Directorate Change

De La Rue PLC
04 March 2004



                               DE LA RUE APPOINTS

                              NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE


De La Rue announces today that Leo Quinn is to become Chief Executive. Leo will
join the Company on 29 March 2004 as Chief Executive Designate and as an
executive director of the Board. He will succeed Ian Much on 31 May 2004, when
Ian retires from the Company.


Leo, 47, comes from Invensys, the global automation, controls and process
solutions Group, where for close to three years he was Chief Operating Officer
of the Production Management Division, based in Massachusetts, USA. The division
employs 11,800 people in 43 countries, with sales in the last financial year of
almost £1.3 billion.


Leo has a considerable amount of operational experience, having spent 16 years
with Honeywell Inc., the engineering Group, initially in the UK, but also held a
variety of senior management roles in the USA, Europe, the Middle East and
Africa. He became President of Honeywell's International Enterprise Solutions
division in the USA in 2000, a business with revenues of $2.1 billion and 15,000
employees worldwide.


Commenting on his appointment, Sir Brandon Gough, Chairman of De La Rue, said:


'We are very pleased to have attracted a candidate with Leo's track record. He
brings a wealth of experience in global business, from managing multinational
operations and complex customer relationships to delivering modernisation of
business processes and improved results. This will serve him well at De La Rue
as the Board continues to focus on the Group's financial performance and
building substantial value for shareholders.


'On behalf of the Board, I should like to thank Ian Much for his significant
contribution to the Group's development over the last five and a half years and
to wish him well in his retirement.'


                                     -ends-


For further information please contact:


Stephen King                Group Finance Director         [phone]

Mark Fearon                 Head of Corporate Affairs      [phone]


Richard Mountain            Financial Dynamics             [phone]


4 March 2004






Notes to editors


 1. De La Rue is the world's largest commercial security printer and papermaker,
    involved in the production of over 150 national currencies and a wide range
    of security documents such as travellers cheques and vouchers. The Company
    is pioneering new technologies worldwide in government identity solutions
    for national identification, drivers licence and passport issuing schemes.
    Employing over 6,500 people across 31 countries, it is also a leading
    provider of cash handling equipment and software solutions to banks and
    retailers worldwide, helping them to reduce the cost of handling cash.

    For more information visit www.delarue.com

 2. High resolution images of Leo Quinn can be downloaded from NewsCast at
    www.newscast.co.uk


 3. Invensys is an automation, controls and process solutions Group working to
    create value for customers and investors. Its products, services, expertise
    and ongoing support enable intelligent systems to monitor and control
    processes in many different environments. The businesses within Invensys
    help customers in a variety of industries - including hydrocarbons,
    chemicals, oil and gas, power and utilities, rail, telecommunications,
    paper, food and beverage, dairy, pharmaceuticals and personal care - to
    perform with greater efficiency, safety and cost-effectiveness. The Invensys
    Group is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London Stock Exchange,
    with 42,000 employees operating in 60 countries.


 4. Ian Much joined De La Rue as Chief Executive on 1 September 1998.





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