Crown Agents Ltd is a not-for-profit international development company with head office in London, United Kingdom, and subsidiaries in the United States and Japan. Incorporated as a private limited company Crown Agents Ltd has only one shareholder – the Crown Agents Foundation, a not-for-profit company. Crown Agents Ltd's registered office is in Southwark, London. Crown Agents was placed into insolvency on the 1 August 2024.

Prior to 1997, Crown Agents was a UK public statutory corporation, overseen by the British Ministry of Overseas Development.

Crown Agents originated as a body conducting financial transactions for British colonies. Agents were first appointed in 1749 to transfer and account for grants made to colonies from the British Treasury. These representatives were known unofficially as 'Crown Agents' from at least 1758, and were accountable to colonial governments, though selected on the recommendation of the British government. A single body was created in 1833, when the Crown Agents' business was consolidated under two Joint Agents General for Crown Colonies with an office of several staff.

The opening words of A. W. Abbott's history were telling in the light of events to follow. “The Crown Agents have no formal Constitution and are not part of the United Kingdom Civil Service or of the United Kingdom Government machine. The Crown Agents are simply two individuals …who have been appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

In 1861 the office was renamed Crown Agents for the Colonies. Crown Agents' responsibilities on behalf of colonial governments included accounting for Treasury grants, purchasing supplies, recruiting certain staff and raising capital on the markets. Crown Agents also oversaw specific colonial projects, such as certain stamp issues and some infrastructure construction.

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 (Iraq being the first example). Crown Agents expanded its activities to include more international development projects and investment management. The world's first sovereign wealth funds were managed by Crown Agents.

The financial collapse of the Crown Agents, which necessitated a bail-out by the Government, was one of the most high-profile failures of the 1974 property and secondary banking crisis, and widely considered a scandal. The decline in its traditional government business had led the Crown Agents “to consider ways of diversifying…and operating on their own account rather than acting as agents for others…So began a short but disastrous period in an otherwise long and distinguished service to others” The move into own account trading dated back to March 1967 and by the end of the 1960s, the activities of the Agents were being publicly queried by The Sunday Times and Private Eye. By 1970, concerns were being raised in Parliament. Judith Hart later referred back to her earlier comments, saying the "constitutional relationship between the Crown Agents and the Government, which was somewhat obscure..."

The impact of the financial and property collapse on the Crown Agents’ finances became increasingly apparent during 1974 and in October John Cuckney was appointed to sort out the problems. To meet the potential financial shortfall, the Crown Agents received an £85m grant from the Government. Recognition of the severity of the Agents’ problems, the necessity for further financial support and the political ramifications led to the establishment of the Fay Committee of Enquiry in April 1975; that Committee reported on 1 December 1977. Among its detailed findings was the estimate that losses would exceed £200m.