Private-equity investors have long excelled at financial engineering, cost discipline and bolt-on acquisitions. Yet as deal multiples stay high and exit windows narrow, one lever still delivers outsized returns at relatively modest cost: brand. McKinsey estimates that intangibles now account for more than half of global enterprise value; within that, brand equity is the most controllable, scalable and misunderstood asset on a PE balance sheet.¹
Brand equity is money in disguise
Brands that enjoy high awareness and trust generate a “revenue premium”, which is the additional sales a branded offer earns over an equivalent un-branded alternative. Academic studies show that this premium can be isolated, measured and capitalised into firm value.² Put simply, a stronger brand lets you charge more, win faster and spend less to acquire customers.
Harvard research echoes the point: firms with superior brand equity can command a price premium of 13 per cent and capture up to three times the market share of parity brands.³ For a portfolio company posting £30 million EBITDA and trading at 10×, even a conservative 10 per cent uplift in revenue can translate to £30 million in additional exit value.
What gets missed post-investment
Time-to-value is critical in private equity, yet brand and marketing are often treated as a discretionary cost rather than a growth lever. Internal teams rarely have the depth of expertise, or the mandate, to accelerate perception change inside a three- to five-year growth period. The result is:
Poor brand perception – digital assets date quickly, undermining credibility.
Consumer uncertainty – weak narrative makes buyers see risk, not upside.
Reduced multiples – acquirers discount businesses they perceive as undifferentiated.
Our own audits of PE-backed businesses found that 68 per cent had material brand inconsistencies across channels, eroding confidence among customers and investors alike. In our experience, fixing those discrepancies early can deliver +33.6 per cent average uplift in brand visibility, priming the company for accelerated growth.
The mechanics: how brand builds value
Pricing Power – Trusted brands defend margins even in inflationary cycles.
Lower CAC – Recognition drives organic traffic and referral, cutting acquisition costs.
Talent Magnetism – Strong brands attract and retain high-calibre talent faster.
Strategic Attractiveness – Buyers pay a premium for brands they believe they can scale globally.
Bluetext’s 2024 analysis of 75 sponsor-backed deals confirms that firms investing in brand modernisation realised average EBITDA-multiple uplifts of 1.5× at exit compared with peers who did not.
Proof in numbers
Across recent BrandLift engagements we have recorded:
+10.2 % average valuation uplift attributable to brand and digital transformation.
+26.7 % increase in investor engagement following repositioning and redesigned investor materials.
3× improvement in win-rate on competitive RFPs after message refinement and visual overhaul.
Those gains are not marketing vanity metrics; they translate directly into higher proceeds at exit and faster realisation of the fund’s investment thesis.
Conclusion
In a market where intangibles drive over half of enterprise value, brand is no longer a “nice-to-have”; it is a financial instrument. Private-equity firms that treat brand with the same rigour they apply to cost of capital stand to capture outsized gains, often within the same hold period.
Investors have mastered the art of buying well and running lean. The next advantage is growing and selling strong. Brand delivers that edge.
Sources
¹McKinsey Global Intangibles Index 2024.
²“Revenue Premium as an Outcome Measure of Brand Equity,” Journal of Marketing.
³Harvard Business School Online, “Brand Equity Explained,” 2024.
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