British brand value grows by £37bn

Apparently that’s the equivalent of creating a new brand ten times more valuable than Cadbury’s or nearly four new Tescos.

For the first time the Brand Finance study covers the top 100 British brands, not just the top 50, featuring iconic brands such as Jaguar, Twinings, Kit Kat, Asos and Royal Mail.

David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, said: “The £302bn total value of the top 100 British brands stands as a testament to a thriving creative industry. Some brands like John Lewis may only operate here in the UK while others like Burberry or all our main telecoms brands have been exported around the world. Whether still owned by British companies or not, these brands should make Britain proud of its world-leading marketing industry, which is something we should continue to nurture and invest in.”

Here are the top 10 brands (and the £m change to their brand value since 2013):

1. Vodafone at £17,923 – £1,239
2. Shell at £17,295 – -£1,083
3. HSBC at £16,264 – £2,140
4. Orange at £12,015 – £1,921
5. Tesco at £10,689 – -£380
6. PWC at £10,689 – -£54
7. BT at £9,237 – £3,692
8. Barclays at £8,574 – £275
9. Deloitte at £8,325 – £411
10. Marlboro at £8,156 – -£1,705

According to Brand Finance, Royal Mail (ranked 25th) is the most valuable new entry in this year’s study, following its initial public offering in 2013. The brand alone has been valued at £3.3bn, which is as much as the Government valued the whole business when it sold shares in the IPO last October.

This valuation is vindicated by the current share price implied value of the business (£5.1bn) and the disclosure that JPMorgan had previously presented a spectrum for the value of the Royal Mail business ranging from £7.75bn to £9.95bn.

John Lewis, celebrating its 150th anniversary, makes it among the oldest brands in Brand Finance’s study. Its brand value has increased by 31 per cent since last year, making it also one of the fastest risers. The partnership business model that John Lewis operates is rare, but this cannot be the only explanation for its success.

Mini is another top performer, rising 39 per cent to £2.6bn. This is despite being owned and overseen by German company BMW. The strong performance of brands like Cadburys, and other car brands Land Rover and Jaguar (all of which are owned abroad) suggests that British brands need not necessarily be British-owned to be successful.

In fact, many foreign-owned brands can end up playing upon their British heritage even more when they are exported to international markets. In the US the Mini Cooper has recently been advertised using a British bulldog called Spike, while Jaguar has focused on the prevalence of British Hollywood villains.

The Johnnie Walker whisky brand is worth £3bn, making it the most valuable whisky brand in the world. It is an iconic Scottish brand, but also truly global, with more than 1m cases sold in the US, Brazil and Thailand and a London-based parent company in Diageo. The brand’s strong march into emerging markets can be seen in the decision to launch the John Walker & Sons Private Collection by master blender Jim Beveridge in Singapore, and also in recent advertising campaigns in countries like Mexico.

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By Shané Schutte

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