Published on: 08 April 2021

In case you missed this week's British Marine webinar, where the latest Marina and Moorings report was launched to members, you can listen again now. The full report is also available for members to download here.

This new market intelligence report details a wide range of economic indicators relevant to marinas and moorings in the UK, and is a valuable membership benefit for British Marine members involved in this sector.
Key headlines from the Marina and Mooring report

British Marine's latest report on the marina and moorings sector, based on the results of its annual survey of UK marina operators, was run between 25 January and 14 February 2021 and received a 33% response rate among British Marine's member marina operators.

• The results indicate that revenues grew 4% to £233m in 2019/ 20, helping to support 3,054 full-time equivalent employees.
• The results of the survey reveal that berth occupancy across all marinas averaged 82% in October 2020, at the beginning of the low season, with over 40% of those marinas at or very near to full occupancy. 23% of marinas responding to the survey had waiting lists for some or all berth sizes.
• 68% of marinas surveyed were positive about their market, with operators putting this down to the impact of a pandemic-induced boom in staycations and second-hand boat sales, which has helped drive demand for berths across the UK.
• Approximately a third of these marinas reported that demand for leisure, residential and other storage types had increased compared to the previous year, with most reporting slight increases in demand.
• Nearly 60% of marina operators saw increases in new or used boat sales, reflecting the upsurge in UK boat sales reported by British Marine earlier this year. 30% of these operators reported strong or significant increases, with several marinas even reporting record sales.
• 42% of these marinas reported increases in boatyard services, both from experienced owners unable to access their vessels during lockdown, as well as from first-time owners requiring greater attention and support from marina and boatyard facilities.
• As a result, 54% of marinas responding to the survey indicated that they were positive about their market prospects over the next 12 months.

The Marinas and Mooring report shows that despite disruptions from the pandemic intermittently restricting access to boats, the UK's marina sector has weathered the last 12 months well. Most marinas are enjoying the benefits of the pandemic's disruptive effect on outdoor recreation in the UK and the increased popularity of boating and watersports among British consumers.

Whilst there is still some uncertainty among businesses as they speculate over the long-term impact of the pandemic on the industry, for now, with the unprecedented boom in demand for boats and berths, confidence among marinas and boatyards is high and operators look to the UK's reopening in anticipation of frenzied summer of boating activity.