Crown Agency

Crown Agents originated as a body conducting financial transactions for British colonies overseen by the British Ministry of Overseas Development.

As decolonisation accelerated, the Office was renamed Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations in 1954, and the rules were changed to allow it to take on projects for independent states. Crown Agents expanded its activities to include more international development projects and investment management. Its status as an autonomous body with close links to government came into question, and in 1979 Crown Agents was brought under government control as a statutory corporation.

From 1987, shifting attitudes to state ownership of business and changes in British international development strategy led the government to support full privatisation of Crown Agents. As a result, it became a private company in 1997.