FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4038463

LEAD IN:

UK wine industry experts are eyeing the upcoming vote on whether to leave the European Union with mixed feelings.

With producers and suppliers heavily reliant on pan-European trade, many remain unsure how Brexit will impact upon business.

STORY-LINE:

Sparkling wine on a summer's day in the English capital.

Glistening flutes and bottles in abundance, and a crowd of happy lunchtime drinkers add to the atmosphere of excitement and discovery, along with an impromptu game of ping pong.

It must be London Wine Week.

This is the third year of the festival, and this year is the most popular to date.

Festival director Emma Murphy says "It's the largest self-guided wine tasting that there is across London. It's kind of the only event of its kind that we have over here. So we work with 125 bars, restaurants, independent merchants who all get involved" .

But although these flutes of fizz are English sparkling wine, much of the wine the festival goers here are tasting is from EU member states such as France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany.

The June 23 referendum on whether to quit the European Union is fast approaching. So is this something the industry should fear?

"I wouldn't have said so," says Murphy.

"Wine trade has been going for long enough, even long before the euro, so I wouldn't have thought that would make much difference to be honest with you. Hopefully not anyway."

At the festival hub on London's Devonshire Square, there are pop-up bars featuring wines from across Europe.

These two young graduate trainees are enjoying wines from Portugal, and with their festival wristband, it costs them just five British Pounds for a flight of three.

Oscar Stenbom and Anna Rogers both agree that things may well be different if Britain leaves the union.

"If it's more expensive for them to send the wine here, if there's more tariffs, then yeah I guess it would be," says Anna, while Oscar is concerned about regulation and labelling:

"It would also be more difficult to know what you are drinking because there won't be as many restrictions on labelling the wine based on where it's actually from and the grape it's actually come from."

The New Street wine shop has been taken over by the wine festival. They sell wines from all over the world but today they are holding a tasting featuring wines from Ribera del Duero in northern Spain.

Most wine drinkers know about the region of Rioja, but Bettina Lemm is informing these festival goers about the region she represents.

"I think they (wines of Ribera del Duero) are still an emerging market, especially in the UK. The UK is an important market for Ribera del Duero, it's the seventh-largest export market for Ribera del Duero but I think that we're still establishing ourselves."

But if the UK is an important export market, is Brexit going to throw the proverbial spanner into the works? Lemm doesn't seem too worried "I think at the moment we're pretty confident as we've seen year to year that exports have grown. I think that's going to continue and I don't think it's a worry that we have at the moment," she says.

Wine used to have a rather old fashioned reputation and a comparatively elderly demographic, but this has changed enormously in recent years.

The prevalence of wine clubs popping up in the UK is an indicator of wine's increasing popularity.

Tom Harrow of Honest Grapes explains why this is "I think this is because people want to engage more with what's in the bottle. It's not just liquid, they want to know the stories behind it, they want to meet the people involved. And there's the sociable aspect, you know wine is fundamentally something which we do with other people," he says.

With 125 venues across the metropolis taking part in this festival, there's plenty of opportunity to enjoy it with friends.

But with such enthusiasm for wine spreading across the country, June 23 could bring disruption, according to Harrow "It's fair to say that we're a bit concerned about the possibilities of Brexit, I think the rising price of the euro against the pound will have a serious effect on quality wine. At the moment more than 60 percent of wine that comes into the UK is shipped in massive great tankers and bottled over here and that's not something we get involved with. But that becomes the only affordable way if the pound plummets against the euro. So I think that it won't be a good thing initially for the wine consumer because the prices of these small artisan wines will go up" .

However, the future might be bright in other, unexpected ways.

"All the English wine makers that I speak to say we are half a degree away from being a perfect climate for sparkling wines at least," says Harrow, and with apologies to climate change icon Al Gore, he adds that "global warming is a good thing for the UK sparkling wine trade."

Reports by the WSTA (Wine and Spirit Trade Association) suggest there is still some way to go as the UK comes in at number six on the list of sales of sparkling wine by origin - but it's rising year on year.

600 million bottles of wine are bottled in the UK.

This makes the UK wine market the sixth largest in the world, generating 173 billion British pounds of economic activity, according to the WSTA. 10 billion British pounds are made through sales.

Also being showcased here is one of the new kids on the alcohol block, Regal Rogue Vermouth.

According to brand founder Mark Ward, vermouth, by definition, is 75 percent wine. It must have wormwood and it must have an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 15 to 24 percent. These three things have to be in place for a producer to put vermouth on the bottle or it flouts recent EU regulations.

Ward, who was brought up in hospitality, began the project in Australia where he worked closely with top Australian chefs who introduced him to indigenous herbs and spices.

"It seemed like a really obvious thing to do, marrying the herbs and spices with this abundance of Australian wine to create a New World style of vermouth. And you know the tradition of vermouth is really led by the European markets. You know, Italian, French, now Spanish - but now there are vermouths coming out of America, the UK, Germany and obviously Australia. So pretty much anywhere where you find wine now, you will find a vermouth of some sort." he says.

Ward is attempting to educate the wine drinking market which, he believes, is mostly unaware of the fact that vermouth is fundamentally a wine.

This can only be helped by a new pop up for 2016, the Vermouth Bar.

The parent company of London Wine Week is the aptly named "Drink Up London", and they're already preparing for the 2017 event - Brexit or no Brexit.

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4038463

LEAD IN:

UK wine industry experts are eyeing the upcoming vote on whether to leave the European Union with mixed feelings.

With producers and suppliers heavily reliant on pan-European trade, many remain unsure how Brexit will impact upon business.

STORY-LINE:

Sparkling wine on a summer's day in the English capital.

Glistening flutes and bottles in abundance, and a crowd of happy lunchtime drinkers add to the atmosphere of excitement and discovery, along with an impromptu game of ping pong.

It must be London Wine Week.

This is the third year of the festival, and this year is the most popular to date.

Festival director Emma Murphy says "It's the largest self-guided wine tasting that there is across London. It's kind of the only event of its kind that we have over here. So we work with 125 bars, restaurants, independent merchants who all get involved" .

But although these flutes of fizz are English sparkling wine, much of the wine the festival goers here are tasting is from EU member states such as France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany.

The June 23 referendum on whether to quit the European Union is fast approaching. So is this something the industry should fear?

"I wouldn't have said so," says Murphy.

"Wine trade has been going for long enough, even long before the euro, so I wouldn't have thought that would make much difference to be honest with you. Hopefully not anyway."

At the festival hub on London's Devonshire Square, there are pop-up bars featuring wines from across Europe.

These two young graduate trainees are enjoying wines from Portugal, and with their festival wristband, it costs them just five British Pounds for a flight of three.

Oscar Stenbom and Anna Rogers both agree that things may well be different if Britain leaves the union.

"If it's more expensive for them to send the wine here, if there's more tariffs, then yeah I guess it would be," says Anna, while Oscar is concerned about regulation and labelling:

"It would also be more difficult to know what you are drinking because there won't be as many restrictions on labelling the wine based on where it's actually from and the grape it's actually come from."

The New Street wine shop has been taken over by the wine festival. They sell wines from all over the world but today they are holding a tasting featuring wines from Ribera del Duero in northern Spain.

Most wine drinkers know about the region of Rioja, but Bettina Lemm is informing these festival goers about the region she represents.

"I think they (wines of Ribera del Duero) are still an emerging market, especially in the UK. The UK is an important market for Ribera del Duero, it's the seventh-largest export market for Ribera del Duero but I think that we're still establishing ourselves."

But if the UK is an important export market, is Brexit going to throw the proverbial spanner into the works? Lemm doesn't seem too worried "I think at the moment we're pretty confident as we've seen year to year that exports have grown. I think that's going to continue and I don't think it's a worry that we have at the moment," she says.

Wine used to have a rather old fashioned reputation and a comparatively elderly demographic, but this has changed enormously in recent years.

The prevalence of wine clubs popping up in the UK is an indicator of wine's increasing popularity.

Tom Harrow of Honest Grapes explains why this is "I think this is because people want to engage more with what's in the bottle. It's not just liquid, they want to know the stories behind it, they want to meet the people involved. And there's the sociable aspect, you know wine is fundamentally something which we do with other people," he says.

With 125 venues across the metropolis taking part in this festival, there's plenty of opportunity to enjoy it with friends.

But with such enthusiasm for wine spreading across the country, June 23 could bring disruption, according to Harrow "It's fair to say that we're a bit concerned about the possibilities of Brexit, I think the rising price of the euro against the pound will have a serious effect on quality wine. At the moment more than 60 percent of wine that comes into the UK is shipped in massive great tankers and bottled over here and that's not something we get involved with. But that becomes the only affordable way if the pound plummets against the euro. So I think that it won't be a good thing initially for the wine consumer because the prices of these small artisan wines will go up" .

However, the future might be bright in other, unexpected ways.

"All the English wine makers that I speak to say we are half a degree away from being a perfect climate for sparkling wines at least," says Harrow, and with apologies to climate change icon Al Gore, he adds that "global warming is a good thing for the UK sparkling wine trade."

Reports by the WSTA (Wine and Spirit Trade Association) suggest there is still some way to go as the UK comes in at number six on the list of sales of sparkling wine by origin - but it's rising year on year.

600 million bottles of wine are bottled in the UK.

This makes the UK wine market the sixth largest in the world, generating 173 billion British pounds of economic activity, according to the WSTA. 10 billion British pounds are made through sales.

Also being showcased here is one of the new kids on the alcohol block, Regal Rogue Vermouth.

According to brand founder Mark Ward, vermouth, by definition, is 75 percent wine. It must have wormwood and it must have an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 15 to 24 percent. These three things have to be in place for a producer to put vermouth on the bottle or it flouts recent EU regulations.

Ward, who was brought up in hospitality, began the project in Australia where he worked closely with top Australian chefs who introduced him to indigenous herbs and spices.

"It seemed like a really obvious thing to do, marrying the herbs and spices with this abundance of Australian wine to create a New World style of vermouth. And you know the tradition of vermouth is really led by the European markets. You know, Italian, French, now Spanish - but now there are vermouths coming out of America, the UK, Germany and obviously Australia. So pretty much anywhere where you find wine now, you will find a vermouth of some sort." he says.

Ward is attempting to educate the wine drinking market which, he believes, is mostly unaware of the fact that vermouth is fundamentally a wine.

This can only be helped by a new pop up for 2016, the Vermouth Bar.

The parent company of London Wine Week is the aptly named "Drink Up London", and they're already preparing for the 2017 event - Brexit or no Brexit.

AP Television

London - 27 May 2016

1. Close of wine glasses

2. Bartender pouring sparkling wine

3. Tilt down on central courtyard at Devonshire Square, the hub for London Wine Week

4. Group of friends enjoying English sparkling wine

5. Men playing table tennis

6. Sign reading (English) "London Wine Week"

7. Set up shot of Emma Murphy, director of London Wine Week

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Emma Murphy, director of London Wine Week

"What's unique about it? It's the largest self-guided wine tasting that there is across London. It's kind of the only event of its kind that we have over here. So we work with 125 bars, restaurants, independent merchants who all get involved whether that's with offers, special menus or ticketed events across the week."

9. Two women with wine flight selection

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Emma Murphy, director of London Wine Week

(Responding to the question Do you think a Brexit will affect the wine industry negatively?)

"I wouldn't have said so, because I mean, I think, you know, wine trade has been going for long enough, even long before the euro, so I wouldn't have thought that would make much difference to be honest with you. Hopefully not anyway."

11. Sign reading (English) "Pop into our pop up wine bars"

12. Various of Portuguese wine pop up

13. Mid of graduate trainees in insurance Oscar Stenpom and Anna Rogers

14. Flight of Portuguese wines

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Oscar Stenbom and Anna Rogers, Insurance Graduate Trainees:

(Responding to question Do you think a Brexit will mean it will be more difficult for people to access quality wine?)

Stenbom: "Yes,"

Rogers: "I guess so, I mean if it's more expensive for them to send the wine here, if there's more tariffs, then yeah I guess it would be."

Stenbom: "It would also be more difficult to know what you're drinking, because there won't be as many restrictions on labelling the wine based on where it's actually from and the grape it's actually come from."

16. Pull focus of Spanish wine labels

17. Vintage bottles of fortified wine

18. Side view of Spanish wine bottles

19. Set up shot of Bettina Lemm with wines from Ribera del Duero in northern Spain

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Bettina Lemm, Westbury Communications (which represents the Ribera del Duero region in the UK):

"I think they (wines of Ribera del Duero) are still an emerging market, especially in the UK. The UK is an important market for Ribera del Duero, it's the seventh-largest export market for Ribera del Duero, but I think that we're still establishing ourselves. A lot of people know some big names from the region, and we're just trying to bring attention to some other grape producers who might not yet have the same recognition."

21. Close of wine labels

22. SOUNDBITE (English) Bettina Lemm, Westbury Communications (who represent the Ribera del Duero region in the UK):

(Responding to the question are you worried about the possibility of a Brexit affecting your export market?)

"I think at the moment we're pretty confident, as we've seen year to year that exports have grown. I think that's going to continue and I don't think it's a worry that we have at the moment."

23. Pan from mediaeval knight sculpture to pop up courtyard

24. Mid of Provence wines pop up

25. Establisher shot of Tom Harrow, wine director of Honest Grapes Wine Club

26. Close of Harrow eyeing the wine

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Harrow, wine director of Honest Grapes:

"There's been a real rise in wine clubs in London and the UK generally of late, and I think this is because people want to engage more with what's in the bottle. It's not just liquid, they want to know the stories behind it, they want to meet the people involved. And there's the sociable aspect, you know wine is fundamentally something which we do with other people."

28. Mid of woman laughing over a glass of wine

29. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Harrow, wine director of Honest Grapes:

"It's fair to say that we're a bit concerned about the possibilities of Brexit, I think the rising price of the euro against the pound will have a serious effect on quality wine. At the moment more than 60 percent of wine that comes into the UK is shipped in massive great tankers and then bottled over here and that's not something we get involved with. But that becomes the only affordable way if the pound plummets against the euro. So I think that it won't be a good thing initially for the wine consumer because the prices of these small artisan wines will go up."

30. Woman at table with wine

31. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Harrow, wine director of Honest Grapes:

"All the English wine makers that I speak to say we are half a degree away from being a perfect climate for sparkling wines at least - and even the whites, and to an extent the reds are really coming up. So I have to say it - sorry Al Gore - global warming is a good thing for the UK sparkling wine trade."

