Beyond the numbers: why your brand is your valuation
BRAND IS OFTEN the last thing founders think about before an exit but it’s usually the first thing investors see.
This session makes the case for brand as a powerful commercial lever: one that shapes risk perception, builds growth confidence, and ultimately moves the dial on valuation.
The central provocation is simple - two businesses with identical EBITDA can command radically different multiples. Why?
FORMAT
Brand strategist James Summerscales of Influential opens with a keynote on what it means to build a brand that is genuinely fit for purpose - authentic, coherent, and far more than a logo.
James is then joined by two guests who bring the conversation to life from opposite sides of the growth journey: a founder who has lived it, and an investor who evaluates it. Matt Moore, founder of Palatine-backed Morro Partnerships & Keiran Lawton, partner at Palatine Private Equity.
Together, the panel will explore why businesses choose to reframe themselves - whether to support a new growth strategy, shift from founder-led identity to institutional credibility, consolidate after M&A, professionalise their proposition, or transition from challenger to category leader.
For anyone in the room asking “if our brand disappeared tomorrow, how much would our valuation change?” - this is where that conversation starts.
If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact [email protected] for more information
About the Speakers:
James Summerscales is Co-Owner and Brand & Digital Director at Influential Agency. He helps organisations build brands that drive measurable commercial growth. James has worked across sectors including private equity, healthcare, technology, property, and the public sector. He specialises in supporting ambitious businesses and private equity portfolio companies to scale revenue, attract investment, and navigate key milestones including MBOs, investment rounds, owner exits, and successful sales.
Matt Moore, founder of Palatine-backed Morro Partnerships – a UK-based property and land consultancy – shares the brand journey his business has taken, and the tangible impact it has had on how the company is perceived, positioned, and valued.
Keiran Lawton, partner at Palatine Private Equity. With over 20 years of M&A and private equity experience, Keiran has spent my career working with entrepreneurial, dynamic, growing businesses. As a board director for more than a decade, he has a deep understanding of what it takes to grow a business and the challenges management teams face -regardless of industry.
Interested In The Event?
If you’re interested in attending, you can book online here.
For any further enquires about this event, contact [email protected]
