Novus Holdings

Name

Novus Holdings

Legal name

Novus Holdings Limited

Website

https://novus.holdings

Company type

Public

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Printing and Packaging Manufacturing

NAICS

Printing and Related Support Activities (323), Printing (32311), Converted Paper Product Manufacturing (3222), Sanitary Paper Product Manufacturing (322291), Paper Manufacturing (322)

SIC

Papers & Allied Products (2600), Paperboard Containers & Boxes (2650), Converted Paper & Paperboard Prods (No Contaners/Boxes) (2670), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Wholesale-Paper & Paper Products (5110)

akta.pro primary industry

Paper-Based Packaging & Single-Use Paper Products (Paper Bags, Wraps, Cartons) (CRADALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Paper & Printing Grades Distribution (Printing/Writing, Newsprint, Specialty) (IMAMAIAF), Paper Towels & Kitchen Rolls (CRADALAC), Paper, Tissue, Wipers & Dispensers Distribution (CRAOAGAC)

Keywords

• Commercial printing services
• Flexible plastic packaging
• Label printing solutions
• Educational publishing
• Tissue paper manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Print Production Services: Core revenue stream from printing services including magazines, newspapers, books, retail inserts, catalogues, security materials, and educational materials. Revenue generated through production fees for print orders across various technologies (gravure, heatset web offset, sheet-fed, coldset).
2. Packaging Products and Solutions: Revenue from flexible packaging solutions (retail bags, form fill seal, security bags, carrier bags) and label printing (wet-glue labels, wrap-around labels, pressure sensitive labels) serving FMCG, beverage, petrochemical, retail, and industrial sectors.
3. Educational Content and Publishing: Revenue from Maskew Miller Learning division providing curriculum-based print materials, e-learning content, teacher training, and educational resources. Services schools, TVET colleges, and higher education institutions. Includes Department of Basic Education contract work.
4. Tissue Products: Novus holds 49% stake in Mthembu Paper Mills which produces tissue paper products including recycled, virgin, and roller towel grades from converted waste paper from printing operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Novus Holdings manufactures and supplies commercial printed products, flexible plastic packaging, labels, educational content, and tissue paper to enterprise and government customers across Southern Africa. Through its Novus Print, Novus Packaging, Novus Education (Maskew Miller Learning), and Novus Tissue divisions, the group delivers magazines, newspapers, books, retail inserts, catalogues, security print, CAPS-approved educational materials, FMCG and retail packaging, labels, and converted tissue products from multiple production facilities in South Africa.

Product overview

Novus Holdings is a diversified printing, publishing, and packaging company with a multi-brand, multi-division portfolio. The core business is Novus Print, offering comprehensive printing services across multiple technologies. Novus Packaging provides flexible and label packaging solutions through brands including Novus Labels and ITB Flexible Packaging Solutions (acquired 2017). Novus Education operates Maskew Miller Learning, a major educational publisher with CAPS-approved content. The company also holds a 49% stake in Novus Tissue (Mthembu Paper Mills) for tissue production. Divisions are supported by On The Dot (distribution) and Novus Media, with Bytefuse representing a digital technology investment. The company was historically part of Naspers before its 2015 JSE listing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• No Problem Marketing: Carrier bag brand featuring eco-friendly recycled material handles, manufactured by ITB.
• Two Timer Carrier Bags
• ITB Plastics
• Novus Academy

