Business briefs: De La Rue has a passport to growth | Armitt on board at National Express | BNP Paribas appointment

Banknote printer De La Rue has reported a 9 per cent rise in underlying first-half profits, boosted by a strong performance at its division that produces passports.

The firm, which prints more than 150 currencies, said pre-tax profits before one-off items rose to £31.5 million for the six months to September, up from £29m a year ago, on revenues up 3 per cent at £245.4m.

Since winning a ten-year contract from the Home Office in 2009, it has produced ten million British passports.

Armitt on board at National Express

ONE of the men behind the London Olympics has been appointed chairman of coach and trains operator National Express.

Sir John Armitt, who was chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, will succeed John Devaney on 1 January. Armitt is a member of the Transport for London board and was chief executive of Railtrack and then Network Rail between 2001 and 2007.

Devaney has been chairman since 2009 and said in July he wanted to retire from the board.

BNP names Willins as Scottish chief

FRENCH investment bank BNP Paribas has appointed Gavin Willins as head of its commercial property operations in Scotland.

Willins, who will be based in Edinburgh, joins BNP from property consultancy CBRE, where he has been a director in its capital markets team for the past eight years. He had previously spent 14 years with rival firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

The former head of BNP’s Edinburgh office, Andy Cartmail, will remain with the firm as a senior director and will play an “integral” role.