32. Various of English rose and white sparkling wines

33. Vermouth being poured into a glass

34. Various of "Regal Rogue" Vermouth bottle

35. Tilt up of Mark Ward, founder of Regal Rogue vermouth, and his produce

36. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Ward, founder of Regal Rogue vermouth:

"It seemed like a really obvious thing to do, marrying the herbs and spices with this abundance of Australian wine to create a New World style of vermouth. And you know the tradition of vermouth is really led by the European markets. You know, Italian, French, now Spanish - but now there are vermouths coming out of America, the UK, Germany and obviously Australia. So pretty much anywhere where you find wine now, you will find a vermouth of some sort."

37. Crowd of London Wine Week attendees at the Vermouth Bar

38. Mid of vermouth cocktails being made

39. Focus pull of sign reading (English) "Drink Up"

LENGTH: 6:02

LEAD IN:

UK wine industry experts are eyeing the upcoming vote on whether to leave the European Union with mixed feelings.

With producers and suppliers heavily reliant on pan-European trade, many remain unsure how Brexit will impact upon business.

STORY-LINE:

Sparkling wine on a summer's day in the English capital.

Glistening flutes and bottles in abundance, and a crowd of happy lunchtime drinkers add to the atmosphere of excitement and discovery, along with an impromptu game of ping pong.

It must be London Wine Week.

This is the third year of the festival, and this year is the most popular to date.

Festival director Emma Murphy says "It's the largest self-guided wine tasting that there is across London. It's kind of the only event of its kind that we have over here. So we work with 125 bars, restaurants, independent merchants who all get involved" .

But although these flutes of fizz are English sparkling wine, much of the wine the festival goers here are tasting is from EU member states such as France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany.

The June 23 referendum on whether to quit the European Union is fast approaching. So is this something the industry should fear?

"I wouldn't have said so," says Murphy.

"Wine trade has been going for long enough, even long before the euro, so I wouldn't have thought that would make much difference to be honest with you. Hopefully not anyway."

At the festival hub on London's Devonshire Square, there are pop-up bars featuring wines from across Europe.

These two young graduate trainees are enjoying wines from Portugal, and with their festival wristband, it costs them just five British Pounds for a flight of three.

Oscar Stenbom and Anna Rogers both agree that things may well be different if Britain leaves the union.

"If it's more expensive for them to send the wine here, if there's more tariffs, then yeah I guess it would be," says Anna, while Oscar is concerned about regulation and labelling:

"It would also be more difficult to know what you are drinking because there won't be as many restrictions on labelling the wine based on where it's actually from and the grape it's actually come from."

The New Street wine shop has been taken over by the wine festival. They sell wines from all over the world but today they are holding a tasting featuring wines from Ribera del Duero in northern Spain.

Most wine drinkers know about the region of Rioja, but Bettina Lemm is informing these festival goers about the region she represents.

"I think they (wines of Ribera del Duero) are still an emerging market, especially in the UK. The UK is an important market for Ribera del Duero, it's the seventh-largest export market for Ribera del Duero but I think that we're still establishing ourselves."

But if the UK is an important export market, is Brexit going to throw the proverbial spanner into the works? Lemm doesn't seem too worried "I think at the moment we're pretty confident as we've seen year to year that exports have grown. I think that's going to continue and I don't think it's a worry that we have at the moment," she says.

Wine used to have a rather old fashioned reputation and a comparatively elderly demographic, but this has changed enormously in recent years.

The prevalence of wine clubs popping up in the UK is an indicator of wine's increasing popularity.

Tom Harrow of Honest Grapes explains why this is "I think this is because people want to engage more with what's in the bottle. It's not just liquid, they want to know the stories behind it, they want to meet the people involved. And there's the sociable aspect, you know wine is fundamentally something which we do with other people," he says.

With 125 venues across the metropolis taking part in this festival, there's plenty of opportunity to enjoy it with friends.

But with such enthusiasm for wine spreading across the country, June 23 could bring disruption, according to Harrow "It's fair to say that we're a bit concerned about the possibilities of Brexit, I think the rising price of the euro against the pound will have a serious effect on quality wine. At the moment more than 60 percent of wine that comes into the UK is shipped in massive great tankers and bottled over here and that's not something we get involved with. But that becomes the only affordable way if the pound plummets against the euro. So I think that it won't be a good thing initially for the wine consumer because the prices of these small artisan wines will go up" .

However, the future might be bright in other, unexpected ways.

"All the English wine makers that I speak to say we are half a degree away from being a perfect climate for sparkling wines at least," says Harrow, and with apologies to climate change icon Al Gore, he adds that "global warming is a good thing for the UK sparkling wine trade."

Reports by the WSTA (Wine and Spirit Trade Association) suggest there is still some way to go as the UK comes in at number six on the list of sales of sparkling wine by origin - but it's rising year on year.

600 million bottles of wine are bottled in the UK.

This makes the UK wine market the sixth largest in the world, generating 173 billion British pounds of economic activity, according to the WSTA. 10 billion British pounds are made through sales.

Also being showcased here is one of the new kids on the alcohol block, Regal Rogue Vermouth.

According to brand founder Mark Ward, vermouth, by definition, is 75 percent wine. It must have wormwood and it must have an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 15 to 24 percent. These three things have to be in place for a producer to put vermouth on the bottle or it flouts recent EU regulations.

Ward, who was brought up in hospitality, began the project in Australia where he worked closely with top Australian chefs who introduced him to indigenous herbs and spices.

"It seemed like a really obvious thing to do, marrying the herbs and spices with this abundance of Australian wine to create a New World style of vermouth. And you know the tradition of vermouth is really led by the European markets. You know, Italian, French, now Spanish - but now there are vermouths coming out of America, the UK, Germany and obviously Australia. So pretty much anywhere where you find wine now, you will find a vermouth of some sort." he says.

Ward is attempting to educate the wine drinking market which, he believes, is mostly unaware of the fact that vermouth is fundamentally a wine.

This can only be helped by a new pop up for 2016, the Vermouth Bar.

The parent company of London Wine Week is the aptly named "Drink Up London", and they're already preparing for the 2017 event - Brexit or no Brexit.

LEAD IN:

UK wine industry experts are eyeing the upcoming vote on whether to leave the European Union with mixed feelings.

With producers and suppliers heavily reliant on pan-European trade, many remain unsure how Brexit will impact upon business.

STORY-LINE:

Sparkling wine on a summer's day in the English capital.

Glistening flutes and bottles in abundance, and a crowd of happy lunchtime drinkers add to the atmosphere of excitement and discovery, along with an impromptu game of ping pong.

It must be London Wine Week.

This is the third year of the festival, and this year is the most popular to date.

Festival director Emma Murphy says "It's the largest self-guided wine tasting that there is across London. It's kind of the only event of its kind that we have over here. So we work with 125 bars, restaurants, independent merchants who all get involved" .

But although these flutes of fizz are English sparkling wine, much of the wine the festival goers here are tasting is from EU member states such as France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany.

The June 23 referendum on whether to quit the European Union is fast approaching. So is this something the industry should fear?

"I wouldn't have said so," says Murphy.

"Wine trade has been going for long enough, even long before the euro, so I wouldn't have thought that would make much difference to be honest with you. Hopefully not anyway."

At the festival hub on London's Devonshire Square, there are pop-up bars featuring wines from across Europe.

These two young graduate trainees are enjoying wines from Portugal, and with their festival wristband, it costs them just five British Pounds for a flight of three.

Oscar Stenbom and Anna Rogers both agree that things may well be different if Britain leaves the union.

"If it's more expensive for them to send the wine here, if there's more tariffs, then yeah I guess it would be," says Anna, while Oscar is concerned about regulation and labelling:

"It would also be more difficult to know what you are drinking because there won't be as many restrictions on labelling the wine based on where it's actually from and the grape it's actually come from."

The New Street wine shop has been taken over by the wine festival. They sell wines from all over the world but today they are holding a tasting featuring wines from Ribera del Duero in northern Spain.

Most wine drinkers know about the region of Rioja, but Bettina Lemm is informing these festival goers about the region she represents.

"I think they (wines of Ribera del Duero) are still an emerging market, especially in the UK. The UK is an important market for Ribera del Duero, it's the seventh-largest export market for Ribera del Duero but I think that we're still establishing ourselves."

But if the UK is an important export market, is Brexit going to throw the proverbial spanner into the works? Lemm doesn't seem too worried "I think at the moment we're pretty confident as we've seen year to year that exports have grown. I think that's going to continue and I don't think it's a worry that we have at the moment," she says.

Wine used to have a rather old fashioned reputation and a comparatively elderly demographic, but this has changed enormously in recent years.

The prevalence of wine clubs popping up in the UK is an indicator of wine's increasing popularity.

Tom Harrow of Honest Grapes explains why this is "I think this is because people want to engage more with what's in the bottle. It's not just liquid, they want to know the stories behind it, they want to meet the people involved. And there's the sociable aspect, you know wine is fundamentally something which we do with other people," he says.

With 125 venues across the metropolis taking part in this festival, there's plenty of opportunity to enjoy it with friends.

But with such enthusiasm for wine spreading across the country, June 23 could bring disruption, according to Harrow "It's fair to say that we're a bit concerned about the possibilities of Brexit, I think the rising price of the euro against the pound will have a serious effect on quality wine. At the moment more than 60 percent of wine that comes into the UK is shipped in massive great tankers and bottled over here and that's not something we get involved with. But that becomes the only affordable way if the pound plummets against the euro. So I think that it won't be a good thing initially for the wine consumer because the prices of these small artisan wines will go up" .

However, the future might be bright in other, unexpected ways.

"All the English wine makers that I speak to say we are half a degree away from being a perfect climate for sparkling wines at least," says Harrow, and with apologies to climate change icon Al Gore, he adds that "global warming is a good thing for the UK sparkling wine trade."

Reports by the WSTA (Wine and Spirit Trade Association) suggest there is still some way to go as the UK comes in at number six on the list of sales of sparkling wine by origin - but it's rising year on year.

600 million bottles of wine are bottled in the UK.

This makes the UK wine market the sixth largest in the world, generating 173 billion British pounds of economic activity, according to the WSTA. 10 billion British pounds are made through sales.

Also being showcased here is one of the new kids on the alcohol block, Regal Rogue Vermouth.

According to brand founder Mark Ward, vermouth, by definition, is 75 percent wine. It must have wormwood and it must have an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 15 to 24 percent. These three things have to be in place for a producer to put vermouth on the bottle or it flouts recent EU regulations.

Ward, who was brought up in hospitality, began the project in Australia where he worked closely with top Australian chefs who introduced him to indigenous herbs and spices.

"It seemed like a really obvious thing to do, marrying the herbs and spices with this abundance of Australian wine to create a New World style of vermouth. And you know the tradition of vermouth is really led by the European markets. You know, Italian, French, now Spanish - but now there are vermouths coming out of America, the UK, Germany and obviously Australia. So pretty much anywhere where you find wine now, you will find a vermouth of some sort." he says.

Ward is attempting to educate the wine drinking market which, he believes, is mostly unaware of the fact that vermouth is fundamentally a wine.

This can only be helped by a new pop up for 2016, the Vermouth Bar.

The parent company of London Wine Week is the aptly named "Drink Up London", and they're already preparing for the 2017 event - Brexit or no Brexit.

AP Television

London - 27 May 2016

1. Close of wine glasses

2. Bartender pouring sparkling wine

3. Tilt down on central courtyard at Devonshire Square, the hub for London Wine Week

4. Group of friends enjoying English sparkling wine

5. Men playing table tennis

6. Sign reading (English) "London Wine Week"

7. Set up shot of Emma Murphy, director of London Wine Week

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Emma Murphy, director of London Wine Week

"What's unique about it? It's the largest self-guided wine tasting that there is across London. It's kind of the only event of its kind that we have over here. So we work with 125 bars, restaurants, independent merchants who all get involved whether that's with offers, special menus or ticketed events across the week."

9. Two women with wine flight selection

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Emma Murphy, director of London Wine Week

(Responding to the question Do you think a Brexit will affect the wine industry negatively?)

"I wouldn't have said so, because I mean, I think, you know, wine trade has been going for long enough, even long before the euro, so I wouldn't have thought that would make much difference to be honest with you. Hopefully not anyway."

11. Sign reading (English) "Pop into our pop up wine bars"

12. Various of Portuguese wine pop up

13. Mid of graduate trainees in insurance Oscar Stenpom and Anna Rogers

14. Flight of Portuguese wines

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Oscar Stenbom and Anna Rogers, Insurance Graduate Trainees:

(Responding to question Do you think a Brexit will mean it will be more difficult for people to access quality wine?)

Stenbom: "Yes,"

Rogers: "I guess so, I mean if it's more expensive for them to send the wine here, if there's more tariffs, then yeah I guess it would be."

Stenbom: "It would also be more difficult to know what you're drinking, because there won't be as many restrictions on labelling the wine based on where it's actually from and the grape it's actually come from."

16. Pull focus of Spanish wine labels

17. Vintage bottles of fortified wine

18. Side view of Spanish wine bottles

19. Set up shot of Bettina Lemm with wines from Ribera del Duero in northern Spain

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Bettina Lemm, Westbury Communications (which represents the Ribera del Duero region in the UK):

"I think they (wines of Ribera del Duero) are still an emerging market, especially in the UK. The UK is an important market for Ribera del Duero, it's the seventh-largest export market for Ribera del Duero, but I think that we're still establishing ourselves. A lot of people know some big names from the region, and we're just trying to bring attention to some other grape producers who might not yet have the same recognition."

21. Close of wine labels

22. SOUNDBITE (English) Bettina Lemm, Westbury Communications (who represent the Ribera del Duero region in the UK):

(Responding to the question are you worried about the possibility of a Brexit affecting your export market?)

"I think at the moment we're pretty confident, as we've seen year to year that exports have grown. I think that's going to continue and I don't think it's a worry that we have at the moment."

23. Pan from mediaeval knight sculpture to pop up courtyard

24. Mid of Provence wines pop up

25. Establisher shot of Tom Harrow, wine director of Honest Grapes Wine Club

26. Close of Harrow eyeing the wine

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Harrow, wine director of Honest Grapes:

"There's been a real rise in wine clubs in London and the UK generally of late, and I think this is because people want to engage more with what's in the bottle. It's not just liquid, they want to know the stories behind it, they want to meet the people involved. And there's the sociable aspect, you know wine is fundamentally something which we do with other people."

