The CGO or Central Gilts Office, was established in 1986 by the Bank of England

Bank of England

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...

 and the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

 for the settlement of gilts

Gilts

Gilts are bonds issued by certain national governments. The term is of British origin, and originally referred to the debt securities issued by the Bank of England, which had a gilt edge. Hence, they are called gilt-edged securities, or gilts for short. The term is also sometimes used in Ireland...

 and certain non-British government debt instruments. It was operated by the Bank of England. The system was upgraded to CREST

CREST

CREST is the Central Securities Depository for the U.K., Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Jersey equities and UK gilts, named after its securities settlement system, CREST. The project was launched in 1993, following the Taurus fiasco, and the company was founded in 1996. CREST allows...

 software in 1997. Ownership and responsibility for the CGO service was transferred from the Bank of England to CRESTCo on 24 May 1999. However, the Bank of England continued to operate and support CGO on CRESTCo’s behalf until the migration of gilts activity into CREST was complete, and settlement of gilts migrated from the Bank of England to CRESTCo at the start of July 2000.