BurgerFi International, Inc. Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Organization

BurgerFi International, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (“BFI,” the “Company,” or “Successor,” also “we,” “us,” and “our”), is a multi-brand restaurant company that develops, markets and acquires fast-casual and premium-casual dining restaurant concepts around the world, including corporate-owned stores and franchises located in the United States, Puerto Rico and Saudi Arabia. As of December 31, 2021, the Company has 179 franchised and corporate-owned restaurants of the two following brands:

BurgerFi. BurgerFi is a fast-casual “better burger” concept with 118 franchised and corporate-owned restaurants as of December 31, 2021, offering burgers, hot dogs, crispy chicken, frozen custard, hand-cut fries, shakes, beer, wine and more.

Anthony’s. Anthony’s is a pizza and wing brand that operates 61 corporate-owned casual restaurant locations, as of December 31, 2021. The concept is centered around a coal fired oven, and its menu offers “well-done” pizza, coal fired chicken wings, homemade meatballs, and a variety of handcrafted sandwiches and salads.

Basis of presentation

The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

On December 16, 2020 (the "Closing Date"), the Company consummated its merger with Opes Acquisition Corp. ("OPES"). This acquisition (the "BurgerFi acquisition") qualified as a business combination under ASC 805, and OPES was the legal and accounting acquirer in the transaction. The Company’s 2020 financial statement presentation distinguishes the Company’s financial performance into two distinct periods, the period up to the Closing Date (labeled “Predecessor”) and the period including and after that date (labeled “Successor”). The BurgerFi acquisition was accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting, and the Successor financial statements reflect a new basis of accounting that is based on the fair value of the net assets acquired.

As a result of the application of the acquisition method of accounting for the BurgerFi acquisition, the accompanying consolidated financial statements include a black line division which indicates that the Predecessor and Successor reporting entities shown are presented on a different basis and are therefore, not comparable.

The historical financial information of OPES (a special purpose acquisition company, or “SPAC”) prior to the BurgerFi acquisition has not been reflected in the Predecessor financial statements as these historical amounts have been determined to be not useful information to a user of the financial statements. SPACs deposit the proceeds from their initial public offerings into a segregated trust account until a business combination occurs, where such funds are then used to pay consideration for the acquiree and/or to pay stockholders who elect to redeem their shares of common stock in connection with the business combination. The operations of a SPAC, until the closing of a business combination, other than income from the trust account investments and transaction expenses, are nominal. Accordingly, no other activity in the Company was reported for the period prior to December 16, 2020 besides BurgerFi’s operations as Predecessor.

On November 3, 2021, we completed the acquisition of Hot Air, Inc. (the "Anthony's acquisition"), which through its subsidiaries, owns and operates casual dining pizza restaurants under the trade name Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings ("Anthony's"). The results of operations, financial position and cash flows of Anthony's is included in our consolidated financial statements as of the closing date of the acquisition.

The Company operates on a calendar year-end. Anthony's uses a 52-week or 53-week fiscal year-end and its fiscal year ends on the Monday closest to December 31. Differences arising from the different fiscal year-ends were not deemed material for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior year presentation to conform to the current year presentation.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements present the consolidated financial position, results from operations and cash flows of BurgerFi International, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All material balances and transactions between the entities have been eliminated in consolidation.

The Successor consolidated financial statements include all amounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. The Predecessor consolidated financial statements include all amounts of BurgerFi International, LLC and its subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingencies at the date of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Corporate-owned stores and Franchised stores

BurgerFi has prepared its Franchise Disclosure Document as required by the United States Federal Trade Commission and has registered or will register in those states where required in order to legally sell its franchises. It is currently BurgerFi’s plan to offer franchises for sale in those states where demographics of the population represent a demand for the services. BurgerFi grants franchises to independent operators who in turn pay an initial franchise fee, royalties and other fees as stated in the franchise agreement. Store activity for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 is as follows:


	2021			2020 *
	Corporate-owned	Franchised	Total	Corporate-owned	Franchised	Total
Total BurgerFi and Anthony's	86	93	179	17	102	119

BurgerFi stores, beginning of year	17	102	119	13	117	130
BurgerFi stores opened	10	6	16	2	9	11
BurgerFi stores transferred/sold	(1)	1	—	2	(2)	—
BurgerFi stores closed	(1)	(16)	(17)	—	(22)	(22)
BurgerFi total stores, end of year	25	93	118	17	102	119

Anthony's stores acquired	61	—	61	—	—	—
Anthony's total stores, end of year	61	—	61	—	—	—
* As Anthony's was acquired on November 3, 2021, Anthony's store activity is not included in the presentation above for 2020.

