Shares in De La Rue were down on the FTSE 250 in afternoon trading following the bank note printer's appointment of Tim Cobbold as Chief Executive.

Mr Cobbold, who takes up his new role on 1 January, is currently the CEO of Chloride Group, which provides power solutions, and is a non-executive Director of Drax Group.

Nicholas Brookes will return to his position as non-executive Chairman of De La Rue.

Speaking about the appointment of Mr Cobbold, Mr Brookes, said, "We are delighted that Tim will be joining De La Rue as Chief Executive on 1 January. There is no doubt about the regard in which Tim is held. His wealth of experience, including of international business at the most senior level, will be invaluable to De La Rue both in the short term as we work to resolve current uncertainties and in the longer term as we continue to build our global brand and international customer base."

Mr Cobbold said, "De La Rue has a long established reputation as a global leader in an industry with unique characteristics. I look forward, with the rest of the Board, to demonstrating De La Rue's fundamental value by building on its core strengths as an independent company and growing value for its shareholders. I look forward to working with the experienced team at De La Rue to strengthen the business and deliver on its potential as the industry leader."

By 13:00 shares in De La Rue were down 0.30 per cent on the FTSE 250 to 832.00 pence per share.

FTSE