In the News
Britain’s Most Admired Companies 2025 winners
17 January 2026
Octopus Energy named Britain’s Most Admired Company 2025
Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç named Britain’s Most Admired Leader
The findings of the 2025 Britain’s Most Admired Companies study were announced today at the London Stock Exchange.
The Britain’s Most Admired Companies study is the UK’s longest-running peer-and analyst-review measure of corporate reputation and is widely regarded as a leading indicator of trust, investment confidence and long-term value potential.
Headline findings
- Octopus Energy is Britain’s Most Admired Company 2025
- Tufan Erginbilgiç, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce plc, is voted Britain’s Most Admired Leader for 2025 by peers and analysts
- The UK’s most admired sectors in 2025 are Engineering & Machinery, Aerospace & Defence, and Energy Distribution & Supply. All significantly outperform the overall FTSE average, underscoring the heightened importance of companies at the heart of productivity, energy security and geopolitical resilience.
- Sector and criteria winners celebrate British business at its best with companies such as AstraZeneca, Halma, Heineken, Legal & General, Nationwide, Unilever and Vodafone featuring among the winners.
Dame Julia Hoggett, CEO, London Stock Exchange, said: “Britain’s Most Admired Companies offers a uniquely robust window into what the UK’s business and investment community values most and what builds confidence in long-term performance. In 2025, the results highlight the importance of strategic clarity, strong management and the ability to deliver in a fast-changing environment. These insights are valuable not only for boards and investors, but for anyone focused on creating the conditions for sustainable growth in UK plc.”
Boardroom insight: the growth agenda for UK plc
C-suite respondents set out four priorities for government and business to mobilise investment and rebuild confidence:
- Tax and pension reform to unlock long-term capital into UK growth
- Policy stability and more outcome-focused regulation
- Faster, more predictable infrastructure and planning processes
- Renewed national focus on skills, education and workforce development
Sandra Macleod, Group CEO, Echo Research, said: “This year’s study shows that in an era of volatility and rapid technological change, reputation is increasingly anchored in delivery: strategic clarity, high-quality management, financial resilience and strong products and services. But the standout message for boards is what comes next. The ‘circle of opportunity’ tells us that innovation capability and talent strength are where reputation and long-term value will be won. For leaders, this is both a warning and an invitation: invest now in the capabilities that will compound into future advantage.”
Read more in the Britain’s Most Admired Companies 2025: Summary & Strategic Insights report.
About the study
Britain’s Most Admired Companies is now in its 36th year, with a continuous dataset back to 1990 giving boards and investors a rare time-series view of how admiration is built, sustained and lost.
Produced in partnership with the London Stock Exchange and drawing on more than 350 interviews with board-level executives, financial analysts and City commentators, the study provides a high-validity view of which companies are most respected by the people who scrutinise them most closely: competitors and financial influencers. Fieldwork was conducted between July and October 2025.
Contact us for more information about the Britain’s Most Admired Companies study and how to access tailored reputation insights about your organisation.