28. Mid of woman laughing over a glass of wine

29. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Harrow, wine director of Honest Grapes:

"It's fair to say that we're a bit concerned about the possibilities of Brexit, I think the rising price of the euro against the pound will have a serious effect on quality wine. At the moment more than 60 percent of wine that comes into the UK is shipped in massive great tankers and then bottled over here and that's not something we get involved with. But that becomes the only affordable way if the pound plummets against the euro. So I think that it won't be a good thing initially for the wine consumer because the prices of these small artisan wines will go up."

30. Woman at table with wine

31. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Harrow, wine director of Honest Grapes:

"All the English wine makers that I speak to say we are half a degree away from being a perfect climate for sparkling wines at least - and even the whites, and to an extent the reds are really coming up. So I have to say it - sorry Al Gore - global warming is a good thing for the UK sparkling wine trade."

32. Various of English rose and white sparkling wines

33. Vermouth being poured into a glass

34. Various of "Regal Rogue" Vermouth bottle

35. Tilt up of Mark Ward, founder of Regal Rogue vermouth, and his produce

36. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Ward, founder of Regal Rogue vermouth:

"It seemed like a really obvious thing to do, marrying the herbs and spices with this abundance of Australian wine to create a New World style of vermouth. And you know the tradition of vermouth is really led by the European markets. You know, Italian, French, now Spanish - but now there are vermouths coming out of America, the UK, Germany and obviously Australia. So pretty much anywhere where you find wine now, you will find a vermouth of some sort."

37. Crowd of London Wine Week attendees at the Vermouth Bar

38. Mid of vermouth cocktails being made

39. Focus pull of sign reading (English) "Drink Up"

LENGTH: 6:02

This should be a fine time for British carmakers, with sales increasing nicely, but for one major storm front - the impossible-to-predict ramifications of the country's vote to leave the European Union (EU).

As British industry leaders showed off their wares on Wednesday beneath the Eiffel Tower and ahead of the Paris Auto Show, Britain's EU exit, or 'Brexit', remains vexing because it's still not clear exactly how the complex and highly globalised auto trade will be affected.

Michael Hawes, Chief Executive at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), told those gathered in Paris on Wednesday that the single market was "fundamental to the current strength we're enjoying".

Hawes added that the British government now has "a major challenge" to balance the wishes of the British public with the continued success of the auto industry.

The sector has attracted record investment in recent years of 3.5 billion pounds (USD 4,549,119,400), but auto industry representatives like Hanno Kirner, Executive Director of Corporate Strategy at Jaguar Land Rover Automotive, said the key to ongoing success "is we have to maintain free trade with Europe".

Many expect Brexit to be disruptive, and to raise costs for companies, but the hard talk negotiations between Britain and the EU on the crucial issues of tariffs and the free movement of labour are still months away - and will possibly take years to resolve.

That means years of uncertainty over the cost of building cars in Britain and the ease of exporting them to other EU countries.

It will also create doubts about how difficult it will become to import vital car parts from other EU countries, to say nothing of the restrictions likely to be put in place on the free movement of skilled workers needed to assemble vehicles.

This is the main reason investment has slowed in an industry that was enjoying a good run of health - production grew more than 12 per cent in the first half of 2016 compared to the year before.

While the drop in the pound since the June vote to leave the EU has helped car exports from Britain, overall uncertainties are casting a shadow over the future.

"We had a short-term gain but we are very mindful of the long term," Simon Sproule, marketing director for Aston Martin, said in Paris.

He said the company's investment plan remains "completely unchanged since Brexit," at least for now. And it's focusing on non-European markets, too.

Carmakers do not know how much production costs will surge, and whether the increases, possibly in the form of higher tariffs, will end Britain's attractiveness as a platform for building cars and getting them into the European market.

There was one possible sign of a continental divide: while international carmakers are unveiling a slew of new models at the Paris Car Show this week, Land Rover chose to stay on the other side of the English Channel to demonstrate its latest model Wednesday.

Company officials played down any political message behind the decision. But with the industry converging on Paris this week, whether to consider British manufacturers part of the European market is a question on many minds.

Paris - 28 September 2016

1. Pan from Eiffel Tower to British-made cars on display

2. Cars on display

3. Close of Jaguar engraved in air intake

4. Pan of new Jaguar SUV

5. Hanno Kirner talking to reporters

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanno Kirner, Executive Director of Corporate Strategy at Jaguar Land Rover Automotive:

"Key to us is we have to maintain free trade with Europe. Key is that we continue to have access to global talent and key for us is that industrial regulation doesn't change. Those are the three points that are really important to us and we're trying to talk to government to explain, we're trying to talk to European governments to explain and we believe it's in the mutual interest of both the UK and European countries to maintain those three key points."

7. Kirner

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanno Kirner, Executive Director of Corporate Strategy at Jaguar Land Rover Automotive:

"We cannot stop investing. We are in a long-term industry. We have been investing nearly a billion pounds (1,299,767,000 US dollars) in our engine manufacturing capacity in Wolverhampton. We just continue to grow and so we cannot make our decisions dependent on political singular events so our investment this year - 3.5 billion pounds (4,549,119,400 US dollars) in the UK, the biggest industrial investment - is going to continue what it is and is going to go forward."

9. Aston Martin DB11

10. Aston Martin logo

11. Pan of DB11

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Simon Sproule, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Aston Martin:

"What we've seen in the short term is currency wins with the devaluation of the pound. As an exporter - and we're dominantly an exporter from the UK - that's been a benefit to us. The economic uncertainty is still out there. We're scenario planning. The short-term impact in terms of the British economy does not seem to be so severe. We're seeing a little hesitation in the market but overall, we're pretty much business as usual. But we're planning obviously for when Article 50 is triggered and then we start to get in the discussions."

13. cutaways of Sproule

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Simon Sproule, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Aston Martin:

"No, in fact our investment plans are completely unchanged before Brexit and after Brexit. We announced before Brexit that we are going to invest in a new manufacturing plant in the UK. That's the second manufacturing plant, a plant in Wales that's going to create 750 jobs. Additionally we are going to create another 250 jobs in the West Midlands so that's a thousand direct jobs by the end of the decade just for Aston Martin and those plans are unchanged."

15. Auto industry representatives on stage

16. Representatives on stage with cars

17. Tilt-down from Eiffel Tower to stage with cars

18. Michael Hawes giving interview

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Hawes, Chief Executive at Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT):

"The current uncertainties are significant and business never likes uncertainty. The Government has a major challenge now that it's facing. An industry like ours, we want to remain within the single market but we recognise the challenge that's been put forward as a result of the referendum. People voted due to concerns around immigration and the two are not necessarily compatible. Our role is to ensure we reflect our members', the industry's view and that is from a business perspective that being part of the single market is fundamental to the current strength that we enjoy."

20. Sacre Coeur church through window of convention room on first floor of Eiffel Tower

21. Various of crowd attending UK automaker industry event

22. Close of Great Britain campaign logo

23. Wide of Mark Garnier walking onto podium

24. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Garnier, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Trade:

"The British people have spoken and we live in a democracy and we will deliver that democracy. But for people like me, it's incredibly important that when I go back to Westminster, we are delivering these messages which you are giving us. The SMMT are very efficient at engaging with parliamentarians and making sure we understand what's important to you. We know, full well, that you need to be able to secure, in the long term, zero tariff access to the single market. We also know full well that it is incredibly important that you can get engineers when you need them that can either move around your businesses that are pan-European or if you are not, that you can source engineers from other parts of the EU to come in and help your businesses develop and grow stronger."

25. Garnier talking

26. Crowd

As British business owners try to come to terms with the vote to leave the European Union, there are fears of the implications a "Brexit" will have.

London perfume maker, Sarah McCartney, said her businesses future "is not smelling so sweet at the moment".

She said she relies on trade with Europe and not only has the cost of raw materials increased, so too will the amount of paper work.

International trade lawyer, Miriam Gonzalez, said trying to minimise businesses uncertainty should be the governments top priority.

She said businesses need to know what the framework for Britain's negotiations with the EU will be, so they can try and minimise uncertainty.

City of London Corporation Policy Chairman, Mark Boleat, said that those uncertainties mean that "some investment is certainly going to be deterred."

While Edwin Morgan from Institute of Directors said the unknowns mean two thirds of its members think a "Brexit" will be negative for their business and cutting investment, redundancies and relocating are all on the table.

London - 27 June 2016

1. Perfume maker Sarah McCartney working in her factory in west London

2. Close of essence being poured

3. Close of perfume essence being bottled

4. Cap being placed on vial

5. Perfume label reading (English) "Inevitable Crimes of Passion"

6. Label being stuck on vial

7. Finished vials

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah McCartney, 4160 Tuesdays perfume maker:

"I make perfume and the future is not smelling so sweet at the moment. I deal with France and Germany, I buy raw materials from Europe, I sell to Europe. I just think it's going to get a heck of a lot more complicated, and it's already got more expensive."

9. Various of McCartney during interview

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah McCartney, 4160 Tuesdays perfume maker:

"Our market is worldwide and I really, really need to trade with Europe. I buy raw materials from Europe and suddenly they're going to be, well at least, eight per cent more expensive and probably there's going to be ten times as much paperwork."

11. McCartney making perfume

12. Perfume bottles made by 4160 Tuesdays

13. Various of commuters in the City of London

14. Various of financial institutions

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Miriam Gonzalez, International Trade Lawyer:

"There are only a few companies that have really done the nitty-gritty homework to be ready for Brexit. Many of them, they were kind of hoping that it would not happen, so now is the time that they really need to start doing that work."

16. Cutaway of Gonzelez's hands

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Miriam Gonzalez, International Trade Lawyer:

"This country, the businesses in this country need to know what is the framework that the government is aspiring to negotiate, and therefore, whether that is the single market, remaining in the single market or not makes a crucial difference. Trying to minimise the legal uncertainty, I would have thought that is the top priority."

18. Various of painting by John Single Copley called "The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar"

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Boleat, City of London Corporation Policy Chairman:

"I think the authorities have handled the market turmoil as well as they could have done. That was done carefully on Friday and no doubt is continuing today but that's a short term issue. It's some of these longer issues that need resolving. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the growth of the British economy over the next few months, what impact on tax revenue, what impact on foreign direct investment."

20. Cutaway of painting

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Boleat, City of London Corporation Policy Chairman:

"The fundamentals remain unchanged, Britain is still a very attractive place for business and for investment, but given those sort of uncertainties some investment certainly going to be deterred. Very much depends what the sector is, how important membership of the single market is. But we are going to see some uncertainty and that's going to have an affect on investment."

22. Boleat walking

23. Various aerials of London's business district, Canary Wharf

24. Various exteriors of Parliament

25. Edwin Morgan, Head of Media Relations, Institute of Directors

26. Cutaway of report

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Edwin Morgan, Head of Media Relations, Institute of Directors:

"We asked our members immediately after the referendum result came in, what they thought, how they thought it would affect their businesses. Two thirds said that it was negative for them against only about a quarter who thought it was positive. On the specific questions we asked, we asked about investment and hiring decisions and there was also some quite worrying figures. About 36 percent of our members think that they will have to cut investment as a result and about 5 percent of our members say they might have to make redundancies which is obviously quite worrying. There are also some other figures in there on whether or not they'll keep all their operations in the UK or whether they may be forced to move overseas. About 1 in 5 are considering, as we speak, moving some of their operations out of the UK, whether that's to the EU or to somewhere outside it. I mean ultimately we think that our members are very resilient, we think British business is tough and will get through it and will adapt, but certainly at the moment there is a lot of nervousness out there in the business community."

28. Cutaway of report

Attendees at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday reacted to Theresa May's speech outlining Britain's exit strategy from the European Union.

One economist suggested a bumpy economic future lay ahead for the UK, with lower wages "the economic price to pay for this sovereignty".

Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, added that trade agreements would also be difficult to work out.

Thomas Kariuki, Director of the African Academy of Sciences, said he hoped Brexit would translate into more partnerships for Africa.

More than six months after Britain voted to leave the European Union, on Tuesday May finally spelled out what it means: The U.K. will make a clean break from the EU and leave its single market of around 500 million people.

In her most detailed remarks since the June 23 vote, May said that Britain must regain control of its laws and borders, even as she called on the bloc to negotiate a free-trade agreement that will benefit both sides.? ?Britons voted to leave the EU in a referendum in June.

Davos – 17 January 2017

1. Wide of delegates in Congress Centre

2. Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown

3. Wide of Congress Center

4. Close-up of Richard Edward Baldwin, Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva; pulls out to show Baldwin on panel

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Edward Baldwin, Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva:

"It's not like Britain is going to sink into the sea or anything. It's just going to be some people are going to have to accept lower wages and also there will be an inflation in the meantime, so lower real wages and that is the penalty to pay. That's the economic price to pay for this sovereignty."

6. Sign reading (English) "World Economic Forum"

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Edward Baldwin, Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva:

"Well, so I think that's a very bad idea. I think what is very clear that the British people voted to leave the EU, but it's not at all clear what they voted to do. And she has interpreted the mandate as if it was all about anti-immigration, was all about the Court of Justice, but that's the passion of a very small group of Tories. Now, I think that what's going to happen now, if they actually do leave, is that it's as if it's harder to export to Europe and Europe, the UK won't disappear. There needs to be a competitive adjustment. Essentially, the wages of British workers have to fall relative to EU workers to restore competitiveness. So there will be some quantity adjustment where they lose some jobs and some price adjustments where the workers get lower wages relative to their competitors. And that will be the fruit of Brexit, that the small group of Tories will have their sovereignty to play with, but the people paying for it will be the British workers, especially in manufacturing and trading goods."

8. Sign (English) "World Economic Forum"

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Edward Baldwin, Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva:

"Signing these other trade agreements that may or may not work. Those things take a very long time. U.S. trade agreements for example on average take six years to do. They won't be able to start this until they leave the customs union which will be a minimum of two years, so we are talking the end of the decade they might have some new trade agreements and that will be with distance countries, so I am not so sure that's going to work out."

10. Wide of delegates in forum

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Kariuki, Director of the African Academy of Sciences:

"So what we hope is that as the UK negotiates its way out of Brexit, it will negotiate its way into more collaborations and more partnerships with Africa, both in terms of the matters of trade as well as in areas of science and scientific collaborations and innovation, so good luck to hard negotiation and good luck to us if it translates into more partnerships for us."