Products and services

• Novus Print

Quantifiable outcome

• FSC Chain of Custody certified production capabilities at Montague Gardens and Paarden Eiland facilities
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Pearson PlcflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2022Acquisition of Pearson's 75% share in South African courseware business for approximately £53 million / $64 million. Includes Maskew Miller Learning educational publishing operations. Part of Pearson's strategic review of international courseware businesses.
• Songo AfricaminorOthersEnterprise Development beneficiary. Novus Holdings provided an interest-free loan to assist cash flow stabilization and business expansion. Two entrepreneurs founded the promotional gifts and printing company in KwaZulu-Natal in 2004.
• Drink Dispense Services (DDS)minorOthersEnterprise Development beneficiary. Novus Holdings provided interest-free loan enabling DDS to buy vehicles rather than lease, keeping cash in-house. DDS services over 20,000 pubs, restaurants and retail outlets throughout Africa with branches in Botswana, Mozambique, and Malawi.
• Inyozi EmpowermentcoreOthersEnterprise Development beneficiary. Novus Holdings invested R3 million in the fund which has supported over 71,000 entrepreneurs since inception. Fund provides loan capital at affordable rates to black-owned businesses meeting criteria of 51% black ownership and annual turnover under R50 million.
• Van's BookbinderscoreOthersSupplier Development beneficiary. 100% black-owned bookbinding company received interest-free loan for Kolbus hard-case bookbinding machine in 2017. Located in Epping Industria. Provides threadsewn, perfect binding, hardcase binding, luxury leather-bound books, and restoration services.
• TU Hand FinishingminorOthersSupplier Development beneficiary occupying 240m² rent-free space at Novus Print Montague Gardens. Established in 2000, provides bagging, inserting, special packing and quality control services to Novus Print for 21 years.
• Rodco FinishingminorOthersSupplier Development beneficiary occupying 300m² rent-free space at Novus Print Montague Gardens. Established in July 2012, vision to become preferred supplier of hand-finishing services while creating employment and empowering employees.
• Ivan's Hand Finishing CCminorOthersSupplier Development beneficiary occupying 190m² rent-free space at Novus Print Montague Gardens. Established in 2009 by founder of Van's Bookbinders. Team of 7 permanent and 30 casual staff providing collating, cutting, trimming, scoring, die cutting, drilling and binding.
• Ecclesia Mail HouseminorOthersSupplier Development beneficiary occupying 350m² rent-free space at Novus Print Montague Gardens. Established in 2006 by two entrepreneurs wanting financial independence and employment for previously disadvantaged communities. Core business includes insertion and bagging of magazines.
• Mthembu Paper MillscoreOthersAssociate company in which Novus Holdings holds 49% stake. Converts waste paper from printing operations into jumbo tissue wadding, producing recycled, virgin, and roller towel tissue grades. Demonstrates production efficiency and environmental impact minimization.
• Mustek LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMandatory offer to shareholders announced November 2024. Novus pursuing acquisition of Mustek, a technology company. Takeover Regulation Panel investigations and approvals ongoing. Deal represents significant strategic expansion into technology sector.
• New Africa Education Foundation (NAEF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Read to Lead Mobile Libraries initiative since 2017. Novus sponsors schools across South Africa with mobile libraries wheeled between classrooms, improving literacy in less privileged communities.
• Future FoundationscoreOthersNovus Holdings' own CSI/SED initiative umbrella established in 2014. Supports socio-economic development projects based on 'hand up, not hand out' philosophy. Partners with various community organizations to drive upliftment, upskilling and training.
• ITB Manufacturing Proprietary LimitedflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcquired October 2017, ITB is a leading KwaZulu-Natal based flexible packaging company with over 22,000m² manufacturing facility. Specializes in flexible packaging solutions including retail bags, form fill seal, security bags, and carrier bags.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Nampak: JSE-listed diversified packaging manufacturer with rigid plastics, metals, glass and paper packaging operations across Africa. Highly comparable as a large SA-listed packaging peer; Novus's Phil Roux also led Nampak through a turnaround, signalling direct leadership overlap.
• Mondi plc: Global paper and packaging group with significant emerging-market flexible packaging exposure. Comparable as a large-scale paper-based packaging incumbent; less directly competing in commercial print but overlapping in FSC-certified paper supply and packaging substrates used by ITB.
• Smurfit Kappa: Global paper-based packaging leader with strong African and FMCG customer footprint. Comparable as a broad packaging incumbent competing for FMCG flexible packaging and paper-based packaging spend alongside ITB and Novus Packaging.
• Media24: Naspers-owned South African publisher of magazines, newspapers and books, and a major buyer of print services. Functions as both a customer and adjacent operator with own printing assets; directly comparable for demand on Novus's magazine and book print lines.
• Vivendi (with Editis/Havas portfolio): European-listed media conglomerate with publishing, education (Editis) and advertising holdings. Comparable as a diversified media/education incumbent that consumes large volumes of commercial print similar to Novus Print's publishing customers.
• Quad/Graphics: US-listed large-scale commercial printer serving publishers, retailers and direct marketers with magazines, catalogues, books and packaging. Comparable as a global commercial-print incumbent facing similar digital-substitution headwinds and serving similar publishing and retail customers.

Others

• Pearson plc: UK-listed global education publisher that divested its South African courseware business (now Maskew Miller Learning) to Novus in 2022. Highly comparable for the Maskew Miller Learning division given shared curriculum-publishing DNA, and an adjacent partner rather than current competitor.

Direct peers

• Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers: JSE-listed Southern African printing, publishing and packaging group producing newspapers, magazines, books, labels and packaging. Direct competitor across virtually every Novus Print, Packaging and Labels category and the closest local peer in scale and product mix.
• Oxford University Press (Southern Africa): Curriculum and educational publisher active in South Africa, competing with Maskew Miller Learning for school textbook and learning-material budgets. Direct comparable in the Novus Education / Maskew Miller Learning segment of the portfolio.

Regional players

• Donnelley Financial Solutions (Donnelley/Veritext adjacent print heritage): US-headquartered financial and regulatory print and compliance services provider. Comparable on the security materials / ballot papers / confidential printing side of Novus Print, though operating in a different geography and regulatory market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/novusholdings
• Facebookfacebook.com/NovusHoldings
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/novusholdings

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Novus Holdings