End of year store totals included 1 and 2 international stores at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Liquidity and COVID-19

Our primary sources of liquidity are cash from operations and cash on hand. As of December 31, 2021, we maintained a cash and cash equivalents balance of approximately $15 million.

Our primary requirements for liquidity are to fund our working capital needs, operating and finance lease obligations, capital expenditures and general corporate needs. Our requirements for working capital are generally not significant because our guests pay for their food and beverage purchases in cash or on debit or credit cards at the time of the sale and we are able to sell many of our inventory items before payment is due to the supplier of such items. Our ongoing capital expenditures are principally related to opening new restaurants, remodels and maintenance, as well as investments in our digital and corporate infrastructure.

We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our operating and finance lease obligations, capital expenditures, and working capital needs for at least the next 12 months and the foreseeable future.

During March 2020, a global pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization related to the rapidly spreading outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus designated COVID-19. The pandemic has significantly impacted economic conditions in the United States, where all of our Company restaurants are located. While the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have partially subsided, its effects vary by region, and uncertainties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic could continue to disrupt economic conditions and business activities, particularly as new variants of COVID-19 arise. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic, including the recent and emerging variants, could affect our business, operations and financial results is uncertain as it will depend upon numerous evolving factors that management may not be able to accurately predict, including the duration and scope of the pandemic and the continued emergence of new strains of COVID-19. The acceptance and effectiveness of vaccines and treatments, along with the length and extent of any continuing economic and market disruptions, are unknown, and therefore, any future impacts on our business, financial condition and/or results of operations cannot be quantified or predicted with specificity.

Segment Reporting

The Company owns and operates BurgerFi and Anthony's restaurants in the United States, and also has domestic and international franchisees. The Company has two operating and reportable segments:

•BurgerFi, which includes our operations of corporate-owned and franchised BurgerFi restaurants, which offer a fast-casual “better burger” concept; and

•Anthony's, which includes our operations of casual dining pizza restaurants under the name Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings.

The chief operating decision makers (“CODMs”) are the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Executive Chairman as they assess the performance of the reportable segments and make all the significant strategic decisions, including the allocation of resources.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less as cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents also include approximately $1.1 million and $11,000 as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively, of amounts due from commercial credit card companies, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, which are generally received within a few days of the related transactions. At times, the balances in the cash and cash equivalents accounts may exceed federal insured limits. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures eligible accounts up to $250,000 per depositor at each financial institution. The Company limits uninsured balances to only large, well-known financial institutions and believes that it is not exposed to significant credit risk on cash and cash equivalents.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash consists of (i) cash held in escrow in an amount equal to the PPP loans as required by the SBA upon a change of control, and (ii) cash proceeds from the BurgerFi acquisition, withheld for working capital purposes. The Company is the custodian of these account balances, but these accounts are in place for specific, restricted purposes, which typically are resolved within twelve months. The Company classifies the restricted cash accounts as current assets.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable consist of amounts due from franchisees for training and royalties and are stated at the amount invoiced. Accounts receivable are stated at the amount management expects to collect from balances outstanding at year end. Management provides for probable uncollectible amounts through a charge to earnings and a credit to allowance for uncollectible accounts based on its assessment of the current status of individual accounts. Balances that are still outstanding after management has used reasonable collection efforts are written off through a charge to the allowance for uncollectible accounts and a credit to accounts receivable. The allowance for uncollectible accounts was approximately $31,000 at December 31, 2021, and $0 at December 31, 2020.

Inventories

Inventories primarily consist of food and beverages. Inventories are accounted for at lower of cost or net realizable value using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. Spoilage is expensed as incurred.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are carried at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided by the straight-line method over an estimated useful life. Leasehold improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over the lesser of the estimated useful life of the asset and the term of the related lease. The estimated lives for kitchen equipment and other equipment, computers and office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and vehicles range from five to seven years. Maintenance and repairs which are not considered to extend the useful lives of the assets are charged to operations as incurred. Expenditures for additions and improvements are capitalized. Expenditures for renewals and betterments, which materially extend the useful lives of assets or increase their productivity, are capitalized. The Company capitalizes construction costs during construction of the restaurant and will begin to depreciate them once the restaurant is placed in service. Wage costs directly related to and incurred during a restaurant’s construction period are capitalized. Interest costs incurred during a restaurant’s construction period are capitalized. Upon sale or retirement, the cost of assets and related accumulated depreciation and amortization are removed from the accounts and any resulting gains or losses are included in operating expense.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and Definite-Lived Intangible Assets

