De La Rue had been regarded as the leading banknote paper manufacturer in the world, having manufactured banknote paper for the Bank of England since 1724. In 1997, De La Rue acquired Harrison and Sons, the stamp and banknote printers based in High Wycombe. The factory closed permanently in 2003. In early 2002, De La Rue took over ownership from Smurfit Diamond Packaging Corporation of Sequoia Voting Systems, a California-based company that was a large provider of electronic voting systems in the U.S., for U.S. $23 million. After losing money for three years in a business way out of the company's traditional lines,
Hippolyte De La Rue he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. De La Rue was summarily retired from the RAAF after the war, along with a number of other senior commanders and veterans of World War I, partly to make way for the advancement of younger and equally capable officers, and also due to his suspect health. In recommending early retirement, the CAS, Air Vice Marshal George Jones, noted that De La Rue possessed "fairly good Service knowledge" and was of strong character, but that "sometimes his efforts [were] ill-directed". De La Rue was, furthermore, above the statutory retiring