Poll reveals best and worst reputable companies

Alliance Boots replaced Marks & Spencer at the top of a list of UK companies with the best corporate reputation, while the Royal Mail, British Airways and state controlled banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds came bottom.

The Reputation Institute’s UK Pulse Report polled 6,000 consumers and ranked the corporate reputation of the largest 140 UK companies. The survey was conducted online between January and February this year.

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"Scandals, strikes and shoddy service" have had a direct impact on this year's ranking, said the report. The Royal Mail (110th), BA (114th), RBS (138th) and Lloyds (136th) all have a "shockingly poor reputation among consumers", revealed the survey. Cigarette maker, British American Tobacco, has the worst corporate reputation out of 140 companies.

Other companies rated in the top 10 included Rolls Royce Aerospace, Cadbury and Christie’s.

Seamus Gillen, the managing director of Reputation Institute UK, said: "The aftershocks of the banking crisis have also been felt since our last report, leading many people to lose their trust in some of the country's biggest brands."

The image shows the factors that most influence corporate reputation in the UK.

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