licence to print money

a licence to print money

An activity, business model, or company that yields very high profits but requires little or no effort to do so. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. All these hefty parking fees and fines are just a licence to print money for the city. These trashy gossip magazines are of such low quality, yet they always fly off the shelves. They're all licences to print money.
See also: licence, money, print
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

licence to print money

a very lucrative commercial activity, typically one perceived as requiring little effort.
See also: licence, money, print
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • up on (one's) ear
  • chip
  • chips
  • Two Bob
  • (as) dead as mutton
  • dead as mutton
  • mutton
  • one of the boys
  • one of the lads
  • be well in (with)
References in periodicals archive
For the mobile phone companies it was a licence to print money.
IRISH DAILY Mirror COMMENT: EU sets a new tone for cheap calls
Analyst Bill McCall, of Singers & Frieldander in Edinburgh, said: "Weekly newspapers are a licence to print money."
MONEY; Freddie has write stuff
THE old saying that a TV station was a licence to print money has become a licence to rip-off viewers.
VOICE OF THE DAILY Mirror: Channel flaw
Six of the last ten winners either held the outright or joint lead after round three, but bear in mind that several of those would have been long odds-on (Tiger Woods twice, Toms and Nick Price) so backing the front runner is not a licence to print money.
Golf: Comebacks unlikely on tough track
JUST like the fixed-odds bookmakers, the spread firms found Euro 2004 was largely a licence to print money, writes Ian Coyne.
Football: Euro2004: Corners and cautions were nice spread buys
He said: "The Lottery is a licence to print money. It is a monopoly and should be run for the benefit of the people, not for the benefit of shareholders."
Boot out Camelot blasts Branson
Mike Rutter of Flybe said: "To award monopolistic profits and a licence to print money to an unproductive, uncompetitive firm is a disgrace."
pounds 18 fare rises to hit flyers; AIR SHOCK 1
FOLLOWING the money has been a licence to print money in this season's Uefa Cup and a similar tactic tonight could be a route to profit.
Football: Wonky Wronki are out of their depth with AZ
Bill McCall, of Edinburgh merchant bank Singer & Friedlander, said: "Profits of pounds 1million a week show that weekly newspapers are really a licence to print money because of the advertising revenue they take.
MONEY; A LICENCE TO PRINT MONEY
We hope every last one of them takes the time to remind the club that being the custodian of the soul of the game is about more than a licence to print money.
RECORD VIEW; Sight well below par
The firm's spokesman Steve Freeth said: "Backing favourites has been a licence to print money.
Tennis: Favourite-backers' joy as seeds surge into last 64
SMG - who also own Scottish and Grampian TV - lived up to their reputation for having a licence to print money by reporting a profits jump from pounds 24million to pounds 30million for the first half of the year.
New high for media giant
THE National Lotter y is no longer licence to print money it seems.
WANT A LOTTO? yourmoney
IT'S a quote that would have had people selling their cars to gather sufficient stake money before the tournament began, but Bet365's 1-3 that Ronaldo scores at the World Cup is not such a licence to print money after the Brazilian's feeble first appearance of the finals.
Football: Ronaldo 9-4 to draw a blank in Germany; WORLD CUP NEWS
SHOPPERS have branded wheel clampers at one of the country's biggest retail centres "vultures" - and claim their pounds 3,000-an-hour swoops are "a licence to print money".
pounds 3K AN HOUR; Clampers rake it in at shopping centre