power from the hot springs of Iceland to the UK. Such interconnectors – cables that enable the exchange of electricity between neighbouring countries – 'are vital' in the fight against the type of blackouts that unfolded across Spain and Portugal last month, Truell said. The precise cause of the Continent's biggest power cut in living memory is yet to be determined, but Truell believes it can be traced back to the failure of the Viking Link interconnector between the UK and Denmark, which occurred just hours before the incident. Truell, a former adviser to Boris Johnson when he was mayor of London, described a devastating cascade effect that swept across Europe before the lights went out. Surplus power should have been diverted from neighbouring France, but it had already had to step in with back-up supplies to help smooth the outage at Viking, leaving the country with insufficient capacity to rescue the Iberian peninsula. 'They needed gigawatts from France, but the French didn't have them,' he said. With Truell's Icelandic project up and running, it could have supported an existing interconnector between Britain and Norway to provide another 4,000 megawatts, Truell said, 'which would have then freed up French power to free up Spain's'. Truell expects construction to begin on his Atlantic Superconnection (ASC) scheme before the end of the year. The link will bring enough geothermal and hydroelectric electricity to the UK to power around 2m homes, while also pumping excess wind energy generated in the UK back to Iceland. 'It's what the National Grid calls 'flexible base load' – it's always there,' Truell said. 'Depending on the time of day, you get between nine and 15pc of Britain's electricity pretty much guaranteed always on. 'It also saves the taxpayer a lot of money, because instead of turning the wind turbines off when it's blowing too much, you can whizz the surplus electricity up to Iceland and store it. It makes much more sense.' It is one of several power links in the works that promise to bolster Britain's energy reserves by tapping into inexhaustible overseas renewable sources. Former Tesco boss Dave Lewis is spearheading the Xlinks scheme, which aims to bring solar and wind power from Morocco to the UK via a 4,000-mile-long subsea cable. Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest is working on a competing proposal that would send clean energy generated from North African solar farms through Europe to the UK. Truell's project is being financed through a mixture of his own capital, backing from private investors and money raised in the debt markets. He said a 'major investment bank' stands ready to provide the entire £3.5bn funding in case of any snags. It follows a protracted decade-long process in which he was forced to go it alone after failing to persuade successive UK governments to get behind his grand plans. At one stage, Truell was led to believe by Theresa May's government that he had secured the blessing of ministers in the form of a long-term inflation-linked contract that would guarantee his project could sell its electricity at a fixed price to British households, he said. 'I was told it was 'in the post',' he said. But Truell's long-awaited Whitehall approval never came. 'I was basically lied to,' he said. The current government had been more supportive, but in other crucial areas was proving to be 'catastrophically useless', he said. He described Labour's energy policy under net-zero evangelist Ed Miliband as 'very muddled'. 'I don't think the investments are being made in the right place,' Truell added. He pointed to the £22bn that has been set aside to invest in various carbon capture projects in the North West and North East of England, with three quarters of the outlay expected to be recovered via customer bills. 'You could have six or seven interconnectors to Iceland for that, and it would save a hell of a lot more carbon than sticking it underground,' he said. 'So I think that is just bonkers.' Truell estimates that seven new interconnectors would bring around 12GW of power into the UK - equivalent to between 20pc and 25pc of Britain's electricity usage. Truell is also concerned about the impact that some types of renewables are having on the landscape and rural areas. 'I love the countryside. Carpeting it with solar panels made in China, and overhead pylons, is just retrograde,' Truell said. Cables are cheaper and because they are generally buried underground, 'you don't spoil the countryside,' he said. His criticism relates to Labour's plans to build thousands of new pylons in rural areas to help meet its ambitious clean power targets. Miliband has called the intended rollout of new pylons, alongside wind turbines and solar panels, a matter of 'national security' as the Government seeks to make the energy grid carbon neutral by the end of the decade. The Energy Secretary has also promised to 'take on the blockers, the delayers, the obstructionists'. But the proposals have been met with widespread dismay by affected communities. Campaigners have accused the Government of using 'bullying tactics' to impose new green projects on local communities. Truell called on ministers to change tack and adopt the approach taken in Switzerland, where he owns hotels and property, and spends much of his time. 'In Switzerland ... there is no building on greenfield [land] – none, zero, nought,' he said. 'Don't even apply because you're not going to get it. The Swiss are very straightforward about it: 'What part of no don't you understand?'' When it comes to land that has already been developed, the opposite stance is needed, he argued. 