The Company assesses the potential impairment of our long-lived assets on an annual basis or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of the assets or asset group may not be recoverable. Factors considered include, but are not limited to, negative cash flow, significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results, significant changes in the manner in which an asset is being used, an expectation that an asset will be disposed of significantly before the end of its previously estimated useful life and significant negative industry or economic trends. At any given time, we may be monitoring a small number of locations, and future impairment charges could be required if individual restaurant performance does not improve or we make the decision to close or relocate a restaurant. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured at the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell.

Definite-lived intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis using the following estimated useful lives of the related classes of intangibles: 7 years for franchise agreements, 30 years for trade names, 10 years for the license agreement (adjusted to 22 months at December 31, 2021), and 10 years for the VegeFi product.

The Company reviews definite-lived intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the intangible asset may not be recoverable. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the assets may be impaired. Our annual impairment test for indefinite-lived intangible assets may be completed through a qualitative assessment to determine if the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets is more likely than not greater than the carrying amount. If we elect to bypass the qualitative assessment, or if a qualitative assessment indicates it is more likely than not that the estimated carrying value exceeds the fair value, we test for impairment using a quantitative process. If the Company determines that impairment of its intangible assets may exist, the amount of impairment loss is measured as the excess of carrying value over fair value. Our estimates in the determination of the fair value of indefinite-lived intangible assets include the anticipated future revenue of corporate-owned and franchised restaurants and the resulting cash flows.

Based on our review of long-lived assets, we performed impairment testing. Based on our impairment testing, we determined it was more likely than not that certain long-lived assets relating to our property and equipment and definite-lived intangible assets were impaired at the BurgerFi reporting unit. Accordingly, the Company recorded an impairment charge of approximately $8.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. Additionally, as a result of impairment of the Company's licensing agreements at December 31, 2021, the Company reevaluated the useful life of 10 years and determined that such useful life be adjusted to 22 months. Refer to Note 6 Impairment.

Goodwill

The Company accounts for goodwill in accordance with FASB ASC No. 350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (“ASC 350”). ASC 350 requires goodwill to be reviewed for impairment annually, or more frequently if circumstances indicate a possible impairment. The Company evaluates goodwill in the fourth quarter or more frequently if management believes indicators of impairment exist. Such indicators could include but are not limited to (1) a significant adverse change in legal factors or in business climate, (2) unanticipated competition, or (3) an adverse action or assessment by a regulator.

The Company first assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. If management concludes that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, management conducts a quantitative goodwill impairment test. This impairment test involves comparing the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying value (including goodwill). The Company estimates the fair values of its reporting unit using a combination of the income, or discounted cash flows approach and the market approach, which utilizes comparable companies’ data. If the estimated fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value, a goodwill impairment exists for the reporting unit and an impairment loss is recorded.

Based on the results of our annual goodwill impairment test, we determined it was more likely than not that goodwill was impaired at the BurgerFi reporting unit. Accordingly, the Company recorded a goodwill impairment charge of approximately $106.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. Refer to Note 6 Impairment.

The estimated fair value of goodwill is subject to change as a result of many factors including, among others, any changes in our business plans, changing economic conditions, a potential decrease in our stock price and market capitalization, and the competitive environment. Should actual cash flows and our future estimates vary adversely from those estimates we use, we may be required to recognize impairment charges in future years.

The following table represents changes to the Company's goodwill during the year ended December 31, 2021:


(in thousands)
Goodwill as of December 31, 2020	$	119,542
Adjustments to other current liabilities	4,439
Goodwill impairment for BurgerFi reporting unit	(106,476)
Goodwill acquired in connection with the Anthony's acquisition	80,495
Goodwill as of December 31, 2021	$	98,000

For details on the goodwill acquired in connection with the Anthony's acquisition, as well as the measurement period adjustment to goodwill (which related to other current liabilities) associated with the purchase price accounting for the BurgerFi acquisition, refer to Note 5 Acquisitions. As it relates to impairment of goodwill, refer to Note 6 Impairment.

Deferred Financing Costs

Deferred financing costs relate to the Company’s debt instruments, the short and long-term portions of which are reflected as deductions from the carrying amounts of the related debt instrument, including the Company’s Credit Agreement. Deferred financing costs are amortized over the terms of the related debt instruments using the effective interest method. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company deferred $1.0 million of financing costs in connection with its Credit Agreement. Amortization expense associated with deferred financing costs, which is included within interest expense, net, totaled $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. See Note 10 Debt.

