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Amstrad

Amstrad
Amstrad
Formerly
  • AMS Trading Co (1968–)
  • Amstrad plc (–5/1997)
  • Betacom plc (1997)
  • Amstrad plc (11/1997–9/2008)
  • Amstrad Limited (9/2008–2011)
Company type
IndustryElectronics
Founded1 November 1968[2] (original company)
FounderAlan Sugar
Defunct2011 (2011)
FateAcquired by Sky (2007)
HeadquartersKings Road, Brentwood, Essex, United Kingdom
Area served
UK and Ireland
RevenueIncrease £91.65 million (2006)
Increase £26.94 million GBP (2006)
Increase £15.08 million GBP (2006)
Number of employees
85 (2005)
Websiteamstrad.com at the Wayback Machine (archived January 25, 2019)

Amstrad was a British consumer electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar. During the 1980s, the company was known for its home computers beginning with the Amstrad CPC and later also the ZX Spectrum range after the Sinclair deal, which led it to have a substantial share of the PC market in Britain. In the following decade it shifted focus towards communication technologies,[3] and its main business during the 2000s was the manufacture of satellite television set-top boxes for Sky,[4] which Amstrad had started in 1989 as the then sole supplier of the emerging Sky TV service.[5]

Headquartered in Brentwood, the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1980 to 2008, the year when Sugar stepped down after 40 years.[6] After acquiring Betacom and Viglen, Amstrad was broken up in 1997 but the name was soon revived when successor Betacom plc renamed itself to Amstrad plc.[7] Amstrad was a FTSE 100 Index constituent up until the company was acquired by BSkyB in 2007 for £125 million.[4] In 2010, Sky integrated Amstrad's satellite division as part of Sky so they could make their own set-top boxes in-house.

  1. ^ "Amstrad Company Profile". Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  2. ^ "The Amstrad Times" (PDF). amshold.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  3. ^ "A Snapshot of British Computing". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b "BSkyB agrees £125m Amstrad deal". 31 July 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  5. ^ Hughes, Donncha (30 May 2011). "A blogpost charting the role of Mr Alan Sugar in the success of Sky TV". Donncha Hughes, Business Trainer, Advisor & Mentor. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Sir Alan steps down from Amstrad". 2 July 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. ^ "BETACOM DECIDES TO CALL ITSELF AMSTRAD - Tech Monitor". 21 October 1997. Retrieved 16 February 2024.

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