Managing risk while playing to win

How Unicorn Products continues to evolve after nearly a century in sport.

16.06.26

By Alan Boswell Group

Walk into a pub in Britain in the 1930s, and you would almost certainly find two things: conversation and darts. What you would not expect is that one evening in rural Devon would quietly change how the game was played around the world.

That moment, as Edward Lowy, Managing Director of Unicorn Products, tells it, is where the story of Unicorn Products began.

Unicorn was founded by Edward’s grandfather, Ferenc (Frank) Lowy, a Hungarian immigrant who arrived in the UK in the early part of the twentieth century looking, like so many others, for opportunity. A gifted linguist, Frank initially earned a living translating patents and intellectual property in London, even paying for his English lessons by teaching others what he had learned. But it was a chance encounter with the game of darts that prompted something else entirely.

“Back then, darts weren’t sold in sets,” Edward explains. “You’d go into a hardware shop and pick three individual darts out of a box. They’d all be slightly different. My grandfather reasoned that if the equipment was identical, you’d stand a better chance of improving your game.”

The solution proved elegant and revolutionary. Frank designed a properly engineered dart, ‘The Silver Comet’, sold as a matched set of three, with consistent weight and dimensions, aluminium alloy shafts, and a patented domed flight system that reduced bounce-outs. He even introduced selling darts by weight in grams, a convention that remains standard today.

The dart sets were an instant success with the more affluent middle and upper classes, selling 170,000 sets, through distribution partner Wisden, in the first year.

The first patent for Frank’s design was filed in 1937, and Unicorn Products Ltd was formally incorporated in 1941. Almost a century later, the impact of those decisions is still being felt.

From side project to global brand

In the early years, the business was modest but successful. Unicorn’s darts were far more expensive than anything else on the market, but they were measurably better. Serious players noticed.

As demand grew, so did expectations. “People would say, ‘I love your darts, but do you do anything heavier?’ Others would ask for something lighter,” recalls Edward. “At first, we only made one weight, which was a dream for manufacturing. But Frank listened, and soon we had a range: heavy, medium, and light. Then people wanted something in between, so we introduced medium-heavy and light-medium. The range just kept growing because we responded to what players actually wanted.”

Over time, the company expanded its range, professionalised its operations, and adapted its manufacturing routes. Overseas production was introduced, and a wider portfolio began to take shape.

Today, Unicorn Products is a premium sports equipment manufacturer and distributor, operating globally across several major brands:

Unicorn Darts, still the foundation of the group

Gunn & Moore, the historic cricket bat maker, founded in 1885 and still manufacturing in Nottingham

Powerglide, specialising in cue sports

Net1, supplying institutional basketball and netball systems

Molten, the Japanese sports ball brand, distributed in the UK and Ireland

“Darts probably still accounts for around 55% of the business,” Edward says. “Gunn & Moore is about 30%, with the remaining balance across the other brands. We export to around 80 countries.”

Despite its scale and international footprint, Unicorn has remained grounded in its manufacturing heritage, particularly in Nottingham, where Gunn & Moore bats are still made by skilled craftspeople and specialist machinery.

A family business, shaped by experience

Edward joined the company in 1984, though not straight from university. After studying management, he began a graduate career at Ford of Europe, an experience which taught him as much about what he did not want as what he did.

I had to learn every aspect of the business because if something wasn’t working, I had to understand why. Warehousing, manufacturing, finance, logistics. It was an education you couldn’t get anywhere else.

“I realised that if I didn’t go into work one day, it didn’t really matter,” he recalls. “The organisation was so big you were just a tiny cog.”

When he joined Unicorn as a junior computer programmer, the contrast was stark. The business was manufacturing in the UK, employing around 200 people, and every system, process, and decision had a direct impact on outcomes.

That early systems role gave Edward an unusual vantage point. “I had to learn every aspect of the business because if something wasn’t working, I had to understand why. Warehousing, manufacturing, finance, logistics. It was an education you couldn’t get anywhere else.”

By the mid-1990s, Edward and his brother Richard had taken the reins, with Edward as Managing Director and Richard as Sales Director, and their father, Stanley, remaining involved as Chairman. The transition was decisive.

“You realise very quickly that you can’t keep asking what your father would have done,” Edward says. “You have to make your own decisions and stand by them.”

Managing complexity with limited margin for error

What has not changed over time is the inherent complexity of the business. Unicorn manufactures, imports, exports, retains considerable stock, operates machinery, stores flammable materials, and relies heavily on technology to function.

“You have all the complexity of a large business, but far fewer resources to deal with it,” Edward explains. “That’s true of systems, and it’s true of risk.”

The risks are multi-layered: manufacturing machinery, global shipping, overseas production, property, stock, and professional liability. One incident in particular brought that into sharp focus.

We had a container on a vessel that sank off the south coast. You don’t think it will happen until it does. Our dartboards were literally washing up on beaches.

“We had a container on a vessel that sank off the south coast. You don’t think it will happen until it does. Our dartboards were literally washing up on beaches.”

Finding the right insurance partner

Over the years, Unicorn had worked with a range of brokers, from small firms to large national players. As consolidation in the insurance industry increased, Unicorn Products’ relationship with their broker became more distant and less personal.

“It stopped fitting our culture,” Edward says. “We’re a family business. We want to deal with people who understand that, not a call centre.”

When Unicorn undertook a formal broker review, Alan Boswell Group stood out immediately.

“Gary [Bentley, Account Executive] came in and was outstanding. He wasn’t selling. He was listening. He asked relevant questions and showed genuine interest in how the business actually works.”

Gary [Bentley, Account Executive] came in and was outstanding. He wasn’t selling. He was listening. He asked relevant questions and showed genuine interest in how the business actually works.

For Edward, it was about confidence and access. “I felt that if something serious happened, I could pick up the phone and speak to someone senior. That matters.”

The insurance programme was reviewed and modernised, covering the full breadth of Unicorn’s operations, from manufacturing and stock to international trade. More importantly, it was structured by people who understood the business.

Securing the future through employee ownership

After nearly a century under family ownership, Unicorn reached another landmark moment in 2025: the transition to an Employee Ownership Trust.

With no desire to sell to private equity or overseas buyers, and no intention of forcing a fourth generation into the business, Edward and his brother chose a route that aligned with both head and heart.

“We’ve transferred 75% of the shares into the trust,” Edward explains. “The business continues as normal, but it’s now owned in the interests of the people who work here.”

It is a model that protects the company’s legacy while encouraging long-term stability and employee engagement. A new generation of managers is already in position beneath the board, ensuring continuity beyond the founders.

“I was pleased to stand up and tell staff that the new owners weren’t a multinational,” Edward says. “The business remains in the hands of those that know it inside and out.”

Still building, still evolving

From a single patented dart to a global portfolio of respected sports brands, Unicorn Products remains defined by curiosity, engineering expertise, and long-term thinking.

With a modern management structure, an employee-owned future, and a risk strategy built to support complexity instead of restricting it, the business is well placed for its next chapter.

As Edward puts it, “Whatever the future throws at us, we want partners around us who have thought about it before. That’s what gives you confidence to keep building.”