Paul Costelloe design firm’s accumulated profits rise to €1.48m

Accumulated profits at the design management firm owned by one of Ireland’s best known designers, Paul Costelloe, last year increased to €1.487 million.

New accounts filed by Paul Costelloe Design Management Ltd show that the company recorded profit after tax and dividends totalling €113,498 for the 12 months to the end of August last. This was a 38 per cent drop on its 2019 profits of €184,354.

The company has delivered consistently strong profits after dividends and after tax over recent years: €182,173 in 2018, €458,033 in 2017 and €236,649 in 2016.

Pay to directors last year increased by €95,599 from €342,716 to €438,315.

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The cash pile at the company last year increased from €1.6 million to €1.74 million.

The numbers employed remained static at seven, with staff costs, including directors’ pay, increasing from €565,117 to €588,715.

The accounts show that €125,133 was payable to one of the company's directors, Gerald Mescal, in respect of financial consultancy, accounting, management and office services provided by his firm.

Mr Costelloe has also benefited from his link up with Irish-owned retail giant Dunnes Stores with his Paul Costelloe Living Studio range.

However, earlier this year, Mr Costelloe conceded that his clothing line for Dunnes Stores has been badly hit by the pandemic.

He said: “We didn’t anticipate the lockdown being so long and the whole spring collection is sitting in warehouses, in China or in Europe.”

Feature

Mr Costelloe has been a feature on the Irish design landscape for decades and his career highs include designing a uniform for British Airways staff in 1992 that remained in service for a record 12 years; designing the Irish Olympic team uniform for the 2004 Athens Olympics and designing the uniforms for the wives of the European Ryder Cup team from 2006 to 2011.

The Dublin-born couturier, who first left Ireland at the age of 19 to “live off tins of ravioli” in Paris, soon became a royal favourite and designed many of Princess Diana’s outfits.

Before he established himself as a world-renowned designer, Mr Costelloe was selling Bibles in Northern Ireland at the age of 15.