Exporting to Great Britain

There are a number of sectors in Great Britain that could potentially offer some opportunities to Northern Ireland companies:

Life and Health Sciences

According to the UK’s Office for Life Sciences, in 2020 the UK Life Sciences industry generated a turnover of £88.9bn (Office for Life Sciences, Bioscience and Health Technology Sector Statistics 2020).

Two key sectors exist within the UK Life Sciences industry, namely: Biopharmaceuticals and Medical Technology.

Engineering

The value of the UK Civil Engineering sector was estimated to be £55.3bn in 2022 up from £50.2bn in 2019 and is estimated to grow by 4.75% by 2025 (Statista, UK Civil Engineering Industry Outlook, February 2022).

The UK Electrical Engineering sector was valued at £21bn in 2020 and is expected to reach a value of £23.bn by 2026 (IBISWorld, “Electricians in the UK”, March 2021).

The UK Mechanical Engineering sector generated approximately £40.9bn in revenue in 2020 and was forecast to grow by 15% up to the end of 2022 with growth over the period from 2020–2025 forecast to reach 23% (Statista, “Revenue of the Mechanical Engineering industry in the UK from 2006 to 2020”, April 2021).

The UK Precision Engineering industry market size is estimated at £6.8bn in 2022 (IBISWorld, “Precision Engineering in the UK - Market Size 2010–2028”, February 2022) having grown by an average 0.2% between 2017 and 2021 and was forecast to increase by 17.2% in 2022 from 2021 levels.

Aerospace, Defence and Security

According to International Trade Administration (September 2021), the UK Aerospace industry is the second largest the world behind the US, with approximately 16% of global market share. There are currently more than 3,000 aerospace companies in the UK with key indigenous players including BAE Systems, Cobham, GKN, Meggitt, QinetiQ, Rolls-Royce, and Ultra Electronics. 97% of domestic aerospace production is exported.

The UK has a reputation as a centre of excellence for the production of engines, wings, structures, aircraft systems including landing gear and helicopters. In addition to manufacturing the UK has a thriving Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) sector, which provides services to the huge numbers of military and civil aircraft that fly through or from the UK each year.

Construction

According to the IBISWorld “Sector Trends 2022 - Construction Sector in the UK” report, revenue for the UK Construction Sector grew 3.9% per year on average between 2015 and 2020 to £219.4bn.

The UK construction industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with overall output declining by over 35% year-on-year in April 2020 (“Construction industry in the UK - statistics & facts”, Statista, February 2022). The only sectors with positive growth were infrastructure and public new housing (“Construction statistics, Great Britain: 2020”, Office of National statistics, October 2021).

Technology and creative

The Technology Sector is defined as including ICT, Data Analytics, Telecommunications and Cyber Security. The UK is the largest ICT market in Europe offering major opportunities in cybersecurity, 5G/telecoms, Software/SaaS & Cloud Services, Fintech and IOT and Smart Cities.

The Digital and Creative Sector is extremely broad and encompasses a diverse range of activities; from telecoms to advertising and computer programming through to broadcasting. However, the distinction between ‘digital’ and ‘creative’ is constantly evolving and becoming significantly less clear. Most creative activities now rely on, or incorporate, digital technologies. In turn, creativity and design disciplines are also becoming increasingly important to digital projects.

Professional Services

The professional and business services sector plays an important role in supporting jobs and growth in the UK, making up 13% of all UK employment, 25% of all businesses and adding £190bn in 2020 to the economy (Allianz Insurance – Review of Professional Services Sector, April 2021.

According to the IBISWorld “Sector Trends 2022 - Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities Sector in the UK” report, including Scientific and Technical Activities takes the total sector value to  £241.4bn in 2020, indicating that the Professional Scientific and Technical sub sector was the fastest (1st) growing sector over that 5 year period to 2020.

Food and Drink

The UK Food Production market generated approximately £105bn in 2020 (Food and Drink Federation).  According to IBISWorld Meat Processing in the UK trends 2017-2022 industry revenue is expected to have grown at a compound annual rate of 0.9% over the five years to reach £8.9bn in 2022.

The UK Grocery Retail sector was valued £205bn in 2020, £211bn in 2021 and is anticipated to grow to £229bn by 2026 (Statista, “Market value of grocery retail in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2004 to 2026”, February 2022, Statista, “Market value of grocery retail in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2004 to 2026”, February 2022 and IGD). 

Space

UK sector income has risen from £14.8bn in 2016 to £16.4bn in 2019, representing annual growth of 2.8% in real terms, with R&D investment at five times the national average, according to the UK Space Agency May 2021 ‘Size and Health of the UK Space Industry Report’.  The industry is dominated by ‘downstream’ activities such as direct to home broadcasting.