Italy's GV Group Buys UK Book Printers CPI Books and CPI Antony Rowe

Who bought what? Italy's GV Group, owner of the book printer Grafica Veneta, has bought CPI Books and CPI Antony Rowe, two leading British book printers. The deal closed at the end of Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Printweek reports, after what GV called an international competitive bidding process and six months of "lengthy and demanding negotiations." The buyer is SoFiGraf, the Franceschi family's holding company, acting through GV Group. No price was given.

GV says the deal nearly doubles the size of the group. In a statement carried by the Italian business wire Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor, it also says the purchase strengthens its first place among Europe's book printers.

What CPI brings

Between them, the two British companies turn over about €150 million (£127 million) a year and produce more than 100 million books, according to GV. They employ just over 900 people, Printweek says, and the deal covers all their UK sites.

CPI Books has its main production hub in Chatham, Kent. CPI Antony Rowe is a print-on-demand specialist that handles more than 700,000 orders a year, covering short runs and catalogue replenishment for publishers.

Add those to Grafica Veneta's plant in Trebaseleghe, near Padua, and the two American printers GV already owns, Lake Book Manufacturing near Chicago and PA Hutchison Company in Pennsylvania. The group now says it can print more than 400 million books a year.

What the new owner says

"We worked with determination to acquire the companies we considered strategically important to our industrial development plans," said Fabio Franceschi, chairman of SoFiGraf. "CPI Books and CPI Antony Rowe bring valuable expertise, people and relationships to the group."

In a letter to GV's suppliers, seen by Printweek, Franceschi called it "a long-term industrial investment, financed entirely with our own capital." He wrote that the priority "both today and in the years ahead, is continuity: preserving the people, expertise, customer relationships and quality of service."

GV says it follows a simple rule: print each book in the country the publisher chooses, so a global network still means local production.

Names and managers

The CPI name is going. CPI UK told Printweek the UK business will be renamed GV Books UK, though the Antony Rowe name will stay, and the CPI brand will remain with CPI's European businesses. The current management teams at both UK companies are staying.

At group level, Giorgio Bertan stays on as CEO of GV Group and becomes chairman of the UK operations. Mauro Fontanari remains chief commercial officer and Stefania Turrin stays as group CFO.

The deal comes a year after CPI Group announced an orderly shutdown of its CPI William Clowes plant in Beccles, Suffolk, a printer dating to 1803 that produced legal tomes, manuals and thin-paper Bibles.

Why it matters for authors

Printers shape schedules. Where and how fast a book is printed affects publication dates, reprint times and costs. When a large printer changes hands, publishers watch for changes. GV says continuity is the plan and the managers are staying, so authors are unlikely to notice anything soon.

Print on demand is part of the deal. Antony Rowe's 700,000-plus orders a year include on-demand printing and catalogue replenishment, the work that keeps backlist titles in stock instead of out of print.

Book printing is consolidating across borders. One family-run Italian group now owns big plants in Italy, the US and the UK. For self-publishers weighing their own print options, PT's guide to IngramSpark vs. KDP Print covers the basics.

Sources

• Printweek: CPI UK acquired by GV Group (October 14, 2026)
• Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor via Borsa Italiana: Grafica Veneta: holding SoFiGraf acquisisce Cpi Books e Cpi Antony Rowe (October 13, 2026)