Universal Brooms Ltd was a broomstick manufacturing company founded in 1955 by the three Ollerton brothers. Their primary goal was to create and sell affordable racing broom models to compete with the then-dominant Cleansweep Broom Company. (Quidditch Through the Ages) The company's first model, the Shooting Star, was the cheapest racing broom on the market upon its release and achieved considerable popularity. However, the broom's low cost came at the expense of long-term performance, as it was discovered that the Shooting Star had a tendency to lose both speed and altitude with age. (Quidditch Through the Ages) As the Cleansweep Broom Company and the newer Comet Trading Company continued to produce higher-quality and more reliable brooms, Universal Brooms Ltd found it could no longer compete effectively in the racing broom market. The Shooting Star was eventually outclassed and production ceased, with the company failing to secure a lasting foothold among top-tier Quidditch players. (Quidditch Through the Ages)
Universal Brooms Ltd is not mentioned within the narrative of the seven primary novels and therefore has no direct role in the story of Harry Potter. All known information about the company and its products is derived from the supplementary book Quidditch Through the Ages, an in-universe textbook from the Hogwarts library.
The history of Universal Brooms Ltd is an example of the detailed world-building J.K. Rowling created for the wizarding world. It serves to flesh out the commercial and economic history of Quidditch, illustrating the competitive nature of the broomstick industry and providing context for the market dominance of brands like Cleansweep, Comet, and later, the Nimbus Racing Broom Company.