BANK note printer De La Rue says relocation of work to its factory in Gateshead is well advanced.

It is making “significant investment” in the Gateshead site, its biggest bank note printing centre, along with its Westhoughton factory in Bolton, which is also receiving work from elsewhere in the group as part of De La Rue’s cost cutting measures.

It is aiming to reduce costs by £30m across the company, which employs around 4,000 people worldwide and makes bank notes for more than 150 countries.

The company made the announcement as it revealed a 3% increase in revenues to £245.4m in the six months to September 29, while pre-tax profits rose by 3% to £27.9m.

CEO Tim Cobbold said: “During the first half of the year we have reported satisfactory growth in revenue and operating profit despite a more challenging bank note paper market.

“We made good progress in implementing the Improvement Plan with a continued focus on procurement, quality improvement and reducing waste which has delivered cumulative savings of £12m to date.

“We remain on track to achieve the Plan's £30m per annum of savings."