De La Rue chairman survives major showdown with investors

THE chairman of troubled banknote and passport maker De La Rue has survived an attempt to oust him.

Kevin Loosemore was backed by nearly 83pc of the votes at a shareholder meeting called by the company amid a battle with activist investor Crystal Amber.

Crystal Amber, one of the top shareholders with a stake of nearly 10pc, has been calling for the chairman to resign.

The row between Crystal Amber and De La Rue intensified after the company reported its third profit warning in a year last month.

The fund’s founder Richard Bernstein described the warning as a ‘Liz Truss moment’ for Loosemore – referencing the short and troubled tenure of the former prime minister, who quit after just six weeks.

But most investors appeared willing to stick by the chairman, with De La Rue welcoming what it described as ‘overwhelming support’ to keep Loosemore in his post.

The firm, which makes banknotes for countries around the world but lost the contract to print post-Brexit UK passports four years ago, is laying off staff to save cash and has warned it could go bust, sending the shares tumbling by over 50pc this year.

Earlier this year, Loosemore accused Bernstein of suggesting ‘market manipulation’ tactics when the investor said he wanted to propose a strategy, which could help rebuild the sliding share price. Bernstein hit back, claiming Loosemore’s comments were defamatory.