Business

Fivemiletown body armour firm and Barbie licensee passes £100m in sales

Cooneen Group triples pre-tax profits in a stellar trading year

Cooneen's range of products include military gear worn by the US Army
Cooneen's range of products include military gear worn by the US Army

Tyrone textiles firm Cooneen By Design has enjoyed a stellar trading year, with sales soaring by nearly 30% and pre-tax profits almost tripling.

Latest financial figures filed at Companies House reveal that the Fivemiletown headquartered company, which is a major supplier of uniforms, body armour and clothing to police and military forces around the world, increased its revenues in 2023 from £80.7 million to just shy of £104 million.

Pre-tax profit soared from £3.6m to £10.3m, and after taxes it retained more than £7.9m.



The group - which is part-owned by veteran millionaire industrialist John B McGuckian (84) - now has assets of £86.6m (up from £78.7m in 2022).

And all this came as Cooneen, founded in 1966, grew its staff numbers to 197, pushing up its wages bill to more than £8.5m.

The group’s directors were paid a combined £628,194, with the highest paid of them, managing director Eugene Greene, receiving £386,598.

Cooneen, now one of the largest and most diversified garment manufacturers in Europe, makes clothing products which range from highly specialised military gear, to nightwear for children and character bedclothes featuring cartoon characters like Peppa Pig.

It has a portfolio of more than 60 world-renowned licenses, including with Barbie, Disney, Harry Potter, Hot Wheels and Friends.

Margot Robbie has been nominated for best actress for her role in Barbie (Warner Bros)
Cooneen Group has a portfolio of more than 60 world-renowned licenses, including with Barbie (Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures/AP)

Among its clutch of key customers are Next, Very, Matalan, B&M and George at Asda.

The group’s subsidiaries include Hawk Holdings in the USA, a supplier of specialist armour wear, and its clients include the US Army, for whom it provides bullet-proof vests.

Besides its operations in Tyrone, it also has offices and operations in Eastern Europe, the United States, Asia and the Far East.