BMF Reports UK Boating Figures on the Rise

The full economic impact of the UK marine industry and spending associated with boating participation was estimated to total USD 11.45bn in 2012/13, according to a new report released by the British Marine Federation (BMF).

Latest industry trends results also announced by the BMF show encouraging signs of an upward trend for this key contributor to the UK economy.

The two reports are announced in a week when the UK leisure, superyacht and small commercial marine industry came together at the BMF’s annual conference in Liverpool.

In addition to highlighting the impressive USD 11.45bn contribution, the BMF’s Economic Benefits of the UK Boating Industry also revealed expenditures are estimated to support approximately 141,000 full time (FTE) jobs and more than USD 9bn of Gross Value Added (GVA) in the UK economy, taking into account all direct and indirect effects.

The estimates in this report include associated manufacturing, repair, servicing, distribution, retail, finance activities and other consumer and business activities as well as wider tourism activities and spending.

According to the BMF’s Industry Trends Report (November 2013 – May 2014) the sector is healthier than a year ago and future expectations for the marine industry are also more promising.

Hit hard by the downturn, the leisure market is now improving steadily and new build activity is seeing uplift over the last six months ago compared to last year.

In the superyacht and small commercial sectors, both of which are still performing ahead of the leisure sector overall, the most significant improvement is being seen in the aftermarket/refit markets.

Howard Pridding, Chief Executive of the British Marine Federation, said: “This economic benefits report now completes the picture and we can appreciate the full economic impact of the marine industry; USD 11.45bn is a significant total. It’s also great news that latest indicators from our members really do show that the industry is moving forward.

We’ve seen the sector experience two consecutive years of positive growth and BMF membership numbers recently reach 1,601, the highest since pre recession.

Many marine companies reported good sales at our two last boat shows – PSP Southampton in September and London in January – and it is very positive that interest is high for the forthcoming PSP Southampton Boat Show, with 97% of space already sold.”

[mappress]

Press Release, July 17th, 2014