UK firms lag behind their international competitors in the latest study of perceptions of commercial success.

The FT/PwC World’s Most Respected Companies study showed that only BP and Virgin were the only UK-owned companies in the top 50, coming in at 21st and 34th respectively.

Businesses with strong links to this country also featured. Royal Dutch/Shell, which is based in the UK and Netherlands, continued its downward slide and was ranked 30th. It came 12th in 1998.

Airbus rose from last year’s position of 40th to reach 36th, whilst HSBC – based in the UK and Hong Kong – came 41st.

General Electric topped the list for the fourth year in a row. Microsoft was second, with IBM jumping Sony to take the bronze medal position. US, Japanese and German firms dominated the rankings.

The full survey is available on the FT website.

This story is prvided courtesy of AccountingWEB