25 Largest British Companies by Revenue

Published on January 28, 2023 at 1:14 pm by Insider Monkey Team in Lists, News

In this article, we take a look at 25 largest British companies by revenue. If you want to see more largest British companies by revenue, go directly to 5 Largest British Companies by Revenue.

British companies are companies based in the United Kingdom.

As a nation, the United Kingdom is one of the most developed countries in the world. In 2021, the United Kingdom had a GDP of $3.131 trillion, ranking #6 in the world in terms of nominal GDP. The country scores very well in terms of the human development index and the United Kingdom’s economy is considered as a high income economy.

In terms of universities, the United Kingdom has arguably two of the world’s top ten universities in University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.

In terms of financial capitals, the United Kingdom’s London is arguably top two along with New York City.

The United Kingdom is also a very innovative country. The industrial revolution first began in the United Kingdom and thanks to the progress that the industrial revolution began, living standards across the world are substantially higher.

The Bank of England writes, “Around that time saw the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Since this point in time, the world economy has expanded for nearly the entire time. Of course, growth has not been constant. History has been marked with wars, depressions and financial crises, causing growth to stall – and sometimes to fall. And growth has not been even across countries or across individuals within a country. But on average, GDP growth per person since 1750 has been 1.5% per year. This means that each generation has been around a third better off than the one before it, on average. That’s a massive contrast with the earlier period of history. One way to see this is to compare how long it takes for the economy to double in size in each of these two periods. Between 1750 and now, based on the average growth rates, this would take around 50 years. Before 1750, it would have taken 6,000 years for the economy to double in size!”

In terms of the present day, the United Kingdom remains a very innovative country given its numerous patents and the country’s considerable spending in terms of research and development. For those of you interested, check out 15 Most Innovative Countries in the World.

2023

In terms of 2023 economically, the United Kingdom is facing headwinds similar to many other parts of the world as the country’s Office for National Statistics data showed the nation’s GDP expanded 0.1% in November 2022.

Like many other nations, the economy of the United Kingdom could potentially enter into a recession this year as the United States’ Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates that makes growth harder in many places of the world harder. Although inflation has potentially peaked in the United States, the Federal Reserve has said it will still raise rates this year. Just by how much and how quickly will depend on economic data.

In terms of the global economy, the World Bank estimates in January 2023 that global growth will slow to 1.7% in 2023, down from the expected 3% six months ago.

The World Bank adds, “Global growth is projected to decelerate sharply this year, to its third weakest pace in nearly three decades, overshadowed only by the 2009 and 2020 global recessions. This reflects synchronous policy tightening aimed at containing very high inflation, worsening financial conditions, and continued disruptions from the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine. Investment growth in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) is expected to remain below its average rate of the past two decades. Further adverse shocks could push the global economy into yet another recession.”

Many leading British companies by revenue are also global given their quest for more growth. As a result, many leading British multinationals’ revenue depend on how well the global economy does as a whole. If the global economy slows, many leading British companies sales might not increase as much as it did before.

While there could be an economic slowdown this year given the Federal Reserve raising rates, the United Kingdom economy nevertheless has long term growth potential given its many strengths. If the British economy grows, it is likely that many of the leading British companies by revenue will also benefit in terms of more sales in the UK. In the long term, the growth rate of the global economy will rebound as well.

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Methodology

For our list of 25 Largest British Companies by Revenue, we used Global Database for its rankings data. We left out Legal & General Assurance (Pension Management) Ltd because it is part of another company and because we already included Legal & General Group Plc.

For revenue we looked at individual company reports if possible. When we could not find revenue from the company reports, we used data from Forbes Global 2000 or Global Database.

25 Largest British Companies by Revenue

25. BAE Systems Plc

2021 Revenue: £19.5 billion

BAE Systems Plc is the largest defense contractor in Europe that helps makes parts of the F-35 as well as the Eurofighter Typhoon. In 2021, the company’s sales rose to £19.521 billion from £19.277 billion in 2020. Given defense budgets normally go higher, BAE Systems Plc sales could go higher if it maintains its market share.

24. BT Group Plc

2021 Revenue: £21.331 billion

BT Group Plc is a leading telecom company headquartered in England but with operations in around 180 countries. BT Group Plc had sales of £21.331 billion 2021, down slightly from sales of £22.905 billion in 2020 given the pandemic and various legacy product declines and divestments.

23. Prudential Plc

2022 Revenue: $26.5 billion according to Forbes or £21.4 billion under current exchange rates

Prudential Plc is a British company that provides life and health insurance in Asia and Africa. The company also offers asset management services. In 2022, Prudential Plc had sales of $26.5 billion according to Forbes.

22. Barclays

2022 Revenue: $30.2 billion according to Forbes or £24.39 billion under current exchange rates

Barclays is a major British bank with a top commercial and investment bank. According to Forbes, Barclays had sales of $30.2 billion, or £24.39 billion under current exchange rates.

