Premier Inn and Travelodge Among Fastest Growing UK Brands in Kantar’s Latest BrandZ Report

Premier Inn is one of the fastest growing UK brands, with Travelodge also entering the top 75 for the first time.  

Kantar’s latest BrandZ top 75 most valuable UK brands report showed that Premier Inn boosted its brand value by 21% year on year to $785 million as it increased spend per customer.  This success was buoyed by the introduction of Premier Plus rooms, alongside a focus on targeting business travellers and expansion into new markets including Germany. 

The brand is strongly associated with specific purchase needs, helping it to cut through with consumers.  Kantar BrandDynamics data found that requirements such as travelling for leisure, booking a short stay and travelling for business are most associated by people with Premier Inn, ahead of rivals including Hilton, Marriott and Airbnb, with this connection strengthening over the past month.*  The brand also comes to mind first for attributes including ‘value for money’ and ‘best facilities’.  

Adele Jolliffe, head of brand consultancy, insights division at Kantar, comments: “Premier Inn is one of the strongest performers in this year’s ranking, beating the UK trend.  Its work to build clear and consistent emotional connections with customers has paid off and our analysis shows it’s the most meaningful hotel brand by some way.”  

Travelodge achieved a brand value of $723 million, securing its debut in the ranking in 75^th place.  It opened four new hotels during the 2023 financial year, including its first in Spain in over a decade.  Strong demand from both business and leisure customers helped tip its revenue over $1 billion.

Travel services was the fastest growing sector overall this year at 56%, taking its total value to $2.4 billion.  UK brands more widely are now worth a combined $230 billion, marking an annual decline of 5%.  This is an improvement on 2023’s performance, when the total valuation of the UK’s top brands slipped by 14%, but the trend remains behind the most valuable global brands which are currently growing at 20%.   

David Lloyd was the only leisure brand to make it into the top 75 with a value of $803 million, as its membership grew by 3.5% in 2023.  A revenue boost of £101 million was fuelled by its customers’ preference for premium services, including 81% of new sign-ups choosing ‘platinum’ or ‘diamond’ plans over its basic offer. 

Looking forward, brands who carefully focus their marketing investment will be in the strongest position to navigate fluctuating consumer sentiment, says Adele Jolliffe: “It’s a mixed picture for UK brands and things could get bumpier before they get better.  Consumer confidence isn’t improving, and depending on what the chancellor announces in her budget on 30 October, we could see new pressures on household spending.  

“With the right targeted marketing investment, however, brands can put themselves in a strong position not just to weather any immediate uncertainty, but to grow over the long term.  As this year’s ranking shows yet again, it is the brands which differentiate themselves in a meaningful way with consumers who triumph.”