THE MOTHER OF INVENTION

As the global economy plunges into its deepest recession since the Second World War, and the Covid-19 pandemic places unprecedented restrictions on how people and businesses can work, the superyacht industry has had to adapt rapidly. Second and even third waves of the virus worldwide are likely to trim a strong rebound seen in mid-2020, and segments including charter have been hit hard. Nonetheless, industry leaders are confident that businesses that have reacted quickly are well-placed to benefit from an expected economic recovery in 2021, which could take global GDP growth to its highest level in a decade.

First, the bad news. Global GDP is expected to shrink by 3.9 per cent in 2020, according to investment bank Goldman Sachs in its October 2020 Global Views report. “The world economy took a huge hit from the coronavirus,” the report states. The impact of the virus and consequent measures to control it across the world, including lockdowns, have led to recessions and surging unemployment in a number of major markets. Goldman Sachs expects the US economy to contract by 3.5 per cent in 2020 – a more optimistic forecast than the average 4.4 per cent shrinkage predicted by market analysts – while the eurozone will see a drop of 7.9 per cent.

Other significant markets for superyachts have also been hit hard, including the UK (with a 9.4 per cent drop in GDP forecast) and Russia (a 4 per cent drop). A rare bright spot is China, which was hit by Covid-19