Kagiso Publishing House

What Kagiso Publishing House does

Kagiso Publishing House is a South African literary publishing house founded in 1993 and headquartered in Johannesburg. It operates within the broader Caxton & CTP Publishers and Printers Limited group (JSE-listed, ticker CAX), using the caxton.co.za domain, and is one component of a diversified print and media portfolio that includes more than 140 community newspapers, The Citizen daily newspaper, Farmer's Weekly magazine, twelve Get It hyper-local glossy magazines, and book, commercial, and packaging printing facilities across Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Wellington, Philippi, and Selby.

The group operates a vertically integrated production stack spanning web offset, heatset, gravure, sheetfed, and digital printing, anchored by a WIFAG 72-page press at CTP Gravure Durban printing at 35,000 revolutions per hour, computer-to-plate pre-press with automated colour correction, and multi-site print splitting for cost and time efficiency. Digital assets include Hive Digital Media (operating 54 community news websites), Private Property (property marketplace), Cognition Holdings (data and permission-based marketing), and Spark Media (advertising sales). Stationery manufacturing under the Flip File brand (founded 1970) is a recognised consumer-products line.

Revenue mechanics combine advertising sales (via Spark Media) and circulation across newspapers and magazines, transaction-fee commercial printing for retailers and magazine publishers, packaging sales through CTP Packaging, and stationery hardware sales (Flip File). The group employs approximately 5,500 people across all divisions, with a primary footprint across nine South African provinces and a customer base spanning national brand advertisers, local/regional advertisers, corporate and retail print buyers (e.g., Edcon, JD Group), and magazine title publishers.

Name

Kagiso Publishing House

Legal name

Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers Limited

Website

https://caxton.co.za

Company type

Public

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kagiso Publishing House is a Johannesburg-based literary publishing house founded in 1993, operating within the Caxton & CTP group and sharing its infrastructure across newspapers, magazines, books, commercial printing, packaging, stationery, and digital assets in South Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Literary & Classics Publishing (MPAJAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB)

Keywords

• Book publishing
• Literary publishing
• Publishing services
• Print media
• Literary materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Publishing Revenue: Publishing regional community newspapers, The Citizen daily newspaper, Farmer's Weekly magazine, and Get It community magazines with advertising and subscription revenue
2. Commercial Printing: Commercial printing services including newspapers, magazines, retail newspaper supplements, pamphlets, and corporate brochures
3. Book and Diary Printing: Book printing and diary printing services through CTP Printers Cape Town
4. Packaging: Packaging and labels manufacturing through CTP Packaging division
5. Stationery Manufacturing: Stationery products including Flip File plastic pocket files, manufactured and sold to commercial and retail customers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kagiso Publishing House owns and operates a publishing house in South Africa that publishes literary materials. The company is based in Johannesburg and produces literary content for the South African market, functioning as a traditional publishing enterprise serving readers of literary works.

Product overview

Caxton & CTP operates as a diversified publishing, printing, and media company offering a comprehensive portfolio of print and digital products. The core publishing business includes over 140 community newspapers (The Voice of the Community), flagship daily newspaper The Citizen, Farmer's Weekly agricultural magazine, and 12 Get It Community Magazines. The commercial printing division spans multiple facilities (Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town) offering web offset, sheetfed offset, rotogravure, and digital printing. Digital operations include Hive Digital Media (54 local news websites), Private Property (property marketplace), Cognition Holdings (permission-based marketing), and Spark Media (advertising solutions). Stationery manufacturing includes CTP Stationery and the Flipfile brand. The company employs approximately 5,500 people across operations in Johannesburg (head office), Cape Town, Durban, and Wellington.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Citizen: Flagship daily newspaper carrying quality content across various editorial pillars including dedicated soccer and parenting columns.
• Farmer's Weekly
• Get It
• Hive Digital Media

Products and services

• Literary materials publishing Kagiso Publishing House publishes literary materials as its core offering, producing literary content for readers in South Africa. The publishing house produces books and literary works for the South African market.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.7 million+ weekly print copies across 140+ newspapers
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• WIFAG (Press Manufacturer)coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership for printing equipment; WIFAG 72-page press at CTP Gravure Durban printing at 35,000 revolutions per hour - described as finest press for magazine production in the country
• ManRoland (Press Manufacturer)coreTechnology or IntegrationUltra-modern, high speed multi-unit printing machines used in CTP Printers Cape Town operations
• Heidelberg (Press Manufacturer)coreTechnology or IntegrationSheetfed offset printing units used in Cape Town operations for high quality printing
• KBA (Press Manufacturer)coreTechnology or IntegrationMulti-unit printing machines used in CTP Printers Cape Town operations
• Spark MediacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAdvertising and media-solutions company representing local Caxton newspapers, Get It magazines, The Citizen and related digital channels; specializes in data analytics and customer growth and retention

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NB Publishers: Largest South African-owned general trade book publisher, producing literary, educational, and general-interest titles in English and Afrikaans. Directly comparable as a domestic literary publisher serving the same South African reader base.
• Jacana Media: Independent South African publisher focused on literary, political, and social-justice non-fiction with strong local author relationships. Closely comparable mid-sized literary publisher operating in the same domestic market.
• Tafelberg Publishers: South African literary imprint under NB Publishers specialising in Afrikaans and English literary fiction, non-fiction, and biography. Comparable as a literary-focused SA publisher targeting the same reader demographics.
• Pan Macmillan South Africa: South African arm of the international publisher, releasing literary fiction, non-fiction, and commercial titles into the local market. Competes for the same authors and reader attention as a trade literary publisher.
• Jonathan Ball Publishers: South African publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and translated works, distributing local and international authors. Direct competitor for both authors and shelf space in the South African literary market.
• Human & Rousseau: South African literary imprint under NB Publishers producing Afrikaans and English literary works. Comparable in scale, target market, and literary focus to a domestic literary publishing house.

Emerging players

• Kwela Books: South African literary imprint under NB Publishers focused on literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, and translated African works. Comparable niche literary focus but smaller imprint scale within a larger publisher.

Broad incumbents

• Penguin Random House South Africa: Subsidiary of the world's largest trade publisher operating in South Africa. Competes across literary and commercial fiction/non-fiction with substantially larger financial backing and global rights infrastructure.

Regional players

• Shuter & Shooter: Established South African publisher with educational and literary publishing. Comparable as a domestic publisher with overlapping trade-literary interests, though with stronger educational ties.
• Vivlia Publishers & Booksellers: South African publisher and retailer producing literary and educational titles for the local market. Comparable as a domestic publisher with similar literary and educational publishing focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/caxton
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caxton-community-newspapers

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries29 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Kagiso Publishing House