What IMRAY does

Imray, operating since 1904 with origins in the mid-eighteenth century, is a specialist publisher of nautical charts, pilot books, cruising guides, and almanacs for leisure sailors and small commercial vessels. The company produces charts by licensing official Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) data from hydrographic offices including the UKHO, importing it in S-57 format and applying its own cartographic style and small-craft augmentation — adding marina layouts, anchorage information, and local pilotage notes drawn from pilot books, port authorities, marinas, and local experts. Charts are presented at scales appropriate for small craft navigation using an intuitive colour scheme. Imray distributes a catalogue of over 5,500 products covering Britain, Ireland, Northwest Europe, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic, through its own e-commerce storefront, third-party platforms (Google Play Books), and a primary UK distributor, Bookharbour (Stanfords) Ltd.

The business generates revenue through one-time purchases of paper charts (£59.95–£139.95), pilot books (~£34.50), and gift vouchers, alongside a recurring annual digital subscription ("Explore with Imray") providing offline access to over 17,000 locations across 38 cruising guides. Additional digital products include the Imray Navigator and Imray Tides Planner apps, with charts also available in Raymarine and Navico chart plotter formats. Following an April 2024 joint venture with Austrian cartographic specialist freytag & berndt forming FB Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson GmbH (headquartered in Vienna), the company announced in November 2024 a phased exit from paper chart publishing after the 2025 season, refocusing on digital navigation, pilot books, and cruising guides. In February 2026, the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency formally confirmed FB Imray as a Private Chart Producer, allowing Imray charts to satisfy legal carriage requirements on coded and fishing vessels under 24 metres.

Name

IMRAY

Legal name

FB Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson GmbH

Website

https://imray.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Imray is a specialist nautical publisher producing paper charts, pilot books, cruising guides, and digital navigation apps for recreational sailors and small commercial vessels under 24m, operating under the FB Imray joint venture with freytag & berndt since 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nautical Charts and Publications

akta.pro primary industry

Marine Navigation Systems (ECDIS, Radar, GNSS, AIS) (IMAJAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Nautical Safety, Navigation Aids & Hydrographic Services (TLAHAFAE)

Keywords

• Nautical charts
• Pilot books
• Cruising guides
• Maritime navigation
• Sailing publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Physical Charts and Chart Packs: Imray sells paper nautical charts and chart packs in various formats (loose leaf, wiro-bound, laminated) covering coastal waters worldwide. Charts are printed on water-resistant paper.
2. Pilot Books and Cruising Guides: Sale of pilot books, cruising guides, almanacs, and handbooks covering sailing destinations globally. Books are published by Imray or in partnership with sailing experts and organisations.
3. Explore with Imray Digital Subscription: Annual membership providing access to over 17,000 locations from Imray's world-renowned cruising guides via mobile app (iOS) and desktop platform. Digital content includes Imray raster charts.
4. Gift Vouchers: Imray gift vouchers available in denominations of £20, £50, £100, and £250, redeemable across the entire product range.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Imray publishes nautical charts, chart packs, pilot books, cruising guides, almanacs, and handbooks for leisure sailors and small commercial vessels, alongside digital navigation products such as the Explore with Imray app, Imray Navigator, and Imray Tides Planner. Their charts combine official hydrographic office ENC data with proprietary small-craft augmentation (marina layouts, anchorage details, local pilotage notes). The company is recognised by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency as a Private Chart Producer, making its charts legally compliant for carriage on coded and fishing vessels under 24 metres.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Explore with Imray: Digital library of pilot books and cruising guides with over 17,000 points of interest for sailing locations worldwide, available as mobile app and desktop version.
• Imray Navigator
• Imray Tides Planner