'Derogate planning permission for brownfield – you want to put a solar panel on your roof, just put it on. You don't want to apply for planning – just get on with it, take all that planning cost out. Every new house should have solar panels on it,' he said. In an attack on the Chancellor's tax raid, Truell said the super-wealthy are 'fleeing Rachel Reeves'. 'It just seems so self-destructive. They're being driven out, mainly by changes in the tax regime. It's class envy, putting a tax on private schools and doubling taxes on second homes. The whole mood music is 'we don't want people',' he said. Similarly, over-zealous regulation is forcing businesses to abandon the City, he claims. Though a longstanding problem, the failure to tackle it is particularly short-sighted in the context of Donald Trump's trade war, he said. Truell is a serial entrepreneur who made his fortune as the founder of private equity house Duke Street Capital, before setting up several pension buyout vehicles. 'We've got a golden opportunity because financial services are not subject to tariffs and Britain's got the biggest trade surplus in the world on financial services – about £77bn the year before last, which is bigger than anybody. We're really doing extremely well,' he complained. 'But the Government, whether it's this one or the last one, just keeps allowing the regulators to again drive business away,' Truell added. Truell is able to speak from experience after mothballing one of his more recent ventures amid accusations of regulatory dithering. In 2023, he decided to wind down his Pension SuperFund – a consolidator of company pension schemes – blaming the regulator, government and the insurance industry for making the business model 'uninvestable'. Despite all the promises the Chancellor made to rip up red tape in her maiden Mansion House speech in the autumn, regulation is at risk of becoming more burdensome, not less, he said. 'I did a lot of work behind the scenes on the Mansion House reforms and it's all great until you actually go to talk to the FCA [Financial Conduct Authority] or the Pension Regulator or the PRA [Prudential Regulation Authority]. 'My God, it's almost worse rather than better, because they're now thinking of ways to block the changes,' he said. He almost gave up on his Icelandic power link, too, in the face of ministerial foot-dragging. 'I felt very depressed,' he said. But in the absence of government backing, Truell vowed to finance the entire venture privately. Yet even now he can't quite escape the dead hand of officialdom. All major infrastructure projects in Britain require the blessing of Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary, in the form of a Development Consent Order. Meanwhile, his plans to build a giant factory at the Port of Tyne to provide the hundreds of miles of cable needed for the scheme must pass an environmental assessment 'in case there are newts on the quayside' or 'a colony of badgers', he joked. Strip out 'old-fashioned bureaucracy' and you would speed up the process by 16 to 17 months, he estimated. Truell called on the Government to ask itself a simple question: 'Do you want critical national infrastructure or not?' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
British banknote printer poised for US sale after snubbing ex-Tory donor
Banknote printer De La Rue has accepted a £263m takeover bid from US private equity firm Atlas after snubbing a separate approach from ex-Tory donor Edi Truell. The Basingstoke-based company, which prints money for the Bank of England, has confirmed plans to back Atlas's offer, in a move that will see it taken private from the London Stock Exchange. That is despite Mr Truell lodging an eleventh-hour offer worth £267m through his investment funds, Disruptive Capital and Pension SuperFund Capital, which would have required the business to sell off its passport printing arm. It marks an escalating bidding war for De La Rue, which has had a low valuation since it lost its contract to print British passports to Dutch-based rival Gemalto in 2018. Shares in De La Rue jumped by 16pc in response to the latest announcement, taking the company's market cap up to £253m. Meanwhile, Atlas's offer marks a 19pc premium on the company's valuation on Dec 11, which was before any takeover bids had been launched for the 211-year-old firm. Mr Truell previously tabled a 125p per share offer in January, although this has been increased to 132p. A De La Rue spokesman said the board had considered Mr Truell's latest offer last night but concluded that it lacked 'committed financing'. Concerns were also raised over its 'deliverability'. As a result, the company has recommended that shareholders accept Atlas's offer. Mr Truell, a Brexit-supporting City financier, started private equity firm Disruptive Capital Finance in 2008 after building a business empire with his late brother Daniel. He was previously a major donor to the Conservatives but announced plans in 2016 to withdraw his funding from the party over David Cameron's handling of the EU referendum. If approved by shareholders, Atlas' takeover of De La Rue will see it join a portfolio of 27 separate businesses owned by the private equity firm, which is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. Atlas was first founded in 2002 by Andrew Bursky and Tim Fazio, two former colleagues at private equity firm Pegasus. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
15-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
British banknote printer poised for US sale after snubbing ex-Tory donor
