What Opus Group does

OPUS Group Limited is an Australian private specialist printing and integrated print-services group headquartered at 138 Bonds Road, Riverwood (NSW). It operates six wholly-owned subsidiaries - Ligare (the largest specialist book printer on Australia's Eastern Seaboard, est. 1979), McPherson's Printing Group (est. 1946), Griffin Press (est. 1858), CanPrint Communications (est. 1997, successor to the Australian Government Publishing Service), Union Offset (est. 1958, ISO 9001/14001 certified), and Canberra Mailing (est. 1976) - across manufacturing sites in NSW, ACT and Victoria. The group manufactures books and book-like products via offset and digital printing, supported by design and prepress, binding, digital asset management, mailing, warehousing, virtual warehousing, print-on-demand and direct-to-consumer fulfilment services.

The group's go-to-market is direct B2B, organised around three customer segments: Publishing (global and local professional, educational and trade publishers served through Ligare, MPG and Griffin Press), Government (federal departments, agencies and statutory bodies served through security-screened CanPrint, Union Offset and Canberra Mailing operations, holding Australian Security Vetting Service clearances), and Media and Advertising (global media companies and agencies served through mailing, warehousing and distribution). Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution is delivered directly through the subsidiary network rather than third-party channels, and the group is positioned as a one-stop shop from online ordering through to fulfilment for book and book-like production.

Ownership and corporate structure: OPUS was previously listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ticker: OPG) but was removed from the official list on 9 October 2018 following a Scheme of Arrangement, returning the company to private ownership under Hong Kong-based Lion Rock Group Limited and redomiciling to Hong Kong with an application for Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing. Richard Celarc co-founded Ligare in 1979 and remains non-executive Chairman after retiring as CEO in May 2017; Executive Directors Lau Chuk Kin and Tang Tsz Ying were appointed in April-May 2018 alongside non-executive Director Paul Antony Young. The current customer mix spans professional, educational and trade publishing, government, and media/advertising; revenue is not disclosed.

Name

Opus Group

Legal name

OPUS Group Limited

Website

https://opusgroup.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

OPUS Group is a private Australian specialist printing group operating six wholly-owned subsidiaries (Ligare, McPherson's, Griffin Press, CanPrint, Union Offset, Canberra Mailing) that produce books, journals and government publications and provide integrated print, mailing, warehousing and fulfilment services across NSW, ACT and Victoria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Riverwood

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Opus Group is an Australian group of specialist print and related service businesses that manufactures books and book-like products across electronic, digital, and offset production methods. It offers an integrated service solution for publishing customers spanning online ordering, digital print, print on demand, binding, warehousing, mailing, and distribution, serving professional, educational, trade publishers, government departments, and media and advertising agencies.

Product overview

OPUS Group is an Australian group of specialist print and related service businesses operating in NSW, ACT and VIC. The company offers an integrated service solution for publishing customers specializing in book or book-like products, providing capabilities from online ordering, digital print, print on demand, through to warehousing and distribution. The portfolio includes multiple acquired brands: Ligare (largest specialist book printer on Eastern Seaboard), McPherson's Printing Group (onshore short to long run book production), Griffin Press (digital to conventional print with global network), CanPrint Communications (government printing and publishing), Union Offset (offset and digital printing with largest digital facility in Canberra), and Canberra Mailing (mailing and distribution). Core services span design and prepress, digital and offset printing, binding services, digital asset management, mailing and distribution, and warehouse and fulfilment. The company serves educational, professional, and trade markets as well as government departments with security-cleared capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ligare Book Printing

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• TC Transcontinental: TC Transcontinental (TSX: TCL) is a Canadian diversified printing and packaging group whose Printing sector includes a large book printing platform (Transcontinental Printing) serving North American trade and educational publishers — making it the closest multi-facility book print analogue to Opus, though much larger in scale and listed.
• Toppan Printing: Toppan Printing is a Japanese global printing conglomerate with significant book, magazine and security printing businesses. Its secure documents and publications segments overlap directly with Opus's security-cleared government book printing franchise.
• Dai Nippon Printing (DNP): DNP is one of the world's largest diversified printing groups with book and information communication operations. While far larger and more diversified than Opus, DNP competes at the high end of print quality and security printing relevant to Opus's government and publisher clients.
• Quad/Graphics: Quad/Graphics (NYSE: QUAD) is one of the largest commercial printers in North America with substantial book manufacturing capability. It overlaps with Opus in offset and digital book production, integrated fulfillment and serving large trade and educational publishers, but at significantly greater scale and across multiple geographies.

Regional players

• Asia Pacific Offset: Asia Pacific Offset is an Asia-based offset printing group serving publisher clients across the Asia-Pacific region. It is a regional analogue to Opus in offset book production capability, but does not directly compete in Australia given its primary Asia footprint.
• Openbook Howden: Openbook Howden is one of Australia's largest book printing operations, offering short, medium and long run book production onshore. It is the most directly comparable Australian competitor to Opus's Ligare and McPherson's divisions on book printing capability.
• Peacock Bros: Peacock Bros is an Australian commercial and digital printer with book, manual and catalogue production capability. It overlaps with Opus on Australian print buyers but is smaller and less specialist in book manufacturing than Opus's core book printing franchises.

Others

• Cimpress / Vistaprint: Cimpress is a global mass-customization printing platform (parent of Vistaprint and others) oriented around small-batch web-to-print production. While its business model differs from Opus's B2B book manufacturing, it competes for adjacent short-run print demand and represents a structural disruptor to traditional book printers.

Direct peers

• CJK Group: CJK Group is a US-based book printing and manufacturing services platform serving publishers from short-run to long-run print and fulfillment. It is a close direct peer to Opus given its similar mix of offset/digital book production and integrated services for the publishing industry.
• Walsworth Publishing: Walsworth is a US family-owned book printing and publishing services company offering offset and digital book production, binding and distribution. Its focus on trade and educational publishers mirrors Opus's core customer segments and one-stop-shop model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries6 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 Opus Group