21. Linde Plc

2021 Revenue: $31 billion or £25.04 billion under current exchange rates

Linde Plc is a leading multinational chemical company that’s headquartered in the UK. For 2021, the company reported sales of $31 billion, which under current exchange rates is around £25.04 billion. Given its revenues, Linde Plc ranks #21 on our list of 25 Largest British Companies by Revenue.

20. British American Tobacco Plc

2021 Revenue: £25.684 billion

British American Tobacco Plc is a British company that sells tobacco and nicotine products. In 2021, British American Tobacco Plc sales declined slightly by 0.4% to £25.684 billion.

19. AstraZeneca Plc

2021 Revenue: $37.4 billion or £30.2 billion under current exchange rates

AstraZeneca Plc is a leading pharmaceutical giant based in the UK. For FY 2021, the company’s sales rose 38% year over year to $37.4 billion with AstraZeneca Plc’s oncology revenue rising 17% year over year to $13.7 billion.

18. Ernst & Young Global

2021 Revenue: $40 billion or £32.3 billion under current exchange rates

Ernst & Young Global is a leading consultancy with headquarters in London, England. For 2021, the company’s global sales rose 7.3% year over year to $40 billion.

17. Imperial Brands Plc

2021 Revenue: £32.791 billion

Imperial Brands Plc is the world’s fourth largest tobacco company with headquarters in the United Kingdom. For fiscal year 2021, Imperial Brands Plc had revenue of £32.791 billion, up 0.7% year over year. For its fiscal year 2022, the company sales decreased 0.7% to £32.551 billion. Imperial Brands Plc ranks #17 on our list of 25 Largest British Companies by Revenue.

16. J Sainsbury Plc

2021/22 Revenue: £33.355 billion

J Sainsbury Plc also known as Sainsbury’s is one of the UK’s largest supermarkets. In the company’s 2021/22 year, J Sainsbury Plc had sales of £33.355 billion including digital sales of £10.8 billion.

15. Anglo American Plc

2021 Revenue: $41.6 billion or £33.6 billion under current exchange rates

Anglo American Plc is a global mining company with headquarters in Britain. In 2021, Anglo American Plc had sales of $41.6 billion, up from sales of $25.4 billion in 2020. In 2021, the company also had attributable free cash flow of $7.8 billion, up from $1.2 billion in 2020.

14. GSK Plc

2021 Revenue: £34 billion

GSK Plc, formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline, is a a leading pharmaceutical and biotech company with headquarters in the United Kingdom. In 2021, GSK Plc was £34 billion, the same as it was in 2020.

13. PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

2021 Revenue: $45 billion or £36.35 billion under current exchange rates

PwC also known as PricewaterhouseCoopers is a leading consultancy based in Britain but with operations globally that’s one of the ‘big four’ in the industry. For the 12 months ended June 30, 2022, the company had sales of $50.3 billion up 11.4% in US Dollars.

12. Aviva Plc

2022 Revenue: $45.1 billion according to Forbes or £36.43 billion under current exchange rates

Aviva Plc is a leading insurance company in Britain with sales of $45.1 billion according to Forbes. That’s £36.43 billion under current exchange rates.

11. Vodafone Group Plc

2021 Revenue: €43.8 billion or £38.46 billion under current exchange rates

Vodafone Group Plc is a leading telecom with headquarters in the UK. In FY2021, the company had sales of €43.8bn, with Europe accounting for 77% of sales and Africa accounting for 16%.

10. Glencore Energy UK

2021 Revenue: £38.6 billion according to Global Database

Glencore Energy UK is a division of Glencore which isn’t a British company. Nevertheless, Glencore Energy UK is and the company had sales of £38.6 billion in 2021 according to Global Database.

9. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd

2021 Revenue: $50.2 billion or £40.55 billion under current exchange rates

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd is a leading consultancy with headquarters in London. The company is among the ‘big four’ in the industry with $50.2 billion in revenue in its fiscal 2021 year. For its FY2022 year, the company’s sales rose to $59.3 billion given stronger demand.

8. Unilever Plc

2021 Revenue: €52.4 billion or £46.01 billion under current exchange rates

Unilever Plc is a leading consumer staple with global operations but headquarters in the UK. In 2021, Unilever Plc had sales of €52.4 billion up from 2020’s €50.7 billion.

7. Lloyds Banking Group

2022 Revenue: $58.5 billion according to Forbes or £47.25 billion under current exchange rates

Lloyds Banking Group is one of the leading financial services companies in the UK. According to Forbes, Lloyds Banking Group had sales of $58.5 billion in 2022, which under current exchange rates is £47.25 billion.

6. HSBC Holdings

2022 Revenue: $59.3 billion according to Forbes or £47.9 billion under current exchange rates

HSBC Holdings is an Asia focused bank with headquarters in London. In 2022, HSBC Holdings had sales of $59.3 billion according to Forbes. Given its sales, HSBC Holdings ranks #6 on our list of 25 Largest British Companies by Revenue.

Click to continue reading and see 5 Largest British Companies by Revenue.