12. Various of delegates in forum

LEAD IN:

Rough waters may be ahead for Britain's luxury yacht industry, but right now it's riding on a wave caused by currency fluctuations at home.

At the annual Southampton Boat Show, British-based Sunseeker, Princess and Fairline say 'Brexit' is causing uncertainty in the luxury market which is ultimately bad for business.

STORY-LINE:

It's not just the weather outlook that looks poor at the Southampton Boat Show, the yacht industry is also bracing for the potential effects of Britain leaving the 28-nation European Union.

Claimed to be one of the top ten boat shows in the world, the annual event boasts two kilometres of pontoons, home to a wealth of yachting luxury and new marine technology.

There are almost 600 brands attending and hundreds of boats on display.

Poole-based Sunseeker Yachts is exhibiting this £6 million British pound (approx. $7.94 million USD), 28-metre 95 Yacht. It sleeps a maximum of ten people, plus four crew members and boasts up to 120 nautical miles in range.

Sunseeker International, owned by Chinese property and cinema conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, recently announced a return to profit in the second quarter of 2016.

The luxury yacht makers also announced retail orders in excess of £25 million British pounds (approx. $33 million USD) at the recent Cannes Boat Show.

"There's a direct correlation between the numbers of high and ultra-high net-worth individuals and the number of luxury yachts that are sold," says CEO of Sunseeker, Phil Popham.

"Projections around the world is that numbers of high net-worth individuals will grow by about 20 percent between now and 2020. So, if there's a direct correlation we expect that growth in the luxury yacht market to be the same."

Popham admits part of Sunseeker's recent success may be down to the British currency, but lack of confidence caused by Britain's exit from the EU will ultimately effect their business.

"The thing that we really need to focus on is confidence levels, certainty, we've benefited because of the weakness of the pound, but its all about business confidence", he says.

Plymouth-based Princess Yachts is giving this Princess V58 its world premiere in Southampton. Measuring 18.42 (60.4 feet) in length, it boasts 6 berths and can hit tops speeds of 37 knots.

Princess Yachts marketing director, Kiran Haslam says the weak pound has certainly encouraged some buyers to push through transactions sooner.

"Undoubtedly there's an advantage to the currency exchange being where it is, we saw that in Cannes," he says.

"We saw a lot of boats being sold where the transaction was really, really pushed along because of the opportunity to get the benefit out of the exchange rates."

Ultimately though, buying a luxury item such as a yacht all depends on buyer confidence. Something which 'Brexit' is eroding.

"The uncertainty is something which absolutely grips our segment whether it's cars or houses or travel, there's no denying that a yacht - as wonderful as it is - is not a necessity item," says Haslam.

"So it's always a conversation about is it the right time."

But what is it that luxury yacht buyers are really after? Princess Yacht's creative design director, Sarah Verey says people are increasingly looking for personalisation and uniqueness.

"A lot of it's about lifestyle, it's about how they're going to use the boats," she says.

"Our clients really come on to these boats and use them. So they're tending to look for lots of open spaces, luxurious spaces, spaces where they can entertain both inside and out.

"And also, clients nowadays, they want something unique. So they want to work with us on completely personalising their boat and finding something that is unique to them and actually has never been used on other boats."

Fairline Yachts is exhibiting this sleek new Targa 53 OPEN, a new addition to its popular 53-foot range.

Priced at around £659,000 British pounds (approx. $871,000 USD), it boasts four to six berths and a top speed of 34 knots.

Fariline's managing director Russell Currie says Southampton Boat Show is an important event.

"It is the shop window for the British manufacturers," he says.

"Here, customers can come down and compare all the British brands as well as the brands represented from around the world and choose exactly what is for their specific requirement."

Currie says Fairline too has benefited from the weak pound, achieving its best-ever sales at the recent Cannes Boat Show.

"We've had an overnight decrease in the price of our boats in areas such as the European market," he says.

"At Cannes Boat Show last year, our boats were 15 percent more expensive than this year. And at Cannes Boat Show, we saw the most successful show in Fairline's history in that region."

Though the decision proved a huge surprise to many in the financial markets and prompted a dramatic slide in the value of the pound, the real economy has exhibited a relatively high degree of resilience.

Retail sales, house prices and industrial production have all held up - to the surprise of many.

Still, economists say little can yet be read into the seeming resilience, given the lags involved between events and changes in the real economy.

The fact remains that apart from the fall in the value of the pound, which now stands at around $1.32 USD compared with $1.50 USD on the eve of the vote, nothing really has changed. Britain remains a member of the EU and has yet to trigger the so-called Article 50 that kick starts a two-year time frame for actual Brexit.

"Obviously, industry and business need stability and the time it will take to exit from the European Union will be problematic, but we are lobbying government hard," says Howard Pridding, chief executive of British Marine.

"We need to understand what's going to be in these free trade agreements and what's going to happen about the free movement of goods and people within the European community."

The Southampton Boat Show runs 16-25 September.

Southampton, UK - 16 September 2016

1. Wide of Southampton Boat Show 2016, cruise ship in background

2. Tilt down to pontoon, boats and visitors

3. Close of 'Sunseeker' flag

4. Various of Sunseeker 95 Yacht exterior

5. Close of 'Sunseeker' logo

6. Tilt up of Sunseeker 95 Yacht rear

7. Various of Sunseeker 95 Yacht interior

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Phil Popham, CEO of Sunseeker International:

"There's a direct correlation between the numbers of high and ultra-high net-worth individuals and the number of luxury yachts that are sold. Projections around the world is that numbers of high net-worth individuals will grow by about 20 percent between now and 2020. So, if there's a direct correlation we expect that growth in the luxury yacht market to be the same. The fortunate thing is the world is becoming generally a wealthier place so those growth in ultra-high net-worth individuals are in Asia - yes, some of the emerging markets - and Africa. But we're expecting to see a growth in the United States, UK and Europe as well."

9. Tilt up to Sunseeker 95 Yacht top deck

10. Close of champagne glasses

11. Pan left to controls

12. Close of compass

13. Pan right of Sunseeker 95 Yacht master bedroom

14. Close of pillows on bed

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Phil Popham, CEO of Sunseeker International:

"Nearly 50 percent of our business is in Europe so obviously what happens within the European market is of great concern and great interest to Sunseeker. And the thing that we really need to focus on is confidence levels, certainty, we've benefited because of the weakness of the pound, but its all about business confidence."

16. Various of Princess V58 exterior

17. Pan left to controls

18. Tilt up to table

19. Close of martini glasses and gin bottle

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Kiran Haslam, Marketing Director of Princess Yachts International:

"Undoubtedly there's an advantage to the currency exchange being where it is, we saw that in Cannes. We saw a lot of boats being sold where the transaction was really, really pushed along because of the opportunity to get the benefit out of the exchange rates."

21. Tilt down of Princess V58 bedroom

22. Close of sunglasses and magazine on bed

23. High shot of Princess B58 master bedroom

24. Tilt up from magazine on bed to pillows

25. SOUNDBITE (English) Kiran Haslam, Marketing Director of Princess Yachts International:

"The uncertainty is something which absolutely grips our segment, whether it's cars or houses or travel, there's no denying that a yacht - as wonderful as it is - is not a necessity item. So it's always a conversation about is it the right time."

26. Close of glass bottles inside Princess 30M

27. Tilt up of Princess 30M living room area

28. Tilt up of bed in Princess 30M

29. Pan left from bedside table to pillows

30. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Verey, Director of Creative Design, Princess Yachts International:

"A lot of it's about lifestyle, it's about how they're going to use the boat. Our clients really come on to these boats and use them. So they're tending to look for lots of open spaces, luxurious spaces, spaces where they can entertain both inside and out. And also, clients nowadays, they want something unique. So they want to work with us on completely personalising their boat and finding something that is unique to them and actually has never been used on other boats."

31. Various of Fairline Targa 53 Open exterior

32. SOUNDBITE (English) Russell Currie, Managing Director of Fairline Yachts:

"It is the shop window for the British manufacturers. Here, customers can come down and compare all the British brands as well as the brands represented from around the world and choose exactly what is for their specific requirement."

33. Close of flowers on Fairline Targa 53 Open

34. Various of Targa 53 Open controls

35. Low shot of bed

36. Tilt down to two beds

37. SOUNDBITE (English) Russell Currie, Managing Director of Fairline Yachts:

"We've had an overnight decrease in the price of our boats in areas such as the European market. At Cannes Boat Show last year, our boats were 15 percent more expensive than this year. And at Cannes Boat Show, we saw the most successful show in Fairline's history in that region."

38. Pull out from cruise ship to Southampton Boat Show pontoon

39. Wide of various boats on marina

40. Close of Sunseeker boat's hull in water

41. SOUNDBITE (English) Howard Pridding, Chief Executive of British Marine:

"Obviously, industry and business need stability and the time it will take to exit from the European Union will be problematic, but we are lobbying government hard, we need to understand what's going to be in these free trade agreements and what's going to happen about the free movement of goods and people within the European community."

42. Wide of Southampton Boat Show 2016, cruise ship in background

British Chancellor George Osborne said on Monday that the response of the Leave campaign to the overwhelming consensus among economists and world leaders that Brexit "would come at an economic cost" has not been "credible or serious."

Osborne said the Leave camp responded to the warnings from the world leaders, IMF, OECD and leading economists about the consequences of the Brexit by treating them as "a massive conspiracy".

He also said a new Treasury analysis showed that if the UK relied on World Trade Organisation rules, in case of Brexit, it would lose trade worth £200bn a year and overseas investment worth £200bn within 15 years.

He spoke at the Stansted airport near London, along former adversaries, former Business Secretary Vince Cable and , former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls standing in front of a Ryanair plane which carried the words that Britain is "stronger, safer and better off in Europe"

Sharing a platform with Osborne, Ed Balls said voting to leave EU now "is a one way ticket to a poorer Britain."

The UK will vote on whether to remain in the EU in the referendum on 23 June.

British Chancellor George Osborne said on Monday that the response of the Leave campaign to the overwhelming consensus among economists and world leaders that Brexit "would come at an economic cost" has not been "credible or serious."

Osborne said the Leave camp responded to the warnings from the world leaders, IMF, OECD and leading economists about the consequences of the Brexit by treating them as "a massive conspiracy".

He also said a new Treasury analysis showed that if the UK relied on World Trade Organisation rules, in case of Brexit, it would lose trade worth £200bn a year and overseas investment worth £200bn within 15 years.

He spoke at the Stansted airport near London, along former adversaries, former Business Secretary Vince Cable and , former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls standing in front of a Ryanair plane which carried the words that Britain is "stronger, safer and better off in Europe"

Sharing a platform with Osborne, Ed Balls said voting to leave EU now "is a one way ticket to a poorer Britain."

The UK will vote on whether to remain in the EU in the referendum on 23 June.

POOL

Stansted, near London – 16 May 2016

1. Wide (from left to right) former British Business Secretary Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat), British Chancellor George Osborne (Conservative), former British Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls Labour) at lecterns

2. SOUNDBITE (English) George Osborne, British Chancellor:

"They (the Leave campaign) say it is all a massive conspiracy. So that's everyone from Mark Carney to Christine Lagarde to Barack Obama to the entire editorial team at ITV to the staff at the IMF and OECD, to hundreds of economists, to a majority of leaders of small, medium and large firms - they think they are all part of some global stitch-up to give misinformation to the British people. The next think you know the Leave camp will be accusing us of faking the Moon landings, kidnapping Shergar and covering up the existence of the Loch Ness monster. The response to the sober economics warning from around the world by those who want to leave the EU has not been credible or serious."

3. Cutaway Cable, Osborne and Balls

4. SOUNDBITE (English) George Osborne, British Chancellor:

"New Treasury analysis shows that if we left the single market and relied on the rules of the WTO (World Trade Organisation), then after 15 years we would be doing 200 billion (bn) pounds less trade every year in today's terms and we'd miss out on over 200 billion (bn) pound of overseas investments into our country."

5. Cutaway Cable and Osborne

6. SOUNDBITE (English Vince Cable, former Business Secretary:

"It (single market) wasn't the vision of Brussels bureaucrats, let alone of Hitler or Napoleon. It was a proposal that came from a British Government led by Mrs. Thatcher and I underline that because the single market was a British vision of an open Europe.

7. Cutaway

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ed Balls, former Shadow Chancellor:

"Voting to leave EU now really is a one way ticket to a poorer Britain, not just in the short term but for decades to come."

9. Osborne thanking everyone and he, Balls and Cable leaving

With Britain's exit from the European Union looming, Scottish officials are visiting Liechtenstein to explore the tiny Alpine country's arrangements that give it access to the massive EU market.

Liechtenstein Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick says that Scottish visitors are "coming and visiting Lichtenstein, and trying to find out especially about the functioning of" of the European Economic Area (EEA) that allows Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway to be part of the EU single market.

Frick spoke to The Associated Press on Monday at a meeting of ministers from the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), another bloc that unites Switzerland with those three countries.

She said Liechtenstein can inform Scotland about the way the EEA and EFTA work, but said Britain must sort out its post-Brexit ambitions before membership in either could be considered.

Geneva - 21 November 2016

1. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) conference building

2. Room inside the conference

3. Aurelia Frick, Liechtenstein Foreign Minister, speaking with journalists

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Aurelia Frick, Liechtenstein Foreign Minister:

''In the EFTA family we discuss twice a year about partners we are at the moment negotiating with, about possible future partners, and as well free trade agreements we want to renegotiate or make more modern, so this was the discussion this morning.''

5. Speakers at the conference

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Aurelia Frick, Liechtenstein Foreign Minister:

"I think first of all we need to know what Britain wants, so everybody here in this room is asking us what is happening. We don’t know it. So that’s a decision that Britain has to take, and then we are in a position in the EFTA family or EEA family, or each of our countries to see how we deal with the situation.''

7. Participants of the conference during coffee break

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Aurelia Frick, Liechtenstein Foreign Minister:

''We have people from Scotland coming and visiting Liechtenstein, and trying to find out especially about the functioning of the EEA and EFTA. And especially as we are limited in size, it is interesting to see how a country of our size is organising the whole set up within, especially the EEA. So we are open to share information, we are open to show how the functioning is, but this is not up to us to decide what Scotland is doing. I think that’s an answer Westminster needs to give.''