Products and services

• Imray Nautical Charts Water-resistant paper nautical charts covering coastal waters worldwide, tailored for small craft with intuitive colour schemes (green land, dark blue deep water, pale blue shallow, yellow sand) and additional small-craft information not found on official hydrographic charts.
• Chart Packs Multi-sheet bundled sets of nautical charts for a specific region, available in loose leaf, wiro-bound, and wiro-bound durable laminate formats, starting from £59.95.
• Pilot Books and Cruising Guides Paperback pilot books and cruising guides covering sailing destinations globally (e.g., Isles of Scilly, Greek Waters, Mediterranean, Baltic Sea), published by Imray alone or in partnership with authors and organisations like Clyde Cruising Club and Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation.
• Explore with Imray Annual Subscription Annual digital membership providing access to over 17,000 locations from 38 of Imray's cruising guides via mobile app and desktop platform, with content downloadable for offline use at sea. Includes Imray raster charts.
• Imray Navigator App Digital chart application for navigation available on iOS, providing Imray digital charts in formats compatible with chart plotter systems.
• Imray Tides Planner App Tidal planning application for sailors providing tide information for navigation planning.
• Imray Gift Vouchers Gift vouchers redeemable across the entire Imray product range including charts, books, and digital subscriptions, available in denominations of £20, £50, £100, and £250.
• Almanacs and Handbooks Annual almanacs and handbooks for sailors, including the Mediterranean Almanac edited by Rod and Lucinda Heikell, providing reference information for navigation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Charts recognised by MCA for legal carriage requirements on coded vessels
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Freytag & BerndtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2024Joint venture between Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd and Austrian cartographic specialist freytag & berndt (FB) to form FB Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson GmbH. Combines Imray's maritime expertise with freytag & berndt's cartographic knowledge to strengthen and expand the Imray portfolio. Headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
• Bookharbour (Stanfords) LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMain UK-based distributor of Imray charts and books. Continues as distributor under the new joint venture structure FB Imray.
• UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO)coreTechnology or IntegrationImray licenses official Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) data from UKHO and other hydrographic offices worldwide. Data is imported in S-57 format and tailored for small craft use.
• Royal Cruising Club Pilotage FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-publishing partnership for pilot books including Isles of Scilly, Shell Channel Pilot, and other RCCPF guides. Content is researched and written by RCCPF authors.
• Rod and Lucinda HeikellmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing authors of Imray pilot books including Greek Waters Pilot, Italian Waters Pilot, Turkish Waters and Cyprus Pilot, Mediterranean France, Ionian, West Aegean, East Aegean, and Mediterranean Almanac (editors). Nearly 40 years of Mediterranean cruising experience.
• Clyde Cruising ClubmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-publishing partnership for Clyde Cruising Club Sailing Directions series covering Scottish waters including Outer Hebrides, Kintyre to Ardnamurchan, Ardnamurchan to Cape Wrath, Orkney and Shetland, and Firth of Clyde.
• UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)coreOthersRegulatory body that formally recognises Imray as a Private Chart Producer. This recognition allows Imray charts to meet legal carriage requirements for coded and fishing vessels under 24m.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Reed's Nautical Almanac: Long-running annual nautical almanac for leisure sailors covering UK and Northern European waters. Direct peer in the printed reference publication category where Imray also competes with its own almanacs and handbooks.
• C-MAP: Global supplier of digital marine charts used in chart plotters and consumer apps, with overlapping distribution through navigation electronics. C-MAP competes with Imray in the chart-plotter digital chart category and on consumer-facing apps.
• NV Charts: German nautical chart and pilot book publisher focused on European leisure sailing waters, with a comparable product mix of paper charts, digital charts, and cruising guides. NV Charts is the closest independent peer to Imray in scope, target customer, and distribution model.
• Delius Klasing: German publisher of nautical books, charts, and sailing magazines for the leisure sailing market. Comparable to Imray in publishing model and audience, though with a heavier weighting to books, magazines, and German-language content.
• Maptech: US-based publisher of paper nautical charts and chart kits for recreational boaters. Comparable to Imray in the printed small-craft chart category and in providing recreational-focused chart products outside the official Admiralty portfolio.
• Navionics (Garmin): Provider of digital marine charts and the popular Boating app for leisure sailors, now part of Garmin. Direct competitor in the digital chart subscription space that Imray is pivoting toward with Explore with Imray and Imray Navigator.

Emerging players

• savvy navvy: Modern marine navigation app targeting leisure boaters with route planning and smart routing features. Emerging competitor to Imray's digital navigation apps for the same leisure sailor customer base.
• iNavX: Marine navigation app supporting multiple chart providers, including Imray raster charts, on iOS and Android. Comparable to Imray's Imray Navigator and Explore with Imray in offering consumer marine navigation apps.

Others

• freytag & berndt: Austrian cartographic specialist and Imray's joint venture partner / strategic operating parent since April 2024. Adjacent rather than competing, but materially relevant as the parent entity shaping Imray's product roadmap and capital allocation.

Broad incumbents

• UK Hydrographic Office (Admiralty Charts): Official UK hydrographic office producing the Admiralty chart portfolio, from which Imray licenses ENC data. UKHO is the broad incumbent in the nautical chart space and overlaps with Imray in leisure and small-craft chart provision, though it serves a much wider commercial and defense mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/imraynautical
• Facebookfacebook.com/imraynautical
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imray-laurie-norie-&-wilson-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/imraynautical

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IMRAY