When you work in PR and marketing, you often find yourself reviewing sector and trend reports. Setting aside time to read a sector report with a good brew (and maybe a GF cookie) is an educational process that drives forward our relevance within the sector, keeping us in tune with emerging trends and often sparking creative thinking to support client campaigns.
For me, it goes a little deeper. I harbour an inner geek, driven by curiosity and a desire to understand how and why things work. When the British Marine UK Marina & Moorings Market report landed on my desk (or, more accurately, behind my British Marine member login), I popped the kettle on and sat down to set the inner geek free.
I know reading a sector report isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but at ADPR HQ I have a bit of a reputation for being the one who digests the latest updates on the EU ETS. And, as someone who manages clients in the marina and boating world, the report is quite a read, which left me with a mix of takeaways and questions.
The UK marine and consumer market
The leisure marine market, like all leisure markets, has experienced turbulence since COVID. The pandemic introduced a shift which saw consumers almost halt spending as we entered the first lock down. This cease led us into a period of overstimulated spending as we were collectively encouraged to spend time outside finding our freedom. In the years that have followed, the market has gone through a process of readjustment. For many of us in the leisure marine sector it has disrupted established consumer trends from how and when people buy boats to when boat owners plan seasonal maintenance such as antifouling. This sentiment is reflected throughout British Marine’s report, however it’s not all doom and gloom.
An observation of positivity, while consumer confidence in 2025 didn’t reach pre-COVID levels, the report does show the green shoots of recovery. The UK market showed the strongest confidence compared with European markets. Less positive news, marine manufacturing revenues have yet to follow this trend, however boat repair and maintenance revenues seem to be showing signs of stabilising.
The report goes on to make a correlation between real wage growth, inflation and leisure spending. The outcome is no surprise, consumer pockets are not as deep as they have been previously, which could be spurring an erosion in actual spend even though there are signs of growing consumer confidence.
Marina performance
It’s great knowing what is going on with the wider market, but marina operators want to know how other marinas are performing.
The answer to this question is; it is stabilising, but the report does refer to the market being ‘soft’ or ‘softening’. In reality, some areas remain flat or in decline. Coastal marinas are marginally outperforming inland marinas, though no major trend shifts are emerging. Looking at the challenges across the board, dry stacking services are not having the best time. More positively, many TYHA members reported improvement in leisure and residential berthing with occupancy rates at 96.3% for residential and 94.7% for leisure. Consumer spending on boats, fuel and boatyard services is up year-on-year.
There is a question around consumer interest in residential berthing, and the links to rising house prices and the general rises in the cost of living, but for those who offer residential berthing this creates an opportunity in a harder market.
The longer-term view shows an overall decline since 2022, but for a sector actively seeking stability, this is not a surprise and is likely driving a sense of caution for marina operators. Speaking of which, when asked about long-term confidence, in 2022 16% of those surveyed suggested they expected a slight decrease in trade to follow. In 2025 this figure jumped to 49%, reflecting concerns around financial resilience and pressure on smaller marinas (which seem to be feeling a deeper struggle) and regional pressures for the South West were highlighted.
In short, operators expect further challenges before a return to growth.
The stats don’t quite match the sentiment
While marina operators are rightfully cautious about what will come next, the report highlights changes that appear positive on the surface. Visiting boater numbers are up in most regions. Berthing sizes are not in decline and don’t seem to be under pressure to downsize. And finally, waiting lists are on the rise, although some operators report softening demand. The report goes on to mention a shortage of berths in certain areas. What is not clear is whether waiting lists relate to specific berth sizes – we know that boat purchasing trends have changed, but are boaters waiting for spaces suited to smaller vessels?
Development
The report has a recurring theme that larger operators are performing better than those with under 100 berths and coastal marinas are marginally better off than inland marinas. The larger operators have invested, and are still investing in marina upgrades, mergers and acquisitions. With some of our clients, boatfolk and Premier Marinas, gaining mentions for their movement in the sector.
Additional challenges
The economic outlook is not the only challenge the sector faces.
- The report observes the sector’s limited engagement with decarbonising fuel sources despite growing pressure from legislators to reform our CO2 outputs.
- Boat abandonment and disposal issues are also increasing, a trend which is familiar to regular readers of boating press. Journalists have observed this trend in the recent articles.
Final thoughts
As I finish my third coffee accompanied by a ‘few’ GF cookies, my inner geek (feeling slightly jittery from the caffeine) is left with mixed thoughts. Consumers seem to be showing a desire to reignite their love of the water, but for marina operators the scars of the storm are still being felt.
I find myself asking, in light of the report, do the marina operators have the reserves to push through? The answer is of course yes, but there will likely be more consolidations of brands to follow to ensure the resilience of the sector for the future.
My hope is that we retain a market that is rich with a mix of both inland and coastal operators of all sizes who thrive on providing the best service to everyone who wants to be on, near or even in the water. And from the operators we know, I am certain this is achievable.
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