The brand beat off fierce competition for the top spot, narrowly defeating the National Trust, which has a value of £192 million and Oxfam, which is worth an estimated £172 million ('brand value' calculated as a reflection of a brand's ability to generate future income).

The figures were released by consultancy Intangible Business, which produces an annual league table of the 100 most valuable UK charity brands. The table also revealed that, though the top charity brands remain strong, the value of many has dropped over the last year. The British Red Cross dropped from fourth to fifth place in the table, and is now worth £108 million, compared to £111 million last year. Wellcome Trust, which fell from fifth to sixth place in the top 10 brands, also dropped in value from £108 million to £104 million.

But the British Heart Foundation had a better year. Though it remained the tenth most valuable brand, the brand’s worth increased from £80 million to £85 million over the year.

Thayne Forbes, joint managing director of Intangible Business, said most of the top 10 charities were already household names but, with a little work, could make their brands even more lucrative. “If these charities can capitalise on their high awareness and penetrate people’s lives even more, their coffers will be boosted and their objectives furthered,” he said. “I hope this research helps charities benchmark their performance against their immediate competition and understand that their brands are an extremely valuable asset which can be leveraged to generate additional revenue and thereby increase their charitable works.”

The top 10 charity brands at the end of 2006 were:

1. Cancer Research UK (£209 million)
2. The National Trust (£192 million)
3. Oxfam (£172 million)
4. The Salvation Army (£113 million)
5. The British Red Cross Society (£108 million)
6. Wellcome Trust (£104 million)
7. RSPCA (£94 million)
8. Barnardo’s (£94 million)
9. The Arts Council England (£89 million)
10. The British Heart Foundation (£85 million)