Lower prices were achieved by injection moulding plastic hi-fi turntable covers, undercutting competitors who used the vacuum forming process.

In 1980, Amstrad went public trading on the London Stock Exchange, and doubled in size each year during the early '80s.

The CPC 464 was launched in the UK, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain and Italy.

However, due to a problem with the Seagate ST277R hard disk shipped with the PC2386 model, these had to be recalled and fitted with Western Digital controllers.

Amstrad was key to the introduction of Sky, as the company was responsible for finding methods to produce the requisite equipment at an attractive price for the consumer - Alan Sugar famously approached "someone who bashes out dustbin lids", to manufacture mesh satellite dishes cheaply.

Ultimately, it was the only manufacturer producing receiver boxes and dishes at the system's launch, and continued to manufacture set top boxes for Sky, from analogue to digital including Sky's Sky+ digital video recorder.

As Amstrad began to concentrate less on computers and more in communication, they purchased several telecommunications businesses including Betacom, Dancall Telecom, Viglen Computers, and modem manufacturer Dataflex Design Communications, bought out of liquidation, during the early 1990s.

The company also established a direct marketing channel, Amstrad Direct, in late 1994 and announced 486- and Pentium-based products including an "All-in-One Multimedia PC" with built-in television tuner, infra-red remote control, amplifier and speakers.

A pen-based personal digital assistant with support for a PCMCIA-based modem, the InfoPad, was also unveiled with a September 1995 launch scheduled.

Amongst the group's assets, cumulatively valued at £200 million, the Dancall subsidiary was of particular interest to potential acquirer Psion, producer of handheld computer products, for its expertise in "GSM digital mobile phone functionality" and the potential to integrate such functionality into Psion's own product range.

Despite "long drawn out negotiations", the parties failed to agree a price and a strategy to dispose of the group's other assets.

Amstrad has also produced a variety of home entertainment products over their history, including hi-fi, televisions, VCRs, and DVD players.

In July 2007, British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) announced a takeover of Amstrad for £125m,[12] a 23.7% premium on its market capitalisation.

Having supplied BSkyB with hardware since its inception in 1988, market analysts had noted the two companies becoming increasingly close.