The UK’s top 75 most valuable brands are now worth an estimated £173 billion, marking an overall decline of 5% on 2023 and leaving them playing catch up with their international rivals.
Iconic high-street retailer Marks & Spencer is bucking this trend however, and has emerged as one of 2024’s standout performers, growing its brand valuation by a considerable 38% to £1.9 billion.
Whilst bleak, the overall picture isn’t entirely negative however, as despite registering a decline the UK’s downward trend was markedly less pronounced than the 14% drop in value posted in 2023. Notably, this figure does remain far behind the UK’s global competitors, which are growing at 20%.
Revealed as part of the annual Kantar Brandz report, British brands are some of the worst performing when it comes to differentiation and how meaningful consumers perceive them to be.
“It’s a mixed picture for UK brands and things could get bumpier before they get better. Consumer confidence is returning as inflation eases, although depending on what the chancellor announces in her budget on 30 October, we could see new pressures on household spending,” Kantar insights division head of brand consultancy, Adele Joliffe said.
“With the right marketing investment, however, brands can put themselves in a strong position not just to weather any immediate uncertainty, but to grow over the long term. Our analysis shows there are clear opportunities, and teams must be really targeted in how they make the most of these.
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“She continued: “Based on how likely people are to choose them, for example, one third of the brands we’ve evaluated this year could sell more if their products and services were easier to access – whether that’s through investment in store opening or online fulfilment for example.”
Even more alarmingly, close to a third of the top 75 brands have less than a 50% chance of growth in the next 12 months, with two in five of them not seen positively enough to justify charging a higher than average price for their category.
Some sectors did register significantly positive performances, such as travel – which posted impressive 56% growth, alongside automotive (14%). Putting in more modest figure were retail, which grew by 1% and food and beverages, which declined by 9%.
Taking in total value, the UK’s top ten most valuable brands for 2024 were Vodafone, HSBC, Shell, BP, Johnnie Walker, BT, Tesco, Sky, Dove and O2.