9. Cutaway of Monica Maeland, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Monica Maeland, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry:

''We haven’t had any signal from the UK about these questions. And I think first of all, the UK has to decide for themselves which way they are going to go.''

11. EFTA conference participants and EFTA signboard

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Monica Maeland, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry:

''Of course it’s very important to all EFTA countries to maintain our close relationship with the UK, and with the EU. For Norway, both the EEA agreement is very important, has been and will be in the future. And as for our relationship with the UK, it’s also very important to remain our close economic and trade relations, so that’s all good.''

13. Johann Schneider-Ammann, President of Switzerland and Finance Minister, talking about the progress of negotiations with India

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Johann Schneider-Ammann, President of Switzerland:

''Both sides signalled a certain flexibility, I assume that we find a compromise and find a solution.''

15. EFTA conference building

Proud to be British - but with a lot of help from India.

UK engineering firm Renishaw has been using Indian-manufactured parts for products like their 3D printer for years.

And they hope that an upcoming trade mission this week will help strengthen ties between the two countries.

"We make some very high quality products in India that we then export back to the UK for assembly into our products that are then again re-exported to anywhere else in the world," said Rhydian Pountney, director of sales and marketing at Renishaw.

"So when it comes to negotiations between the UK and India, clearly we want to see the minimum amount of barriers – whether they be tariff or non-tariff. Any easing, simplification of that is going to be most welcome."

The trip, led by British Prime Minister Theresa May, is hoped to lay the foundations of a new era in UK-India trade.

It's May's first major bilateral trip since she assumed control of the government after Britain voted to leave the European Union this summer.

But some believe the trip will be dominated by exercising damage control - an attempt to counter the negative impact of a Brexit vote.

"Partly this is going to be about PR and particularly about the whole rhetoric around Brexit," said Professor Jaideep Prabhu, director of Centre for India and Global Business at Cambridge University's Judge Business School.

"People might expect that there's going to be some kind of free trade treaty happening sometime soon between India and the UK, but I don't think that's going to happen very quickly because those are very complex."

That may dampen the mood of many pro-Brexit voices in the UK who campaigned on the belief that being outside of the EU would more easily allow bilateral trade agreements between the UK and emerging markets like India.

But despite the complexity of negotiating such agreements, critics of May's government say roadblocks to any future UK-India trade deal can be boiled down quite simply.

"I think it will be very, very difficult for the British government to make any headway in discussions with India unless we're willing to adopt a more relaxed approach to visas," said Vince Cable, former UK Business Secretary.

He cites the now stalled EU-India trade talks that he says were stumped by the UK's refusal to allow New Delhi's calls for relaxed immigration rules.

Since Theresa May placed stricter rules on student visas, the Indian student immigration population to the UK has more than halved, from 40,000 in 2010-11 to less than 20,000 in 2014-15.

For Indian entrepreneurs like Chitresh Sharma, this issue is only too familiar.

After studying in Glasgow and starting a business that now employs more than 40 people, he is unsure if he will even be able to stay in the country long-term.

In Britain on an entrepreneur visa, he needs to hit particular targets within five years to guarantee staying in the country.

He's on track, he says. But it's hard.

And to grow his business, he needs to look outside of the UK talent pool for employees.

The best place to look? India.

But for now, he has put his plans for attracting Indian tech talent to his start-up on hold.

He'll wait it out, he says, until things become a little clearer.

Theresa May leaves for her three-day trip to India on November 6.

Wotton-under-Edge – 4 November 2016

1. Various of machines operating at UK engineering firm Renishaw's headquarters

2. Various of Rhydian Pountney, director of sales and marketing at Renishaw

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rhydian Pountney, director of sales and marketing at Renishaw:

"We make some very high quality products in India that we then export back to the UK for assembly into our products that are then again re-exported to anywhere else in the world. So when it comes to negotiations between the UK and India, clearly we want to see the minimum amount of barriers – whether they be tariff or non-tariff. Any easing, simplification of that is going to be most welcome."

4. Various of 3D printer operating

London – 4 November 2016

5. Wide tilt down of Professor Jaideep Prabhu, director of Centre for India and Global Business, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Jaideep Prabhu, director of Centre for India and Global Business, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge:

"Trade between India and the UK is somewhat disappointing. Given the historical links between the two countries, the large Indian diaspora here, common language, legal system and so on, you would expect much more trade. In 2014, if you looked at exports from the UK to India, they are on the order of 8 billion and India was 13th in the list of top exporters from the UK, way down the list from the US, which is at the top with something like 80 billion, or even China, with about 18 billion."

7. Cutaway

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Jaideep Prabhu, director of Centre for India and Global Business, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge:

"Partly this is going to be about PR and particularly about the rhetoric around Brexit and looking to the wider world for trade possibilities. So people might expect that there's going to be some kind of free trade treaty happening sometime soon between India and the UK. I don't think that's going to happen very quickly because those are very complex. The groundwork may be laid for that."

London – 3 November 2016

9. Various of former UK Business Secretary Vince Cable, in interview

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Vince Cable, former UK Business Secretary:

"I think it will be very, very difficult for the British government to make any headway in discussions with India unless we're willing to adopt a more relaxed approach to visas. I mean it's very clear. I was involved for five years in the negotiations involving the European Union and India – trying to encourage the negotiations, and the problem was it run into the buffers partly because of problems on the Indian side, but mainly because of the British. It wasn't because the other European countries were holding us back, it was because of British objections."

11. Various of start-up company Swipii and Indian co-founder Chitresh Sharma showing how app works

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Chitresh Sharma, co-founder of start-up Swipii:

"Our company employs roughly over 40 people, in just under three years, and I myself am on an entrepreneur visa. And I have really high targets to hit, in order to even get a permanent residence."

13. Various of employees at Swipii in London office

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Chitresh Sharma, co-founder of start-up Swipii:

"We struggle to find some particular specialists in the UK to get our job done and ultimately we have to contract it to companies in India doing it on a consultative basis. Which not always translates – the communication, probably because they are so far away, time difference is a problem, the money involved in paying someone here would be far cheaper than actually having to manage a company there. So yeah, we are still looking for people but I don't know with Brexit happening how the rules and regulations are going to dictate so we have put that to rest and we are just trying to use the current pool of talent as much as we can."

15. Various of Swipii office in start-up accelerator space

US Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the Oxford Union on Wednesday, speaking on a diverse range of issues, including corruption, Brexit and the problems that face Syria.

Kerry, who planned to attend UK Prime Minister David Cameron's anti-corruption conference on Thursday, appeared to give the prime minister some political cover by describing Nigeria's corruption as a problem its current leaders were working faithfully to address.

Fielding a question on Brexit, he reiterated US President Obama's stance that the US would be looking to make a trade agreement with 27 countries, not one.

Kerry also said that if Russia and Iran don't push Syrian President Bashar Assad to embrace their vision for Syria's future, the there ceasefire would completely fall apart.

US Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the Oxford Union on Wednesday, speaking on a diverse range of issues, including corruption, Brexit and the problems that face Syria.

Kerry, who planned to attend UK Prime Minister David Cameron's anti-corruption conference on Thursday, appeared to give the prime minister some political cover by describing Nigeria's corruption as a problem its current leaders were working faithfully to address.

Fielding a question on Brexit, he reiterated US President Obama's stance that the US would be looking to make a trade agreement with 27 countries, not one.

Kerry also said that if Russia and Iran don't push Syrian President Bashar Assad to embrace their vision for Syria's future, the there ceasefire would completely fall apart.

Oxford - 11 May 2016

1. US Secretary of State John Kerry enters Oxford Union

2. Various of audience

3. SOUNDBITE (English) John Kerry, US Secretary of State:

"We have to stop and ask on an international basis how it is that a bunch of generals in a country like Nigeria, which had happened previously, and the new president (Buhari) has run against all this, and we are working with him now to change it, but Nigeria saw tens of billions of dollars taken out of the country. Those were schools, those were health care, those were infrastructure, new jobs, hidden in bank accounts around the world."

4. Cutaway

5. SOUNDBITE (English) John Kerry, US Secretary of State:

"We believe the presence of Britain in EU magnifies its voice, strengthens its ability to be able to impact on global effects, and if indeed the decision were made and your voters make that decision, of course we respect it. But the reality is that in a trade agreement, we're going to be looking to 27 countries, not one. We're going to try and maximize the market place and get the rules in as many countries as we can, because that's the way it's effective, so certainly it will have impacts like that."

6. Cutaway

7. SOUNDBITE (English) John Kerry, US Secretary of State:

"A political negotiation, a transitional governance body that would run Syria while the constitution is being written and implemented, and then a cease-fire, nation-wide and then and election in a year and a half. Now we are now already five months in so it would be a year and whatever. But that's the envisioned outcome of Iran and Russia. It's pretty similar to ours. The issue is are they going to really push (Syrian President) Assad to embrace it. If he doesn't, the ceasefire will completely fall apart, they will go back to war baring some other kind of intervention that I don't necessarily see on the horizon right now."

8. Kerry finishes Oxford address to applause

UKIP leader Paul Nuttall praised UK Prime Minister Theresa May for her speech outlining Britain's exit strategy from the European Union on Tuesday.

However, Nuttall criticised May for her "transitional arrangements" and stresses that his party wants a "quick Brexit".

More than six months after Britain voted to leave the European Union, May finally spelled out what it means: The U.K. will make a clean break from the EU and leave its single market of around 500 million people.

In her most detailed remarks since the June 23 vote, May said Tuesday that Britain must regain control of its laws and borders, even as she called on the bloc to negotiate a free-trade agreement that will benefit both sides.

Strasbourg - 17 January 2017

1. Various of inside the European Parliament

2. Various of Paul Nuttall, leader of UKIP

3. SOUNDBITE (English), Paul Nuttall, Leader of UKIP:

"Well, we are broadly impressed by what she said. She said that we will definitely be leaving the single market, which was pretty much a red line for my party, UKIP. Because we want to be able to control our borders. We don't want to pay a membership fee. We don't want to have to comply with EU regulations and directives. So broadly, very good. Our concern is that she isn't moving quickly enough. In fact, what we are going to get is slow motion Brexit. She talks about transitional arrangements, interim arrangements, which will only start after April 2019. What we want to see is quick Brexit. We want Britain to be able to sign her trade deals across the globe, particularly with the United States."

4. Cutaway on camera

5. SOUNDBITE (English), Paul Nuttall, Leader of UKIP:

"We're not afraid at all, but look, there will be a deal. There will be a free trade deal between Britain and the European Union. We are your biggest market place, we are your biggest trader as well. You know, we bought 800,000 German cars last year, we bought 39,000,000 bottles of champagne alone. So look, it will be mutually good for the EU and Britain to sign a free trade deal."

6. Wide of plenary session room

7. Pan over flags

8. Mid of United Kingdom flag

9. Wide of members of Parliament

French President Francois Hollande met with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key at the Elysee Palace.

The two men discussed the prospects of a Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the European Union, with Key saying this could be in place by 2018.

Key said that while New Zealand's exposure to Britain and the EU is limited, the country could be affected by Brexit, given China's relationship with the EU and New Zealand's exposure to China.

Key was among Hollande's foreign guests of honour during this year's Bastille Day Parade.

French President Francois Hollande met with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key at the Elysee Palace.

The two men discussed the prospects of a Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the European Union, with Key saying this could be in place by 2018.

Key said that while New Zealand's exposure to Britain and the EU is limited, the country could be affected by Brexit, given China's relationship with the EU and New Zealand's exposure to China.

Key was among Hollande's foreign guests of honour during this year's Bastille Day Parade.

AGENCY POOL

Paris - 14 July 2016

1. Exterior of Elysee Palace

2. Honour Guard

3. French President Francois Hollande waiting for New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to arrive

4. Key's car arrives

5. Key shakes hands with Hollande

6. Interior shots of Key, Hollande and their delegations

7. SOUNDBITE (English) John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand:

"(We had) a good discussion about the free trade agreement. The President is really quite forward-leaning now on where that's going with New Zealand, and quite keen to demonstrate, actually, that the European Union is in a position to sign free trade agreements and do so maybe at a faster pace than had been previously thought."

8. Cutaway of EU and French flags

9. SOUNDBITE (English) John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand:

"We come away from this visit in quite optimistic, actually, about where the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations will go. At the moment commissions are going through the process of speaking to all of the 28 member states, but we hope to start the more formal and detailed negotiations early in 2017 and hopefully look to an objective of signing an FTA maybe by the end of 2017 or early in 2018."

10. Cutaway of guards

11. SOUNDBITE (English) John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand:

"Our exposure to both United Kingdom and to Europe is much smaller than, for instance, our exposure to Australia or China. But China has a very significant relationship with the EU, so if there were to be financial issues in the European Union as a result of Brexit, or just other broader issues, that indirectly flows to New Zealand."

12. Cutaway of flags

13. SOUNDBITE (English) John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand:

"One thing that is coming through with all the European leaders that we have met, because of course we met (Italian) Prime Minister (Matteo) Renzi yesterday in Rome, is that there is a real focus, actually, on the fact that Europe does need to change and needs to really start tackling some of those issues of youth unemployment, and that it can't afford to let the austerity measures that they've had washing over Europe for a long period of time now, continue to drag economic growth down. So, I think the leaders are focussed on Brexit but also on what the messages might be for their own countries and for the European Union as a whole."

14. French flag flying

Gina Miller needs to look no further than her own small investment firm to know that leaving the European Union would be bad for Britain.

She has an analyst who is Italian: would he need a visa? She has customers who are British retirees living in Spain: will they return home to keep access to health care and liquidate their euro investments? Her firm, SCM Direct, works closely with French bank Societe Generale: would that relationship continue?

"It could be terrible for the city,'' she said suggesting the impact could be similar to the 2008 financial crisis.

From the international banks in the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf to the traditional home of Britain's financial industry in the City of London and the hedge funds of Mayfair, bankers and money managers across the capital are watching the June 23 referendum on EU membership with trepidation. Many fear a vote to leave would undermine London's position as the world's pre-eminent financial center and damage an industry that underpins the British economy.

In case of a British exit, or Brexit, from the EU, US banking giant JPMorgan said last week that they would have to move staff to the continent to ensure it could continue to serve clients who want to invest there, Dimon said. Other global banks with customers in the rest of the EU would be in a similar situation.

