UK audiovisual market to top £2.8bn in 2005

Presentation equipment and business-event sales to be the major earners, according to market watcher

Audiovisual (AV) sales in the UK are expected to increase by seven per cent in 2005, according to research by the International Visual Communications Association (IVCA).

The research found that the UK AV sector is expected to turn over £2.8bn this year, compared to £2.62bn in 2004. Amost 4.3 per cent of the market’s overall turnover is accredited to exports.

According to the IVCA forecast, presentation equipment and business event sales will be the major money-earners in 2005, producing sales of £990m and £578m respectively.

Simon Jackson, sales director at NEC Display Solutions, agreed with the research. “Sales are gathering pace, particularly in the business area. The growth is sustainable and we expect increased LCD sales,” he said.

Jackson felt that the low export figure could be put down to the global presence of many vendors, hence making exports redundant.

Darren Lewitt, divisional director at distributor Midwich, said: “A lot of growth has happened. The plasma and home entertainment markets have gone through the roof and projector sales in the education market, such as whiteboards, have rapidly expanded.”

Lewitt notes a rise in home cinema sales, which now accounts for 10 per cent of Midwich’s business, representing a 700 to 800 per cent rise over the last two years.

He added that the low export figure could be due to the contained nature of the UK market: “The UK is more expensive than the rest of Europe and there isn’t a massive drive to develop outside of the UK, because the domestic market is so huge.

“The UK is so different to any other market, even in Europe. It has a massive education business, more significant than anywhere else in the world.”