Share-Based Compensation

The Company has granted share-based compensation awards to certain employees under the 2020 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). The Company measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for an equity award, which may include grants of employee stock options and restricted stock units, based on the fair value of the award at the date of grant. The Company recognizes share-based compensation expense over the requisite service period unless the awards are subject to performance conditions, in which case we recognize compensation expense over the requisite service period to the extent performance conditions are considered probable. The Company will determine the grant date fair value of stock options using a Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model (the “Black-Scholes Model”). The grant date fair value of restricted stock unit awards (“RSU Awards”) and performance-based awards are determined using the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, as set forth in the applicable plan document, unless the awards are subject to market conditions, in which case we use a Monte Carlo simulation model. The Monte Carlo simulation model utilizes multiple input variables to estimate the probability that market conditions will be achieved.

Warrant Liability

The Company has certain warrants which include provisions that affect the settlement amount. Such variables are outside of those used to determine the fair value of a fixed-for-fixed instrument, and as such, the warrants are accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging, with changes in fair value included in the consolidated statement of operations.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. A three-level fair value hierarchy is required to prioritize the inputs used to measure fair value. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described as follows:

•Level 1 – Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

•Level 2 – Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

•Level 3 – Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. This includes certain pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques that use significant unobservable inputs.

Net (Loss) Income per Common Share

Net (loss) income per common share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. The Company has considered the effect of (1) warrants outstanding to purchase 15,063,800 shares of common stock and (2) 75,000 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 75,000 shares of common stock in the unit purchase option, (3) 1,503,698 shares of restricted stock unit grants in the calculation of income per share, and (4) the impact of any dividends associated with our redeemable preferred stock.

The historical partnership equity structure of BurgerFi did not include outstanding member units and as such, earnings per share information is omitted for the Predecessor period.

Reconciliation of Net (Loss) Income per Common Share

Basic and diluted net (loss) income per common share is calculated as follows:


			Successor
(in thousands, except for per share data)	Year Ended December 31, 2021		December 16, 2020 through December 31, 2020
Numerator:
Net (loss) income available to common shareholders	$	(121,494)	$	5,348
Reversal of gain on change in value of warrant liability	$	(12,619)	$	(5,597)
Net loss available to common shareholders - diluted	$	(134,113)	$	(249)

Denominator:
Weighted-average shares outstanding	18,408,247		17,541,838
Effect of dilutive securities
Warrants	211,854		3,468,872
UPOs	4,346		415,405
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding	18,624,447		21,426,115

Basic net (loss) income per common share	$	(6.60)	$	0.30
Diluted net loss per common share	$	(7.20)	$	(0.01)

For the year ended December 31, 2021, there were dilutive warrants and UPOs during the interim period, as such the reversal of the change in value of warrant liability is included for that period only to calculate the net loss available to common shareholders - diluted. The diluted weighted shares outstanding for the year ended December 31, 2021 represent the average dilutive warrant and UPOs share equivalents for the year ended December 31, 2021 including the impact of the dilutive warrants and UPOs share equivalents during the interim period for which the warrant and UPOs were dilutive.

Concentration of Risk

Management believes there is no concentration of risk with any single franchisee or small group of franchisees whose failure or nonperformance would materially affect the Company’s results of operations. The Company had no customers which accounted for 10% or more of consolidated revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021, or for the Successor period from December 16, 2020 to December 31, 2020, or for the Predecessor period from January 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had one main in-line distributor of food, packaging and beverage products, excluding breads, that provided approximately 90% of the Company's restaurants purchasing in the U.S. and three additional in-line distributors of beverages that, in the aggregate, provided approximately 5% of the Company's restaurant purchasing in the U.S. We believe that our vulnerability to risk concentrations related to significant vendors and sources of our raw materials is mitigated as we believe that there are other vendors who would be able to service our requirements. However, if a disruption of service from any of our main in-line distributors was to occur, we could experience short-term increases in our costs while distribution channels were adjusted.

The Company's restaurants are principally located throughout the United States. The Company has corporate-owned and franchised locations in 26 states, with the largest number in Florida. We believe the risk of geographic concentration is not significant. We could be adversely affected by changing consumer preferences resulting from concerns over nutritional or safety aspects of ingredients we sell or the effects of food safety events or disease outbreaks.