Britain has been the gateway to the EU for many banks, brokerages and fund managers for decades. In addition to having a trusted legal system and institutions that operate in English, the language of international finance, London is in the right time zone to access most of the Earth during its working day and has a reputation for delivering top-notch financial services. The industry is also surrounded by an ecosystem of expertise, lawyers, accountants and consultants, to support it.

Some 60 percent of all European headquarters of non-EU firms are based in the U.K., according to TheCityUK, which lobbies on behalf of the financial industry. The UK hosts more headquarters of non-EU firms than Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands put together.

London's advantages are such that people in favor of leaving the EU, such as Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of brokerage firm Hargreaves Lansdown, think it will retain its luster no matter what. He poured scorn on the notion that it could be easily replicated.

"In addition to the cost of building the infrastructure for a rival to the City of London one has also got to work out whether people will want to live in another financial center,'' he said. "They certainly wouldn't want to live in Paris, although Paris is a pretty city, purely because of the tax rates and in all honesty they wouldn't want to live in Frankfurt because actually there isn't even the housing there to house them. People want to live in London.''

London's financial sector has complained about a number of EU rules, such as limits on bankers' bonuses and an attempt to impose a tax on financial transactions.

Those considerations, however, are largely trumped by concerns that leaving the EU would make access to the other 27 EU countries more difficult, many analysts say.

The principle of "passporting" currently allows any firm registered in one EU country to operate in any other member state without facing another layer of regulation. It's the same principle that allows exporters to ship their goods to any EU country free of tariffs. Losing that freedom is a particular concern for the many foreign firms who use London not only as a financial hub but as an entry point into the EU.

While the UK could probably negotiate a new arrangement for trade in goods, it would be much more complicated to hammer out a deal on services, experts believe. The situation has no precedent, no country the size of the UK has ever left such an integrated economic union, so the outcome of any talks can't be predicted.

And anything that curtails Britain's financial industry has implications for the UK economy as a whole, not just the bankers who were pilloried for taking home million-pound bonuses while they fueled the global financial crisis.

The industry's importance is even more obvious in Britain's trade figures. While the country posted an overall trade deficit of 34.4 billion pounds (50 billion US dollars) in 2014, it generated a 72 billion pound surplus from exporting financial and related services.

"Uncertainty is bad news," said Vicky Pryce, an economist and former joint head of the UK government economic service.

"It will take some time for that to settle down, it will take some time for the negotiations to take place. There is a two year period during which officials and also ministers will have to sit down and try and negotiate a deal and we just don’t know whether even over that period something will come out that will be in the slightest bit beneficial for the city so a lot of uncertainty

The City of London - the square mile roughly bounded by the walls of the original Roman city - has been the financial heart of Britain since the 17th century, when merchants meeting at local coffee houses formed Lloyd's of London and the London Stock Exchange. It has survived wars, famines and fires and would likely survive any outcome from the EU vote. The question is in what form.

Jeffrey Evans, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, whose office has promoted The City as place to do business since the Magna Carta was signed in 1215, says leaving the EU in not a risk worth taking.

Speaking in an opulent drawing room that feels more like a museum, with Dutch masters lining the walls, Evans noted that leaving the EU is "a very important matter."

"This is a decision that will affect future generations," he said.

Gina Miller needs to look no further than her own small investment firm to know that leaving the European Union would be bad for Britain.

She has an analyst who is Italian: would he need a visa? She has customers who are British retirees living in Spain: will they return home to keep access to health care and liquidate their euro investments? Her firm, SCM Direct, works closely with French bank Societe Generale: would that relationship continue?

"It could be terrible for the city,'' she said suggesting the impact could be similar to the 2008 financial crisis.

From the international banks in the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf to the traditional home of Britain's financial industry in the City of London and the hedge funds of Mayfair, bankers and money managers across the capital are watching the June 23 referendum on EU membership with trepidation. Many fear a vote to leave would undermine London's position as the world's pre-eminent financial center and damage an industry that underpins the British economy.

In case of a British exit, or Brexit, from the EU, US banking giant JPMorgan said last week that they would have to move staff to the continent to ensure it could continue to serve clients who want to invest there, Dimon said. Other global banks with customers in the rest of the EU would be in a similar situation.

Britain has been the gateway to the EU for many banks, brokerages and fund managers for decades. In addition to having a trusted legal system and institutions that operate in English, the language of international finance, London is in the right time zone to access most of the Earth during its working day and has a reputation for delivering top-notch financial services. The industry is also surrounded by an ecosystem of expertise, lawyers, accountants and consultants, to support it.

Some 60 percent of all European headquarters of non-EU firms are based in the U.K., according to TheCityUK, which lobbies on behalf of the financial industry. The UK hosts more headquarters of non-EU firms than Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands put together.

London's advantages are such that people in favor of leaving the EU, such as Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of brokerage firm Hargreaves Lansdown, think it will retain its luster no matter what. He poured scorn on the notion that it could be easily replicated.

"In addition to the cost of building the infrastructure for a rival to the City of London one has also got to work out whether people will want to live in another financial center,'' he said. "They certainly wouldn't want to live in Paris, although Paris is a pretty city, purely because of the tax rates and in all honesty they wouldn't want to live in Frankfurt because actually there isn't even the housing there to house them. People want to live in London.''

London's financial sector has complained about a number of EU rules, such as limits on bankers' bonuses and an attempt to impose a tax on financial transactions.

Those considerations, however, are largely trumped by concerns that leaving the EU would make access to the other 27 EU countries more difficult, many analysts say.

The principle of "passporting" currently allows any firm registered in one EU country to operate in any other member state without facing another layer of regulation. It's the same principle that allows exporters to ship their goods to any EU country free of tariffs. Losing that freedom is a particular concern for the many foreign firms who use London not only as a financial hub but as an entry point into the EU.

While the UK could probably negotiate a new arrangement for trade in goods, it would be much more complicated to hammer out a deal on services, experts believe. The situation has no precedent, no country the size of the UK has ever left such an integrated economic union, so the outcome of any talks can't be predicted.

And anything that curtails Britain's financial industry has implications for the UK economy as a whole, not just the bankers who were pilloried for taking home million-pound bonuses while they fueled the global financial crisis.

The industry's importance is even more obvious in Britain's trade figures. While the country posted an overall trade deficit of 34.4 billion pounds (50 billion US dollars) in 2014, it generated a 72 billion pound surplus from exporting financial and related services.

"Uncertainty is bad news," said Vicky Pryce, an economist and former joint head of the UK government economic service.

"It will take some time for that to settle down, it will take some time for the negotiations to take place. There is a two year period during which officials and also ministers will have to sit down and try and negotiate a deal and we just don’t know whether even over that period something will come out that will be in the slightest bit beneficial for the city so a lot of uncertainty

The City of London - the square mile roughly bounded by the walls of the original Roman city - has been the financial heart of Britain since the 17th century, when merchants meeting at local coffee houses formed Lloyd's of London and the London Stock Exchange. It has survived wars, famines and fires and would likely survive any outcome from the EU vote. The question is in what form.

Jeffrey Evans, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, whose office has promoted The City as place to do business since the Magna Carta was signed in 1215, says leaving the EU in not a risk worth taking.

Speaking in an opulent drawing room that feels more like a museum, with Dutch masters lining the walls, Evans noted that leaving the EU is "a very important matter."

"This is a decision that will affect future generations," he said.

London - 24 May 2016

1. Various aerials of Canary Wharf

London - 6 June 2016

2. Set up of Gina Miller, co-founder of wealth management company SCM Direct

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Gina Miller, co-founder of wealth management company SCM Direct:

"It could be terrible for the city because there is so much going on in the city, and we are seen as being one of the forefronts in the financial services and being a leader in that sector and if you look at all the modelling that has gone on there will definitely be a huge impact because a lot of the euro clearing happens in the UK. We have already seen that this first quarter of this year compared to last year, M and As - mergers and acquisitions - are down 39 percent, we've seen a real halt in foreign investment in the UK. If gilt markets - foreigners why would they want to buy our gilts, we could be hit in gilts we don't know what will happen with sterling. Nobody knows."

London - 24 May 2016

4. Aerial of the city

London - 22 May 2016

6. Pan of Bank of England

7. Pull focus from flowers to Bank

8. Workers and sign for Bank underground station

London - 24 May 2016

9. Set up of Jeffrey Evans, the Lord Mayor of the City of London

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Evans, the Lord Mayor of the City of London:

"Well, first of all it’s very important matter, it’s a, this is a decision that will affect future generations. The city of London we had, we reached a decision in March the corporation that we would take a position and that’s very strongly that we wish to remain in, it was a clear majority for that. And it’s, it’s very important the city of London is really, perhaps are most successful industry in the UK, recognises the financial, press and business services, we recogonise the importance of the EU to London and the UK."

London - 24 May 2016

11. Aerials of the city with the Shard and the Gerkhin

Bristol - 6 June 2016

12. Various of set up of Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of brokerage firm Hargreaves Lansdown

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of brokerage firm Hargreaves Lansdown:

"In addition to the cost of building the infrastructure for a rival to the City of London one has also got to work out whether people will want to live in another financial center. They certainly wouldn't want to live in Paris, although Paris is a pretty city, purely because of the tax rates and in all honesty they wouldn't want to live in Frankfurt because actually there isn't even the housing there to house them. People want to live in London it's got the best restaurants in the world, the best sport facilities in the world, the best theatres in the world, I mean why would anyone want to live anywhere else."

FILE: London - 22 February 2016

14. Various of trading floor and traders at GKFX brokers in London

Bristol - 1 June 2016

15. Set up Vicky Pryce, economist and former joint head of the U.K. government economic service

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Vicky Pryce, economist and former joint head of the U.K. government economic service:

"It is just possible, even if there is a 'Brexit vote', the UK we get some special allowance in terms of the way in which it operates, particularly in the service sector with the rest of Europe. But it will take some time for that to settle down, it will take some time for the negotiations to take place. There is a two year period during which officials and also ministers will have to sit down and try and negotiate a deal and we just don’t know whether even over that period something will come out that will be in the slightest bit beneficial for the city so, a lot of uncertainty. Uncertainty is bad news."

London - 24 May 2016

14. Aerials of the city

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Diamond encrusted guitars, giant rubies and golden pyramids were just some of the highlights of 2016's run of jewellery fairs across the globe.

But war, political uncertainty and economic turmoil took centre stage this year as most countries reported a downturn in jewellery markets.

STORY-LINE:

In January, Tokyo kicked off a year of glittering jewellery fairs in a sparkling mood.

The increasing economic uncertainty around the globe that marked the end of 2015 did not seem to be weighing heavily on the industry with organisers remaining optimistic about the market as a whole.

The centrepiece of the show was this 400 karat diamond guitar worth a cool US$2 million.

In March 2015 it was certified by the Guinness World Records as the world's most 'valuable guitar'.

It took 68 designers and craftsmen 2 months to complete this unique piece, which is made with 10,000 diamonds.

Other extravagant and novel designs included unique LED jewellery by Tohkoo.Co. Ltd.

The company developed very small LED lights and incorporated then into jewellery items such as earrings and even nails.

By February in Bangkok prospects for the industry were not looking quite so shiny.

The Thailand Gems and Jewellery Fair takes place twice a year and is Asia's second largest trade show, attracting around 1,800 exhibitors.

But traders at the fair reported that the industry was struggling.

Foreign exhibitors were allowed to sell gems and jewellery duty-free. Many local exhibitors cut their prices too. This meant buyers saved about 20 percent, which traders hoped would encourage people to buy more.

The tactics became necessary due to the continuing effects of the global economy knocking onto the gems and jewellery market.

Anthony Peter Brooke, Vice President of the Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association said the collapse of China's market had been particularly damaging.

"The China market has now unfortunately collapsed, and that's not the wrong word to use, it genuinely has collapsed. It's probably going to take another 4 to 5 years to get back to the state that it was before. What that means is that prices have basically collapsed. The raw material producing countries are no longer able to sell the amounts that they were before because of this big price differential."

But rubies and sapphires were still deemed safe bets - remaining in demand by the China market and maintaining their price.

Over in Hong Kong, platinum was the saviour at March's International Jewellery Show.

Traders said they were revelling in record low costs for the metal, with prices at their lowest for 7 years.

Platinum remains a popular material for jewellery, particularly in western wedding rings and minimal design pieces.

More than 2,500 exhibitors from 41 countries and regions including India, Thailand and Turkey showcased their products at the 2016 show.

As one of the biggest jewellery consuming countries, gold-loving India said its jewellery industry had been slowing down and Indian traders voiced concern that their government's plan to reintroduce excise tax could result in a drop in sales.

For Istanbul's spring show, luxury and extravagance took centre stage with designers showcasing high-end pieces to customers.

This was the most expensive creation costing 6.3 million US dollars.

The miniature model of the Pyramids of Giza is made of 1,568 pieces of 24 carat gold, and weighs 157 kg.

In the jewellery pavilions, this queen of the Istanbul exhibition gold ring made of 20 and 7 carat diamonds was priced at 345,000 US dollars.

This dagger made of gold and giant rubies was valued at 250,000 US dollars.

And anybody who took a shine to this gold coated Mercedes car would have needed a cool 220,000 US dollars to drive it away.

But behind the luxury and extravagance, Turkish jewellery exporters reported that regional tensions between Turkey and Russia were having an impact on the market.

Relations between Russia and Turkey have soured over the conflict in neighbouring Syria, and have become particularly strained since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in Syria on November 24.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, was displaying an array of jewellery of its own.

Known for its dazzling golden domes, at the end of March it presented a sparkling collection of jewellery in its museum.

The diamond flowers and gold birds form part of a collection of work on display by award-winning Russian jewellery designer Ilgiz Fazulzyanov.

Fazulzyanov is the first living designer to have been given a solo exhibition in the Kremlin since Pierre-Karl Faberge in 1917.

In Mumbai in August, the annual India International Jewellery Show saw jewellery makers reporting a slowdown in the industry due to soaring gold prices.

But they said designers were compensating by getting more innovative with their designs.

The gems and jewellery sector contributes about six percent to India's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the India Brand and Equity Foundation.

That's due to high local demand and India's role as major centre for cutting and polishing diamonds.

Jewels play an important role in weddings, festivals, or any special occasion in India, making them a much sought after commodity.

Not only jewellery, but also art works, ornaments and even clothing are crafted from gold, silver and platinum and studded with diamonds and precious gems.

One of the highlights of the show was the "Peacock Ring", which holds the Guinness World Record for the most diamonds set in a single ring: 3,827 diamonds in all.

