Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/972198
maltatoday SUNDAY 22 APRIL 2018 News MANIFESTAZZJONI FAVUR IL-ĦAJJA B'RISPOSTA GĦALL-ABBOZZ TA' LIĠI LI JEMENDA L-ATT DWAR IL-PROTEZZJONI TAL-EMBRIJUNI IL-ĦADD TA' APRIL 16:00 - 17:30 NILTAQGĦU QUDDIEM KASTILJA EJJA U KUN VUĊI GĦAL KULL EMBRIJUN MATTHEW VELLA THE security printer De La Rue has abandoned its appeal against the UK government's decision to award the UK passports contract to an overseas rival – which means its Malta plant will no longer be printing blank book passports for the UK after 2019. The decision to abandon the appeal came with a profit warning, hitting the British passport and banknote producer's share price. De La Rue said it would discontinue its challenge to grant the contract to print 'Brexit passports' to Gemalto, a French-Dutch rival. The Malta plant prints back-up passports to the UK every three months, as part of a fall-back supply for the UK printing plant in Gates- head. A company spokesperson told MaltaToday the Malta secure facil- ity produces a maximum of 7% per annum of blank books for business continuity purposes. "There will be no change to opera- tions for the duration of the contract which is expected to end in late 2019. The site in Malta also produces passports for a significant number of countries around the world, and supports our currency and authenti- cation printing, the full remit of De La Rue's products and services." In Malta, De La Rue has already de- commissioned two print lines while machine upgrades are taking place in other sites. In 2016, the company decided to retain the remaining banknote print line in Malta, with a plan to deliver £13 million (€15 million) in annual cost savings from 2019 onwards. De La Rue's operations include banknote and security printing op- erations in Malta, where a propor- tion of the UK blank book passports are made. In its last annual report, the com- pany said that while overall volumes of cash are growing globally at 4%, "issuances and orders of cash remain lumpy", leading to unpredictability in production and profitability. The UK government's decision to award the contract for its new blue passports to a foreign rival as Britain leaves the European Union triggered a backlash among some politicians and media. De La Rue has now said it will ful- fil its existing contract to print Brit- ish passports, and that it will assist with transition to the new supplier "and is therefore expecting no im- pact on the group's performance in the next 18 months". The company has accepted that its offer for the Brexit passport tender was not the cheapest "even if our ten- der represented a significant discount on the current price". The De La Rue tender was £50 million (€57million) higher than that of Gemalto. A spokesman said: "We are con- fident that we remain the best and most secure option in the national interest." De La Rue is based in Basingstoke and dates back more than 200 years. It specialises in banknotes, identity documents and product authentica- tion and has more than 3,000 em- ployees in 24 sites around the world. De La Rue has been working in Malta for over 40 years and in 2015 announced that it was creating a Centre of Excellence for Identity and Security Print in Malta, as part of a global investment of €33 million in equipment, factory upgrades and skills. It employs over 440 workers in Malta. Malta loses out as De La Rue drops Brexit passport appeal Hospitality entrepreneur Hugo Chetcuti plans bond issue MATTHEW VELLA HOSPITALITY and enter- tainment mogul Hugo Chet- cuti is poised to launch a €5 million bond issue on the small cap market. Chetcuti, whose Hugo's brand covers a substantial portion of Paceville real es- tate, has roped in former Bank of Valletta chief executive of- ficer Tonio Depasquale, and long-time MIDI plc CEO Ben Muscat as directors of his fi- nance vehicle, HH Finance plc. Chetcuti is planning a €5 million issue at a coupon of 5%. Chetcuti was already report- ed as having signed a prom- ise-of-sale agreement for the acquisition of Villa Priuli, in the Balluta Bay area of St Ju- lian's. In December 2017 he posted a photo of the view from the stately villa's terrace with the message: "Next, luxurious suites… by Hugo's". Dutch property entrepre- neurs were already seeking investors to turn the iconic home into a boutique resi- dence and hotel. For years, the 18th century period home has lain unoc- cupied, placed in the shade by the towering Meridien hotel. But the unique villa is a scheduled Grade 2 property that is tagged with a "very high" cultural heritage value assessment. The villa requires restora- tion and renovation to be- come the boutique residence that can offer top-quality suites and a personalised ser- vice suitable for upscale lei- sure tourism. Industry observers told Mal- taToday that Maltese retail and institutional investors were yearning for opportu- nities to invest in high-yield coupons for the medium term. The last bond issue to come on the market was from the retail giant Hudson, which manages franchise brands Nike, New Look, Timberland and KIABI. The group operates 25 re- tail stores and holds franchise agreements with a further six stores. The proceeds of the €12 million bond issue at 4.35% interest rate will be used to refinance €2.78 million in outstanding loans used for new store openings, €4.5 mil- lion as a loan to parent com- pany Hudson Holdings and new retail stores in Morocco, Italy and Algeria, €2.5 million for a new Malta distribution centre for international trad- ing operations, and €2 million for new Malta stories and ren- ovation of three stores.