Financial climate still challenging for the shooting industry but most are optimistic about the future.
The majority of shoots are optimistic about the present season and have reacted positively to counteract the economic climate according to the latest Shoot Intentions Survey conducted by leading rural property consultants Smiths Gore and leading website based sporting brokers GunsOnPegs.
The Shoot Intentions Survey follows the Shoot Benchmarking Survey, which looked at the costs of running a shoot and is designed to give greater clarity of the industry’s sentiment towards the season.
The Shoot Intentions Survey contains information from 110 shoots, half of which were commercial and half run for non-commercial purposes.
Optimism rising but more mixed picture than in 2010
As in 2010, about half the shoots are optimistic about the season, with the commercial shoots being more optimistic than non-commercial ones.
Over 40% of the commercial shoots are more optimistic about their shoots, a vast improvement from a mere 12% in 2009 but down on the 57% who said they were more optimistic in 2010. This could be expected as the industry was coming out of a very difficult year in 2009 and 2010 was better.
More worryingly, the proportion of shoots that are less optimistic has risen (from 4% in 2010 to 16% in 2011), highlighting that the financial outlook is still challenging for some.
| How optimistic are you about your shoot compared with last year? | |||
| Commercial | Non-commercial | All shoots | |
| More optimistic |
41% (57% 2010) (12% 2009) |
33% (28% 2010) (30% 2009) |
37% (45% 2010) (24% 2009) |
| About the same |
41% (38% 2010) (58% 2009) |
54% (69% 2010) (52% 2009) |
47% (51% 2010) (54% 2009) |
| Less optimistic |
19% (5% 2010) (31% 2009) |
13% (3% 2010) (18% 2009) |
16% (4% 2010) (23% 2009) |
More shoots are adjusting their bird numbers
Most shoots (68%) are putting down about same number of birds but almost a quarter (22%) are putting down more – a strong indication of their optimism for the season.
However a greater proportion of shoots (11%) will be putting down fewer birds this year compared with last year, when 4% reduced bird numbers; this is more evidence that some shoots, especially commercial ones, are still trying to adapt to the more challenging economic circumstances they face.
But overall shoots are more confident than they were two years ago, when almost half of the commercial shoots reduced bird numbers.
Confirmed bookings are on the increase
(NB Data for commercial shoots only)
More shoots are reporting increased bookings.
A third of the commercial shoots reported that they have more bookings. Although this figure is slightly down on the 43% of shoots in 2010, this could be explained by the major drop suffered by the industry in 2009 indicating that commercial shoots have been playing catch up for the last two seasons.
Only 11% reported a fall.
Over half the shoots surveyed reported that bookings are about the same.
According to James Horne, Managing Director of GunsOnPegs:
“GunsOnPegs has seen a considerable increase in activity since 2010 with over 750 shoots advertising days and guns available for this season. With over 26,000 members, bookings have been strong over the summer period and we are confident the unsold days remaining now are lower than this time last year.”
Three quarters of commercial shoots will raise charges per bird
NB Data for commercial shoots only
77% of commercial shoots will raise their charges this year, this is a much higher proportion than in 2010 (49%) or 2009 (12%).
The rise in charges is a consequence of the increase in the cost of putting a bird down from £7.33 to £8.08 per bird.
No shoots intend to reduce their charges this season. This demonstrates an increase in confidence from 2009 when 12% of the shoots surveyed indicated that they would be prepared to reduce charges.
David Steel, Head of Sporting at Smiths Gore comments: “Now that confidence has risen, commercial shoots are recouping their losses and growing their business. Many have come to terms with the need to tighten their belts and have acted accordingly. This is a positive indication of optimism for the sport given the tough time experienced by many in the last couple of years.”
For further comment or more analysis please contact:
James Horne
GunsOnPegs
T 0207 491 1363
E jameshorne@gunsonpegs.com
