The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Gina Grandy, Moritz P Gunther, Andrew Couturier, Ben Goldberg. The The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? (referred as “Pub Sackville” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Strategy & Execution. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, .

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? Case Study

This case depicts the current and future challenges faced by The Tantramarsh Club, more commonly referred to as The Pub, Mount Allison University's (MTA) non-profit club. The case is set in April 2008 as the winter semester was finishing up in the small town of Sackville, New Brunswick, located on the southeast coast of Canada. The Pub had experienced several years of financial difficulties, however, the 2007 / 08 year was expected to be a financially sound year. The primary protagonist, Manager, Jonathan "Scooter" Clark, was worried about the organization's ability to sustain financial stability once The Pub moved to its new location, planned for August 2008. Members of the board, who were involved in discussions around the future of The Pub, were secondary protagonists in the case. The board and Scooter had to determine the most appropriate business model for The Pub as it moved to its new location. The case draws attention to a changing external environment and the impact this had upon The Pub. Competition in Sackville was friendly, but relatively fierce. The most significant consumer group for The Pub, students, were price sensitive, fickle and quick to move onto a different bar if a competitor offered something more appealing. National trends indicated less spending on alcoholic beverages and increased spending on food. Moreover, campus pubs across the country were changing their business models, moving from a focus on alcohol to food and diversified entertainment options.

Case Authors : Gina Grandy, Moritz P Gunther, Andrew Couturier, Ben Goldberg

Topic : Strategy & Execution

Related Areas :

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10023149)	-10023149	-	-
Year 1	3448953	-6574196	3448953	0.9434	3253729
Year 2	3962760	-2611436	7411713	0.89	3526842
Year 3	3967473	1356037	11379186	0.8396	3331167
Year 4	3245392	4601429	14624578	0.7921	2570654
TOTAL			14624578		12682393

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2659244

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Payback Period
2. Internal Rate of Return
3. Profitability Index
4. Net Present Value

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Pub Sackville shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Pub Sackville have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die?

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Strategy & Execution Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Pub Sackville often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Pub Sackville needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10023149)	-10023149	-	-
Year 1	3448953	-6574196	3448953	0.8696	2999090
Year 2	3962760	-2611436	7411713	0.7561	2996416
Year 3	3967473	1356037	11379186	0.6575	2608678
Year 4	3245392	4601429	14624578	0.5718	1855563
TOTAL					10459747

The Net NPV after 4 years is 436598

(10459747 - 10023149 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10023149)	-10023149	-	-
Year 1	3448953	-6574196	3448953	0.8333	2874128
Year 2	3962760	-2611436	7411713	0.6944	2751917
Year 3	3967473	1356037	11379186	0.5787	2295991
Year 4	3245392	4601429	14624578	0.4823	1565100
TOTAL					9487136

The Net NPV after 4 years is -536013

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9487136 - 10023149 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Pub Sackville to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Pub Sackville has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Pub Sackville can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Pub Sackville, then the stock price of the Pub Sackville should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Pub Sackville should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die?

References & Further Readings

Gina Grandy, Moritz P Gunther, Andrew Couturier, Ben Goldberg (2018), "The Pub: Survive, Thrive or Die? Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.