Hmmm, interesting...!
Traditionally, there were 3 major manufacturers of Torque wrenches in the U.K. Britool, Torqueleader, and Norbar.
Britool were always my favourites - rock solid, and geared towards mechanics needs. I've got quite a few, from 3/8 to 3/4 drive, which is just as well as Britool got bought by Facom, ended up with Stanley, and got trashed in the process!
Torqueleader are very much the 'Rolls Royce' of torque wrenches - their big dial reading tools are awesome instruments but tend to get used in precision engineering - things like aerospace and defence. Their torque screwdrivers are easily recognised by their bright anodised aluminium handles. Torqueleader recently got bought out by Gedore, which is interesting, as Gedore / Dremotec have long been manufacturing tools of a very similar style to Torqueleader, so they obviously had the hots for 'em! So far they seem to have left the firm alone.
Which leaves Norbar - probably the biggest of the three. Norbars automotive torque wrenches are not quite the quality of the others (which are probably over engineered), but they are incredibly reasonably priced. I can get one for less money than some of the Taiwanese stuff, and they work very well. They make a lot of big industrial stuff, which I suspect is where the money is.
Not sure what Snap On's game is here. You may well see Norbar tools rebranded as Snap On, but at about 3 times the price - that's been their M.O. with every other firm they've acquired, but they have also tended to trash the quality of the original products too - witness Lindstrom. American ownership of any other British tool manufacturer seems to have been a death sentence, so Snap On will be bucking the trend if Norbar are run differently, though I hope they are!
