Top UK companies add more value than European counterparts

The UK’s top companies are outperforming their European competitors, according to this year’s value added scoreboard, produced by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

UK wealth creation by large companies increased 10% on last year, which is greater than France and Germany, and the UK has more companies in the top league than any of its European counterparts.

Value added is defined by the DTI as the difference between sales and the cost of bought-in materials, components and services.

The top two companies in the league table are Shell and BP. Other UK companies include HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Vodafone and GlaxoSmithKline.

Alistair Darling, trade and industry secretary, said: “This is an outstanding performance from UK companies across a wide range of business sectors. Their wealth creation is a firm foundation for continued UK prosperity.”

The scoreboard lists the value added, or wealth created, by the top 700 European companies and the top 800 UK companies.

Key findings include:

• The UK has more companies (197) in the top 700 wealth creators than any other European country


• UK companies have higher wealth creation efficiency, adding more value at less cost. The UK’s efficiency rating is 173% for the UK 197 compared to the European 700 at 153%


• The 197 UK companies had a combined value added of £403bn, the 96 German firms £310bn, and the 91 French firms £288bn.

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The scoreboard can be found at www.innovation.gov.uk along with an online calculator that allows companies of all sizes to calculate their value added and compare their performance.