Brand Valuation Methodology

The definition of ‘brand’

Financial accounting and reporting standards need a clear definition of what intellectual property is included in the definition of ‘brand’.

Brand Finance defines a brand as "A bundle of trademarks and associated IP which can be used to take advantage of the perceptions of all stakeholders to provide a variety of economic benefits to the entity."

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Royalty relief methodology

Brand Finance calculates brand value using the Royalty Relief methodology which determines the value a company would be willing to pay to license its brand as if it did not own it. This approach involves estimating the future revenue attributable to a brand and calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for the use of the brand. The steps in this process are as follows:

  1. Calculate brand strength on a scale of 0 to 100 based using a balanced scorecard of a number of relevant attributes such as emotional connection, financial performance and sustainability, among others. This score is known as the Brand Strength Index.
  2. Determine the royalty rate range for the respective brand sectors. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database of license agreements and other online databases.
  3. Calculate royalty rate. The brand strength score is applied to the royalty rate range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty rate range in a brand’s sector is 0-5% and a brand has a brand strength score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
  4. Determine brand specific revenues estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to each specific brand and industry sector.
  5. Determine forecast brand specific revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts and economic growth rates.
  6. Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive the implied royalty charge for use of the brand.
  7. The forecast royalties are discounted post tax to a net present value which represents current value of the future income attributable to the brand asset.
Diagram illustrating how brand strength is calculated

Why the royalty relief approach?

  • It is favoured by tax authorities and the courts because it calculates brand values by reference to documented third-party transactions
  • It can be done based on publicly available financial information
  • It is compliant with the requirement under the International Valuation Standards Authority and ISO 10668 to determine the fair market value of brands

Brand Ratings

These are derived from the Brand Strength Index which benchmarks the strength, risk and future potential of a brand relative to its competitors on a scale ranging from D to AAA. It is conceptually similar to a credit rating.

  • AAA+ Extremely strong
  • AA Very strong
  • A Strong
  • BBB … B Average
  • CCC … C Weak
  • DDD … D Failing

Value date: all brand values in the report are as at the 1st January.

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Brand Finance is the world’s leading independent branded business valuation and strategy consultancy, present in over 20 countries.

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