Banknote printer De La Rue has accepted a £263m takeover bid from US private equity firm Atlas after snubbing a separate approach from ex-Tory donor Edi Truell. The Basingstoke-based company, which prints money for the Bank of England, has confirmed plans to back Atlas's offer, in a move that will see it taken private from the London Stock Exchange. That is despite Mr Truell lodging an eleventh-hour offer worth £267m through his investment funds, Disruptive Capital and Pension SuperFund Capital, which would have required the business to sell off its passport printing arm. It marks an escalating bidding war for De La Rue, which has had a low valuation since it lost its contract to print British passports to Dutch-based rival Gemalto in 2018. Shares in De La Rue jumped by 16pc in response to the latest announcement, taking the company's market cap up to £253m. Meanwhile, Atlas's offer marks a 19pc premium on the company's valuation on Dec 11, which was before any takeover bids had been launched for the 211-year-old firm. Mr Truell previously tabled a 125p per share offer in January, although this has been increased to 132p. A De La Rue spokesman said the board had considered Mr Truell's latest offer last night but concluded that it lacked 'committed financing'. Concerns were also raised over its 'deliverability'. As a result, the company has recommended that shareholders accept Atlas's offer. Mr Truell, a Brexit-supporting City financier, started private equity firm Disruptive Capital Finance in 2008 after building a business empire with his late brother Daniel. He was previously a major donor to the Conservatives but announced plans in 2016 to withdraw his funding from the party over David Cameron's handling of the EU referendum. If approved by shareholders, Atlas' takeover of De La Rue will see it join a portfolio of 27 separate businesses owned by the private equity firm, which is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. Atlas was first founded in 2002 by Andrew Bursky and Tim Fazio, two former colleagues at private equity firm Pegasus.
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
US firm in £263m takeover bid for Bank of England banknote printer
A bidding war could be heating up for De La Rue, the 200-year-old British firm that prints banknotes for the Bank of England, after its board recommended an all-cash offer from the US buyout firm Atlas Holdings. De La Rue's shares climbed by as much as 16% on Tuesday morning after the company released a statement to investors saying that its board had recommended shareholders accept Atlas's offer of 130p per share, which valued the company at £263m. The all-cash takeover bid was at a 16% premium to De La Rue's closing price on Monday, which the company board described as 'fair and reasonable'. The City financier Edi Truell, however, is reportedly considering a higher offer of 132.17p per share, which could trigger a bidding war. Investment funds controlled by Truell, a pensions and private equity entrepreneur, have made the proposal to De La Rue, as first reported by Sky News. The company said it had not received a firm offer from Truell, and released a further statement later on Tuesday reaffirming its recommendation of the Atlas offer. 'It would take something very significant for the board to make any other decision right now, and I don't see that happening,' said De La Rue's chief executive, Clive Vacher. The Atlas offer would give De La Rue the benefit of backing from a 'financially strong company', he said. 'We are expecting continuity of strategy, continuity of management, continuity of employees, continuity of location and continuity of customers.' The sale to Atlas, which would mean De La Rue delisting from the London Stock Exchange, would be subject to shareholder approval and regulatory clearance. Vacher said he hoped the deal could be completed by early summer. The company, which is headquartered in Basingstoke, first confirmed in January that it was in takeover talks with Disruptive Capital GP and Pension SuperFund Capital (PSFC), founded by Truell. The deal with PSFC was conditional on the completion of De La Rue's £300m sale of its authentication division to Crane NXT, which was announced in October 2024. The company expects that sale to complete on 1 May. The long-running takeover process took another turn in February, when De La Rue launched a formal sale process after it said it had received 'preliminary approaches' from more than one potential bidder. The company has faced a string of challenges, including a widespread fall in the use of cash, which accelerated during the pandemic, and it has issued a number of profit warnings in recent years. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The company stopped production of banknotes and UK passports at its plant in Gateshead in 2020 after it lost out on the contract to print post-Brexit blue passports to the Franco-Dutch company Gemalto. After the completion of the sale of its authentication business, De La Rue will employ about 1,250 people, of whom just over half are based in the UK. Atlas has said that as part of its offer it would cut about 50 jobs at the company, or 4% of the workforce, mainly in positions related to being a listed business. The company can trace its history back to 1813, when Thomas de la Rue founded it as a printing business in Guernsey, before setting up in London a decade later selling straw hats and stationery. It has a contract with the Bank of England to run the central bank's printing facility in Debden, Essex, and was involved in printing millions of new banknotes featuring the image of King Charles before his coronation. Truell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