Weighing slightly more than 50 grams, the ring was created by Savio Jewellery and has an estimated value of 2,744,525, US dollars.

The majority of the show had jewellery designed for women, priced from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.

Jewellery designer and blogger, Prernaa Makhariaa says Indian designers were experimenting with innovation, blending traditional Indian styles with Western designs to attract buyers.

"There has been an infusion of diamonds with gold, or diamond with different kind of textures. It's not only diamonds, but even coloured stones are being mixed with gold or with silver or with brass and copper. So India is getting innovative with a lot of different manufacturing techniques and they are trying to play with textures and different kind of materials."

In London, UK traders were confident their products had not lost their sparkle despite the Brexit vote.

Experts at the International Jewellery London show said a weak pound, innovative design and a diverse marketplace for suppliers were just some of the reasons the UK jewellery market was thriving.

Michael Rawlinson is chief executive of The National Association of Jewellers, the main industry body in the UK.

He said: "The British market actually has responded quite well post Brexit at the moment, people have some level of certainty, even if it is leaving the European Union, so we've seen a strengthening of trade in the last couple of months."

With innovative designers continuing to emerge from the UK's most important jewellery schools in London and Birmingham, Rawlinson said 'brand Britain' was as strong as ever.

Examples of innovation came in the form of London-based designer Joanna Boyen of Biiju and her explosion designs and Katy Tromans' fairytale inspired silver rings.

Finishing off the season in October it was back to Istanbul.

Dazzling Turkey's 2nd jewellery fair of the year was this miniature of Istanbul's Camlica Mosque made of gold.

The 300 kilogram piece honouring the largest mosque in Asia Minor (Anatolia) was valued at 10 million US dollars.

But Turkish traders were not celebrating.

Turkey is one of the top three global producers together with Italy and India, but the usually buoyant jewellery sector was waning.

The situation in Syria, terror attacks, a failed coup and a long-running internal conflict with the Kurdish minority all impacted.

Exhibitors attending the show reported an export market drop of 18% overall in the last year according to the Turkish Jewellery Exporters Association. Total exports were 1.4 billion US dollars

Russia, Iran, UAE and Iraq, traditionally the biggest customers of Turkish jewellery, bought fewer Turkish products.

Russia was in 2014 one of the main buyers of Turkish jewellery and gold, but bilateral trade was halted a year ago when Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in Syria.

After resuming business this year, Russia is now the 18th buyer of Turkish jewellery.

Iran is now the top buyer, but the purchase of jewellery and gold has decreased by 38 per cent to 384 million US dollars from January to September compared to the same period last year, according to figures from the Turkish Jewellery Exporters Association.

Tokyo, January 20, 2016

1. Tilt down $2 million guitar

2. Left Pan of Aaron Shum, President of Aaron Shum Jewellery holding the $2 million guitar his company made

3. Guinness World Records certificate for the most valuable guitar

4. Right pan - close up of body of guitar

5. A Japanese samurai helmet (kabuto) adorned with pearls

6. Tilt down of a golden teapot

7. Close of rings

8. Tilt down of coloured necklace

9. Wide of LED jewellery stand

10. Various of LED jewellery

Bangkok, Thailand, 26 February, 2016

11. Mid of gem and jewellery booth exterior at Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair

12. Mid of customers looking at gold and silver jewellery

13. Close of gold and silver jewellery

14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Anthony Peter Brooke, Vice President, Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association:

"The China market has now unfortunately collapsed, and that's not the wrong word to use, it genuinely has collapsed. It's probably going to take another 4 to 5 years to get back to the state that it was before. What that means is that prices have basically collapsed. The raw material producing countries are no longer able to sell the amounts that they were before because of this big price differential."

15. Close of ruby earrings

16. Close of ruby necklace

17. Close of rubies

18. Close of blue sapphire necklace

Hong Kong - 3rd March, 2016

19. Wide of Victor Chan, Executive Director of Continental Holdings Limited putting a diamond necklace on a holder

20. Close of 11.64 carat diamond and platinum necklace (Price: USD 35,000)

21. Close of diamond and platinum bracelets and ring. (Price of bracelet on top: USD 22,000; small bracelet on left: USD 8,000; ring: USD 4,000)

22. Wide of buyer in an Indian jewellery shop

23. Close of hands counting money

24. Pan to right of Indian style jewellery

25. Various of Ravi Ajmera, Director of Ravi Jewels & Handicrafts Pvt Ltd looking at an Indian wedding jewellery

Istanbul, Turkey - 10 March 2016

26. Various of a miniature of Pyramids of Giza made in gold by Turkish company Nadir Doviz, 1,568 pieces of 24 carat gold, 157 kilograms in total, valued at 6.3 million US dollars

27. Close of gold camels

28. Close of ring by Zen Diamond, made of 20 and 7 carat diamonds and gold, valued at 345,000 US dollars

29. Close of necklace by On Mucevherat made of 18 carat diamonds and gold, priced at 26,000 US dollars

30. Mid of On Mucevherat necklace and earrings, made of 18 carats diamonds and gold, price of earrings 8,000 US dollars

31. Various of Baget-Is dagger made of gold, diamonds, rubies, valued 250,000 US dollars, not for sale

32. Wide of Mercedes gold coated car, by Nadir Doviz, valued at 220,000 US dollars

Moscow, Russia - March 30, 2016

33. Wide of cathedral in the Kremlin

34. Various of Jewellery by Ilgiz Fazulzyanov on display

Mumbai, India - 5 August, 2016

35. Mid of Taj Mahal shaped ring

36. Zoom out of a replica of Howrah Bridge (in Kolkatta) which is made of gold and silver, on man's wrist

Mumbai, India - 4 August 2016

37. Mid of peacock ring made out of diamonds, which holds the 2015 Guinness World Record for the most diamonds set in one ring (3827)

38. Tilt up of New Fusion necklaces with uncut diamonds, set diamonds and gold costing approximately 27,600 US dollars

39. Pull focus of necklaces on display

40. Tilt down of model wearing jewellery

41. Model wearing jewellery

42. SOUNDBITE (English) Prernaa Makhariaa, Jewellery Designer and Blogger:

"There has been an infusion of diamonds with gold, or diamond with different kind of textures. It's not only diamonds, but even coloured stones are being mixed with gold or with silver or with brass and copper. So India is getting innovative with a lot of different manufacturing techniques and they are trying to play with textures and different kind of materials."

43. Pull focus of strings of coloured stones

London, UK - 4 September, 2016

44. Pull focus of large diamond

45. Close of ring

46. Mid of women looking at ring

47. Close pan left from woman to emerald earring

48. Close of blue topaz explosion ring by Biiju

49. SOUNDBITE: (English) Michael Rawlinson, Chief Executive, The National Association of Jewellers:

"The British market actually has responded quite well post Brexit at the moment, people have some level of certainty, even if it is leaving the European Union, so we've seen a strengthening of trade in the last couple of months."

50. Various shots of Bright Young Gem Katy Tromans demonstrating her Rapunzel tower ring

51. Close of Tromans' Alice in Wonderland ring ornament

Istanbul – 13 October 2016

52. Various of a miniature of Camlica Mosque, made in gold and silver by Turkish company Nadir Doviz, valued 10 million US dollars

53. Various of visitors

54. Close up to rings by Zen Diamond: (below) ring made by 20 and 7 carats diamonds and gold, valued at 324,000 US dollars; (upper right) ring made of 20 carats diamonds, valued at 97,000 US dollars

55. Various up of necklace by On Mucevherat made of 18 carats diamonds and gold, valued at 25,000 US dollars

LEAD IN:

Diamond encrusted guitars, giant rubies and golden pyramids were just some of the highlights of 2016's run of jewellery fairs across the globe.

But war, political uncertainty and economic turmoil took centre stage this year as most countries reported a downturn in jewellery markets.

STORY-LINE:

In January, Tokyo kicked off a year of glittering jewellery fairs in a sparkling mood.

The increasing economic uncertainty around the globe that marked the end of 2015 did not seem to be weighing heavily on the industry with organisers remaining optimistic about the market as a whole.

The centrepiece of the show was this 400 karat diamond guitar worth a cool US$2 million.

In March 2015 it was certified by the Guinness World Records as the world's most 'valuable guitar'.

It took 68 designers and craftsmen 2 months to complete this unique piece, which is made with 10,000 diamonds.

Other extravagant and novel designs included unique LED jewellery by Tohkoo.Co. Ltd.

The company developed very small LED lights and incorporated then into jewellery items such as earrings and even nails.

By February in Bangkok prospects for the industry were not looking quite so shiny.

The Thailand Gems and Jewellery Fair takes place twice a year and is Asia's second largest trade show, attracting around 1,800 exhibitors.

But traders at the fair reported that the industry was struggling.

Foreign exhibitors were allowed to sell gems and jewellery duty-free. Many local exhibitors cut their prices too. This meant buyers saved about 20 percent, which traders hoped would encourage people to buy more.

The tactics became necessary due to the continuing effects of the global economy knocking onto the gems and jewellery market.

Anthony Peter Brooke, Vice President of the Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association said the collapse of China's market had been particularly damaging.

"The China market has now unfortunately collapsed, and that's not the wrong word to use, it genuinely has collapsed. It's probably going to take another 4 to 5 years to get back to the state that it was before. What that means is that prices have basically collapsed. The raw material producing countries are no longer able to sell the amounts that they were before because of this big price differential."

But rubies and sapphires were still deemed safe bets - remaining in demand by the China market and maintaining their price.

Over in Hong Kong, platinum was the saviour at March's International Jewellery Show.

Traders said they were revelling in record low costs for the metal, with prices at their lowest for 7 years.

Platinum remains a popular material for jewellery, particularly in western wedding rings and minimal design pieces.

More than 2,500 exhibitors from 41 countries and regions including India, Thailand and Turkey showcased their products at the 2016 show.

As one of the biggest jewellery consuming countries, gold-loving India said its jewellery industry had been slowing down and Indian traders voiced concern that their government's plan to reintroduce excise tax could result in a drop in sales.

For Istanbul's spring show, luxury and extravagance took centre stage with designers showcasing high-end pieces to customers.

This was the most expensive creation costing 6.3 million US dollars.

The miniature model of the Pyramids of Giza is made of 1,568 pieces of 24 carat gold, and weighs 157 kg.

In the jewellery pavilions, this queen of the Istanbul exhibition gold ring made of 20 and 7 carat diamonds was priced at 345,000 US dollars.

This dagger made of gold and giant rubies was valued at 250,000 US dollars.

And anybody who took a shine to this gold coated Mercedes car would have needed a cool 220,000 US dollars to drive it away.

But behind the luxury and extravagance, Turkish jewellery exporters reported that regional tensions between Turkey and Russia were having an impact on the market.

Relations between Russia and Turkey have soured over the conflict in neighbouring Syria, and have become particularly strained since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in Syria on November 24.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, was displaying an array of jewellery of its own.

Known for its dazzling golden domes, at the end of March it presented a sparkling collection of jewellery in its museum.

The diamond flowers and gold birds form part of a collection of work on display by award-winning Russian jewellery designer Ilgiz Fazulzyanov.

Fazulzyanov is the first living designer to have been given a solo exhibition in the Kremlin since Pierre-Karl Faberge in 1917.

In Mumbai in August, the annual India International Jewellery Show saw jewellery makers reporting a slowdown in the industry due to soaring gold prices.

But they said designers were compensating by getting more innovative with their designs.

The gems and jewellery sector contributes about six percent to India's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the India Brand and Equity Foundation.

That's due to high local demand and India's role as major centre for cutting and polishing diamonds.

Jewels play an important role in weddings, festivals, or any special occasion in India, making them a much sought after commodity.

Not only jewellery, but also art works, ornaments and even clothing are crafted from gold, silver and platinum and studded with diamonds and precious gems.

One of the highlights of the show was the "Peacock Ring", which holds the Guinness World Record for the most diamonds set in a single ring: 3,827 diamonds in all.

Weighing slightly more than 50 grams, the ring was created by Savio Jewellery and has an estimated value of 2,744,525, US dollars.

The majority of the show had jewellery designed for women, priced from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.

Jewellery designer and blogger, Prernaa Makhariaa says Indian designers were experimenting with innovation, blending traditional Indian styles with Western designs to attract buyers.

"There has been an infusion of diamonds with gold, or diamond with different kind of textures. It's not only diamonds, but even coloured stones are being mixed with gold or with silver or with brass and copper. So India is getting innovative with a lot of different manufacturing techniques and they are trying to play with textures and different kind of materials."

In London, UK traders were confident their products had not lost their sparkle despite the Brexit vote.

Experts at the International Jewellery London show said a weak pound, innovative design and a diverse marketplace for suppliers were just some of the reasons the UK jewellery market was thriving.

Michael Rawlinson is chief executive of The National Association of Jewellers, the main industry body in the UK.

He said: "The British market actually has responded quite well post Brexit at the moment, people have some level of certainty, even if it is leaving the European Union, so we've seen a strengthening of trade in the last couple of months."

With innovative designers continuing to emerge from the UK's most important jewellery schools in London and Birmingham, Rawlinson said 'brand Britain' was as strong as ever.

Examples of innovation came in the form of London-based designer Joanna Boyen of Biiju and her explosion designs and Katy Tromans' fairytale inspired silver rings.

Finishing off the season in October it was back to Istanbul.

Dazzling Turkey's 2nd jewellery fair of the year was this miniature of Istanbul's Camlica Mosque made of gold.

The 300 kilogram piece honouring the largest mosque in Asia Minor (Anatolia) was valued at 10 million US dollars.

But Turkish traders were not celebrating.

Turkey is one of the top three global producers together with Italy and India, but the usually buoyant jewellery sector was waning.

The situation in Syria, terror attacks, a failed coup and a long-running internal conflict with the Kurdish minority all impacted.

Exhibitors attending the show reported an export market drop of 18% overall in the last year according to the Turkish Jewellery Exporters Association. Total exports were 1.4 billion US dollars

Russia, Iran, UAE and Iraq, traditionally the biggest customers of Turkish jewellery, bought fewer Turkish products.

Russia was in 2014 one of the main buyers of Turkish jewellery and gold, but bilateral trade was halted a year ago when Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in Syria.

After resuming business this year, Russia is now the 18th buyer of Turkish jewellery.

Iran is now the top buyer, but the purchase of jewellery and gold has decreased by 38 per cent to 384 million US dollars from January to September compared to the same period last year, according to figures from the Turkish Jewellery Exporters Association.

