Commercial yards built the capacity Britain used in 1914

How were the new private shipyards and expanded building facilities financed?

A simultaneous boom in naval contracts and merchant construction gave private yards the work and income needed to expand slips, facilities, and capacity.

The act moved major peacetime naval orders beyond the royal dockyards at the same moment merchant construction was expanding. Orders encouraged larger slips, expanded yards, investment, and closer working relationships between the Admiralty and commercial builders. An audience follow-up identifies Armstrong's Elswick yard as one beneficiary of this change. Sustained contracts and merchant demand gave private firms revenue and reasons to expand without the state financing every new facility directly. The resulting twenty-five years of accumulated capacity and experience became part of Britain's ability to mobilize for the First World War.