The company Amstrad was established in England in 1968 and originally sold cheap electronics. It was in the early 1980s when their sales started to plateau and founder and owner Alan Sugar decided to go into the market with either a new product of a completely new sector. One of Amstrad's engineers, Ivor Spital, concluded that Amstrad should sell home computers and the Baron Sugar agreed. Development of the "Colour Personal Computer" (CPC) started in 1983 and the following year saw the release of Amstrad's first computer.

The Amstrad CPC 464 were known for the computer's all-in-one concept: the electrical supply to the computer was to be found in the monitor. The CPC 464 also had a built-in taperecorder so that even the most inexperienced of users were able to use the computer instantly. The CPC 464 was very successful, particularly in its country of origin, and was a direct competitor to Commodore and also Sinclair, a company which Amstrad would purchase in 1986.

Besides the Amstrad CPC 464, the Schneider CPC 464 also exists. Schneider was a German importer of these Amstrad computers and was also the vendor of the Amstrads in several European nations, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Multiple CPC models, including the 464, were built until the product line was discontinued in 1990.