By Bill Anderson, FCCA, Chief Executive Officer, Assetica — 2026-06-28
Brands, technology, customer relationships and IP often carry more value than everything on the balance sheet. How intangibles are actually valued, and when UAE businesses need it done.
Identifiable intangibles include brands and trade names, customer relationships and contracts, proprietary technology and software, licences and franchise rights, and assembled workforce know-how in some contexts. They are distinct from goodwill, which is the residual value of the business that cannot be attributed to any identifiable asset. The distinction matters because identifiable intangibles are valued and amortised separately in a purchase price allocation, while goodwill is tested for impairment.
Relief from royalty asks what the business would pay to license its own brand or IP if it did not own it, and capitalises those avoided royalties. The multi-period excess earnings method (MPEEM) isolates the earnings attributable to a primary intangible, typically customer relationships or technology, after charging returns on all other supporting assets. The with-and-without method models the business twice, with and without the asset, and values the difference; it suits non-compete agreements and key contracts. Each requires defensible royalty rates, attrition curves or scenario assumptions drawn from market evidence.
The common triggers: a purchase price allocation after an acquisition, where IFRS 3 requires intangibles to be recognised at fair value; UAE corporate tax and transfer pricing, where royalties and IP transfers between related parties must be priced at arm's length; licensing and franchising negotiations; contribution of IP into a joint venture; and disputes over infringement or breach where damages turn on the asset's value.
How is a brand valued?
Most commonly by relief from royalty: estimating the royalty rate the business would pay to license the brand if it did not own it, based on comparable licensing evidence, and capitalising those avoided royalties over the brand's life. The result is cross-checked against the value of the whole business.
What is the difference between intangible assets and goodwill?
Identifiable intangibles, such as brands, customer relationships and technology, can be separately recognised and valued. Goodwill is the residual that remains after all identifiable assets are valued: the value of the business as a system that cannot be attributed to any single asset.
When does UAE corporate tax require an intangible valuation?
When IP or intangibles move between related parties, or royalties are charged within a group, transfer pricing rules require arm's length values. An independent intangible valuation evidences that the royalty or transfer price reflects market value rather than a figure chosen for the tax outcome.