| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Karl Fowler |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | United Arab Emirates |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | Sports teams; celebrities; arts; culture |
| Official website | http://www.krakenopus.com/ |
Kraken Opus is a publishing company operating from Guernsey in the Channel Islands; London, United Kingdom; and the United Arab Emirates. The company produces premium, outsized editions on subjects including sports teams[1] and celebrities,[2] and on broader topics including the Muslim hajj.[3] The company describes its publications, which are produced in limited editions retailing for up to £1m, as "works of art".[2]
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The company is owned by Karl Fowler, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker.[4] He founded Kraken Opus following a period managing his own financial services company, for which he built up a client list including a number of sports stars. The interests of these clients inspired him to consider a high-end publication for sports fans;[5] he invested $5 million of his own money and of capital put up by friends and acquaintances to found Kraken Opus.[2] Its first title was the Manchester United Opus, published in 2006: the book weighed 97 lb and each edition in its 10,000 run was priced between £3000 and £4500.[2][5]
In December 2008 the company opened a proprietary shop in Covent Garden.[6] The company entered voluntary administration in June 2009 when a US backer announced that a tranche of $6m in promised funding would not be forthcoming.[7] Days later, following an offer to existing shareholders, Fowler and partner Paul Murphy undertook a management buyout of the company,[8] announcing that a new Arab funder had been found at that the company's headquarters would be moved from London to the United Arab Emirates.[7] At the time the company faced criticism over the delayed publication of the £3000-per-copy Celtic Opus, which was postponed from July 2009, after pre-orders and deposits had been received.[9] The print run was also reduced, but the firm insisted that publication would still go ahead.[10]
Several of the company's publications have attracted press notice, including the Burj Dubai Opus, a 15-foot-tall edition of which was commissioned to stand in the lobby of the building on its opening.[11] A copy of the Manchester United Opus, auctioned for $1.5m to a Middle Eastern consortium with proceeds given to the Dubai Cares charity, was the most expensive sports book ever sold.[2][3] Wine Opus had a print run of only one hundred copies, each priced at AU£1.2m each;[12] while one hundred copies of the forthcoming Diego Maradona Opus are due to ship with samples of Maradona's blood and hair.[7] The Prince Opus was sold, in tandem with a branded iPhone model, for US$2,100.[13] Kraken Opus, in partnership with ticket vendor Ticketmaster, also produced the £109 Michael Jackson Opus, the only book licensed by the Jackson estate in the immediate aftermath of his death.[14]In 2009, Indian Cricket player, Sachin Tendulkar became the only second sportsperson in the world to have an Opus named after him.[15] It's specialty consists of 856 pages edged in Gold Leaf. Each page measures 50 cm x 50 cm. The weight of the Opus measures up to 37 kg. Over 300,000 words are lodged in the Opus. Rare 1,500-plus images, each individually varnished. Four 200 cm x 50 cm gatefolds and Silk-covered clamshell box. 10 special copies of the Tendulkar Opus have traces of Sachin Tendulkar's blood.