Tokyo, January 20, 2016

1. Tilt down $2 million guitar

2. Left Pan of Aaron Shum, President of Aaron Shum Jewellery holding the $2 million guitar his company made

3. Guinness World Records certificate for the most valuable guitar

4. Right pan - close up of body of guitar

5. A Japanese samurai helmet (kabuto) adorned with pearls

6. Tilt down of a golden teapot

7. Close of rings

8. Tilt down of coloured necklace

9. Wide of LED jewellery stand

10. Various of LED jewellery

Bangkok, Thailand, 26 February, 2016

11. Mid of gem and jewellery booth exterior at Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair

12. Mid of customers looking at gold and silver jewellery

13. Close of gold and silver jewellery

14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Anthony Peter Brooke, Vice President, Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association:

"The China market has now unfortunately collapsed, and that's not the wrong word to use, it genuinely has collapsed. It's probably going to take another 4 to 5 years to get back to the state that it was before. What that means is that prices have basically collapsed. The raw material producing countries are no longer able to sell the amounts that they were before because of this big price differential."

15. Close of ruby earrings

16. Close of ruby necklace

17. Close of rubies

18. Close of blue sapphire necklace

Hong Kong - 3rd March, 2016

19. Wide of Victor Chan, Executive Director of Continental Holdings Limited putting a diamond necklace on a holder

20. Close of 11.64 carat diamond and platinum necklace (Price: USD 35,000)

21. Close of diamond and platinum bracelets and ring. (Price of bracelet on top: USD 22,000; small bracelet on left: USD 8,000; ring: USD 4,000)

22. Wide of buyer in an Indian jewellery shop

23. Close of hands counting money

24. Pan to right of Indian style jewellery

25. Various of Ravi Ajmera, Director of Ravi Jewels & Handicrafts Pvt Ltd looking at an Indian wedding jewellery

Istanbul, Turkey - 10 March 2016

26. Various of a miniature of Pyramids of Giza made in gold by Turkish company Nadir Doviz, 1,568 pieces of 24 carat gold, 157 kilograms in total, valued at 6.3 million US dollars

27. Close of gold camels

28. Close of ring by Zen Diamond, made of 20 and 7 carat diamonds and gold, valued at 345,000 US dollars

29. Close of necklace by On Mucevherat made of 18 carat diamonds and gold, priced at 26,000 US dollars

30. Mid of On Mucevherat necklace and earrings, made of 18 carats diamonds and gold, price of earrings 8,000 US dollars

31. Various of Baget-Is dagger made of gold, diamonds, rubies, valued 250,000 US dollars, not for sale

32. Wide of Mercedes gold coated car, by Nadir Doviz, valued at 220,000 US dollars

Moscow, Russia - March 30, 2016

33. Wide of cathedral in the Kremlin

34. Various of Jewellery by Ilgiz Fazulzyanov on display

Mumbai, India - 5 August, 2016

35. Mid of Taj Mahal shaped ring

36. Zoom out of a replica of Howrah Bridge (in Kolkatta) which is made of gold and silver, on man's wrist

Mumbai, India - 4 August 2016

37. Mid of peacock ring made out of diamonds, which holds the 2015 Guinness World Record for the most diamonds set in one ring (3827)

38. Tilt up of New Fusion necklaces with uncut diamonds, set diamonds and gold costing approximately 27,600 US dollars

39. Pull focus of necklaces on display

40. Tilt down of model wearing jewellery

41. Model wearing jewellery

42. SOUNDBITE (English) Prernaa Makhariaa, Jewellery Designer and Blogger:

"There has been an infusion of diamonds with gold, or diamond with different kind of textures. It's not only diamonds, but even coloured stones are being mixed with gold or with silver or with brass and copper. So India is getting innovative with a lot of different manufacturing techniques and they are trying to play with textures and different kind of materials."

43. Pull focus of strings of coloured stones

London, UK - 4 September, 2016

44. Pull focus of large diamond

45. Close of ring

46. Mid of women looking at ring

47. Close pan left from woman to emerald earring

48. Close of blue topaz explosion ring by Biiju

49. SOUNDBITE: (English) Michael Rawlinson, Chief Executive, The National Association of Jewellers:

"The British market actually has responded quite well post Brexit at the moment, people have some level of certainty, even if it is leaving the European Union, so we've seen a strengthening of trade in the last couple of months."

50. Various shots of Bright Young Gem Katy Tromans demonstrating her Rapunzel tower ring

51. Close of Tromans' Alice in Wonderland ring ornament

Istanbul – 13 October 2016

52. Various of a miniature of Camlica Mosque, made in gold and silver by Turkish company Nadir Doviz, valued 10 million US dollars

53. Various of visitors

54. Close up to rings by Zen Diamond: (below) ring made by 20 and 7 carats diamonds and gold, valued at 324,000 US dollars; (upper right) ring made of 20 carats diamonds, valued at 97,000 US dollars

55. Various up of necklace by On Mucevherat made of 18 carats diamonds and gold, valued at 25,000 US dollars

With sparks flying from a welder at work behind him, Simon Boyd's voice rises as he explains why he believes the United Kingdom should leave the European Union even though his company, Reid Steel, has put up buildings across the 28-nation bloc, from the Netherlands to Poland and Italy.

The EU saddles smaller businesses with reams of unnecessary regulations, says Boyd, Managing Director of the UK's largest steel construction company, based in the southern town of Christchurch, England.

That dilutes Britain's reputation for quality and threatens the nation's sovereignty. But more importantly, he claims, it is costing companies like his.

The views of small business owners like Boyd will be key to the outcome of the 23 June referendum on Britain's EU membership, which polls show is still close.

The country's 5.4 million small and medium-size enterprises account for 99 percent of Britain's businesses and employ 15.6 million people, or half of those working in the private sector.

While the media has focused on the fact that most large companies back EU membership, opinion is divided among smaller firms.

When the Federation of Small Businesses surveyed its members last year, it found that 47 percent supported EU membership and 41 percent wanted to leave.

However, a February poll found that 42 percent said their votes could still be swayed.

"I think we have to take this opportunity," Boyd said with passion. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to take back control of our own destiny. From a business perspective the European Union has been very bad for us. We are over-regulated and held back as a result of that overregulation."

The federation has asked both campaigns to detail the economic costs and benefits of EU membership and of leaving the bloc.

Answering those questions is another matter, said Angus Armstrong, an economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

"No country the size of the United Kingdom has ever left such an integrated economic union," he said. "In other words, there is no precedent to look back upon and draw some lessons - so we're in uncharted territory here. Many people say they would like to have more facts. The difficulty is we haven't been here before."

The International Monetary Fund said this month that a vote to leave the EU would lead to a "protracted period of heightened uncertainty" as Britain would be forced to negotiate bilateral trade deals with its former European partners and countries around the world. That would trigger volatility in financial markets and slow economic growth, the fund said.

The Bank of England says a so-called Brexit would also weaken the pound, increasing the cost of imported goods and spurring inflation.

That uncertainty is likely to hit smaller businesses harder than others mainly by making it more difficult for them to get loans - banks tend to shun riskier loans during times of stress.

Uncertainty is exactly what frightens many small business owners, who don't have the resources of global conglomerates to adjust to dramatic changes.

Birmingham spice trader Jason Wouhra is one of the worried.

His family-run business, East End Foods, started out with a corner store that sold fresh chicken and grew into one of the largest importers of ethnic food ingredients in the UK.

He is voting to stay, in large part because he fears that a vote to leave would trigger a decade or more of trade negotiations.

"I'm not comfortable with the uncertainty of moving out," Wouhra said.

If Britain leaves the EU, Wouhra fears he would need to re-write all the labels on his company's products and repackage the boxes for every country he trades with.

"It would be a huge expense, possibly going into millions of pounds," he said.

But Boyd - who has 130 employees - argues that for smaller companies the benefits of leaving the EU far outweigh the risks of leaving.

Rather than profiting from the EU membership, Reid Steel is actually losing contracts in France because local rules require the company to have a type of insurance you can only buy if you're French, he said.

Moreover, Boyd believes that British companies "will be freer" if the UK leaves the union because they won't have to jump through the EU's regulatory hoops, he said.

With sparks flying from a welder at work behind him, Simon Boyd's voice rises as he explains why he believes the United Kingdom should leave the European Union even though his company, Reid Steel, has put up buildings across the 28-nation bloc, from the Netherlands to Poland and Italy.

The EU saddles smaller businesses with reams of unnecessary regulations, says Boyd, Managing Director of the UK's largest steel construction company, based in the southern town of Christchurch, England.

That dilutes Britain's reputation for quality and threatens the nation's sovereignty. But more importantly, he claims, it is costing companies like his.

The views of small business owners like Boyd will be key to the outcome of the 23 June referendum on Britain's EU membership, which polls show is still close.

The country's 5.4 million small and medium-size enterprises account for 99 percent of Britain's businesses and employ 15.6 million people, or half of those working in the private sector.

While the media has focused on the fact that most large companies back EU membership, opinion is divided among smaller firms.

When the Federation of Small Businesses surveyed its members last year, it found that 47 percent supported EU membership and 41 percent wanted to leave.

However, a February poll found that 42 percent said their votes could still be swayed.

"I think we have to take this opportunity," Boyd said with passion. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to take back control of our own destiny. From a business perspective the European Union has been very bad for us. We are over-regulated and held back as a result of that overregulation."

The federation has asked both campaigns to detail the economic costs and benefits of EU membership and of leaving the bloc.

Answering those questions is another matter, said Angus Armstrong, an economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

"No country the size of the United Kingdom has ever left such an integrated economic union," he said. "In other words, there is no precedent to look back upon and draw some lessons - so we're in uncharted territory here. Many people say they would like to have more facts. The difficulty is we haven't been here before."

The International Monetary Fund said this month that a vote to leave the EU would lead to a "protracted period of heightened uncertainty" as Britain would be forced to negotiate bilateral trade deals with its former European partners and countries around the world. That would trigger volatility in financial markets and slow economic growth, the fund said.

The Bank of England says a so-called Brexit would also weaken the pound, increasing the cost of imported goods and spurring inflation.

That uncertainty is likely to hit smaller businesses harder than others mainly by making it more difficult for them to get loans - banks tend to shun riskier loans during times of stress.

Uncertainty is exactly what frightens many small business owners, who don't have the resources of global conglomerates to adjust to dramatic changes.

Birmingham spice trader Jason Wouhra is one of the worried.

His family-run business, East End Foods, started out with a corner store that sold fresh chicken and grew into one of the largest importers of ethnic food ingredients in the UK.

He is voting to stay, in large part because he fears that a vote to leave would trigger a decade or more of trade negotiations.

"I'm not comfortable with the uncertainty of moving out," Wouhra said.

If Britain leaves the EU, Wouhra fears he would need to re-write all the labels on his company's products and repackage the boxes for every country he trades with.

"It would be a huge expense, possibly going into millions of pounds," he said.

But Boyd - who has 130 employees - argues that for smaller companies the benefits of leaving the EU far outweigh the risks of leaving.

Rather than profiting from the EU membership, Reid Steel is actually losing contracts in France because local rules require the company to have a type of insurance you can only buy if you're French, he said.

Moreover, Boyd believes that British companies "will be freer" if the UK leaves the union because they won't have to jump through the EU's regulatory hoops, he said.

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Christchurch - 23 May 2016

1. Various of steel welding

2. Wide of worker prepping cutting of steel

3. Various of steel cutting process

4. Various of Managing Director of Reid Steel Simon Boyd looking at construction plan

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Simon Boyd, Managing Director, Reid Steel:

"I think we have to take this opportunity, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, to take back control of hour own destiny. From a business perspective the European Union has been very bad for us. We are over-regulated and held back as a result of that regulation."

6. Cutaway of Reid Steel sign on machinery

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Simon Boyd, Managing Director, Reid Steel:

"We're the fifth biggest economy, we're the biggest trading partner, and I think outside the European Union, where the growing market is, where we export a lot of our product, we will be freer, we won't have all these regulatory hoops to jump through that nobody else on the world market has to jump through."

Birmingham - 18 May 2016

8. Various of rice being sifted through machine at East End Foods factory

9. Spice product on conveyer belt

10. Pan of worker with spices putting them into boxes

11. Various of spices and package assembling

12. Tracking shot of East End Foods cash and carry store

13. Various set ups of Jason Wouhra, East End Foods Chairman

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Jason Wouhra, East End Foods Chairman:

"The ease of trade within Europe is one of the key points from a business perspective. You're able to ship product all over the European Union without any problem. In terms of intellectual property, our trademarks are registered all over the world and the registrations within Europe were the easiest to put through because it's one application for the brand and cost-wise and efficientcy-wise that's excellent. So there are a lot of advantages in terms of the European perspective that help us as a business. And I'm not comfortable with the uncertainty of moving out to be honest."

15. Cutaway of shelves being stacked

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Jason Wouhra, East End Foods Chairman:

"No one actually knows how it will all transpire, but as an example, we do, East End Foods has 1,300 products in the portfolio. The labelling regulations are such that if they change, we would be in a position that we would have to re-label all of those products potentially, each label costing us a couple of thousand pounds (about 2,800 US dollars) to originate and then the costs of plastics, the cost of materials that we have to reinvest in, it would be a huge expense, possibly going into millions of pounds."

London - 16 May 2016

17. Various set ups of Dr Angus Armstrong, Director of Macroeconomics at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Angus Armstrong, Director of Macroeconomics, National Institute of Economic and Social Research:

"No country the size of the United Kingdom has ever left such an integrated economic union as the United Kingdom. In other words, there is no precedent to look back on and draw lessons – so we're in uncharted territory here. Many people say they would like to have more facts. The difficulty is we haven't been here before, and so necessarily there is a lot of uncertainty."

19. Cutaway

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Angus Armstrong, Director of Macroeconomics, National Institute of Economic and Social Research:

"The single market involves a single set of rules. Now for some people, those rules can be perhaps intrusive, and expensive. Many people point to certain rules, which they say cost UK businesses money. On the other hand, it means the same set of rules makes it easier to compete with European counterparts, so it means small companies don't have to worry about recognising different qualifications or being able to access European markets. On the one hand, you have the cost of higher regulations, on the other hand, you have access to a single market with very few barriers."

Birmingham - 18 May 2016

21. Various of flags outside East End Foods factory including St George's (England) and EU flag