International Boat Industry - December 2015

Denmark

16 DECEMBER 2015 | International Boat Industry http://www.ibi-plus.com

Markets & Regions

UK | OVERVIEW

COUNTRY

REPORT

S The total number
of visitors at
Southampton 2015
was down by 2%
to 110,000 largely
attributed to the
poor weather

T

he UK’s marine industry generated £2.

billion of revenue in 2014, an increase of

around 1% on last year’s performance, with

strong sales in the dinghy and small boat sector

offsetting reverses in the luxury motorboat market.

The ongoing recovery of the industry is running

parallel with the UK’s general economic wellbeing,

reflecting the cautious return of business confidence.

The Bank of England’s base interest rate has stayed

at a historic low of 0.5% for more than six years now,

and commentators suggest that this will continue

well into 2016, whilst the low inflation rate became

deflation (-0.1%) in September and

October, held down by falling fuel and

food prices. A litre of unleaded petrol,

for example, is now averaging £1.07 at

the pumps (Nov 2015) down from its

peak of £1.42 in March 2012, although

it remains one of the most heavily

taxed in Europe. All this is helping to

drive renewed consumer spending, and

continued low-cost investment by the

marine industry.

Employment prospects have also improved, with

more marine manufacturers recruiting, although

a skills shortage remains, particularly in marine

engineering and electronics.

A recent survey of 321 members of trade

association British Marine (BM) suggests that 1 in 3

reported a rise in employment levels, so now around

36,000 people are directly employed in the UK’s

leisure marine industry.

Since the end of 2014, there has also been

a significant increase in the investment in

new infrastructure, especially in research and

development, with 45% of the respondents increasing

investment in facilities, up from 39% in 2013.

Global interest in British-built boats of all types

shows no sign of diminishing, with a total of 10,

boats of all types and sizes built in 2014. This figure

accounts for 29.3% of the total industry revenue.

The number of adults in the UK that participate

in all forms of watersports has remained fairly static,

despite the country’s rapidly increasing (official) net

Market confidence

gains traction

DESPITE SETBACKS FOR THE MAIN MOTORBOAT MANUFACTURERS, AND HAMPERED BY A STRONG

POUND, THE UK ‘S MARINE INDUSTRY REPORTS CONTINUED, IF UNSPECTACULAR, GROWTH SUPPORTED

BY SURPRISINGLY GOOD RESULTS IN THE SMALL CRAFT SECTOR

WORDS: JAKE KAVANAGH

• GDP growth: 2.6% (Est. 2014)


• GDP growth forecast 2016: 2.4% (Est. 2015)


• GDP per capita: US$39,800 (2014 est.)


• Inflation rate: 0% in August down from 0.1% in July


• Unemployment rate: 8.9% (Nov 15) same as October
  2015


• Population: 64,088,222 (July 2015 est.)


• Area total: 243,610 sq km


• Coastline: 12,429 km

UK

The UK’s

marine industry

generated £2.93bn of

revenue in 2014, an

increase of around 1%

on last year’s

performance