The Company is subject to credit risk through its accounts receivable consisting primarily of amounts due from franchisees for royalties and franchise fees. This concentration of credit risk is mitigated, in part, by the number of franchisees and the short-term nature of the franchise receivables.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue consists of restaurant sales and franchise licensing revenue. Generally, revenue is recognized as performance obligations transfer to the customer in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services.

Restaurant Revenue

Revenue from restaurant sales is presented net of discounts and recognized when food, beverage and retail products are sold. Sales tax collected from customers is excluded from restaurant sales and the obligation is included in sales tax payable until the taxes are remitted to the appropriate taxing authorities. Sales from our gift cards are deferred and recognized upon redemption for goods or services. Revenue from restaurant sales is generally paid at the time of sale. Credit cards and delivery service partners sales are generally collected shortly after the sale occurs.

The revenue from electronic gift cards is deferred when purchased by the customer and revenue is recognized when the gift cards are redeemed. The Company is a Delaware corporation and is subject to Delaware escheatment laws. Delaware escheatment laws state that gift cards are presumed to be abandoned after five years and the balance remitted should represent the maximum cost to the issuer of merchandise.

The Company contracts with delivery service partners for delivery of goods and services to customers. The Company has determined that the delivery service partners are agents, and the Company is the principal. Therefore, restaurant sales through delivery services are recognized at gross sales and delivery service revenue is recorded as expense.

Franchise Revenue

The franchise agreements require the franchisee to pay an initial, non-refundable fee and sometimes continuing fees based upon a percentage of sales. Generally, payment for the initial franchise fee is received upon execution of the licensing agreement. Owners can make a deposit equal to 50% of the total franchise fee to reserve the right to open additional locations. The remaining balance of the franchise fee is due upon signing by the franchisee of the applicable location’s lease or mortgage. Franchise deposits received in advance for locations not expected to open within one year are classified as long-term liabilities, while franchise deposits received in advance for locations expected to open within one year are classified as short-term liabilities.

Franchise revenue is comprised of certain initial franchise fees and ongoing sales-based royalty fees from a franchised BurgerFi restaurant. Generally, the licenses granted to develop, open and operate each BurgerFi franchise in a specified territory are the predominant performance obligations transferred to the licensee in our contracts, and represent symbolic intellectual property. Ancillary promised services, such as training and assistance during the initial opening of a BurgerFi restaurant are typically combined with the licenses and considered as one performance obligation per BurgerFi franchise. Certain initial services such as site selection and lease review are considered distinct services that are recognized at a point in time when the performance obligations have been provided, generally when the BurgerFi franchise has been opened. We determine the transaction price for each contract and allocate it to the distinct services based on their standalone selling price based on the costs to provide the service and a profit margin. On an annual basis, we perform a review to reevaluate the amount of this initial franchise fee revenue that is recognized.

The remainder of the transaction price is recognized over the remaining term of the franchise agreement once the BurgerFi restaurant has been opened. Because we are transferring licenses to access our intellectual property during a contractual term, revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the license term. These payments are initially deferred and recognized as revenue as the performance obligations are satisfied.

Franchise agreements and deposit agreements outline a schedule for store openings. Failure to meet the schedule can result in forfeiture of deposits made. Forfeiture of deposits is recognized as terminated franchise fee revenue once contracts have been terminated for failure to comply. All terminations are communicated to the franchisee in writing using formal termination letters. Additionally, a franchise store that is already open may terminate before its lease term has ended, in which case the remainder of the transaction price is recognized as terminated franchise fee revenue.

Revenue from sales-based royalties (i.e. royalty and other fees, brand development and advertising co-op royalty) is recognized as the related sales occur. The sales-based royalties are invoiced and collected from the franchisees on a weekly basis. Rebates from vendors received on franchisee’s sales are also recognized as revenue from sales-based royalties.

Contract Balances

Opening and closing balances of contract liabilities and receivables from contracts with customers for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 are as follows:


(in thousands)	Year Ended December 31, 2021		Year Ended December 31, 2020
Franchising receivables	$	212	$	480
Gift card liability	2,587		430
Deferred revenue, current	468		490
Deferred revenue, long-term	2,109		2,816

Franchise Revenue

Revenue recognized during the period ended which were included in the balance of deferred revenue at the beginning of the period are as follows:


			Successor		Predecessor
(in thousands)	Year Ended December 31, 2021		December 16, 2020 through December 31, 2020		January 1, 2020 through December 15, 2020
Franchise Fees	$	1,069	$	41	$	1,023

An analysis of deferred revenue is as follows:


			Successor		Predecessor
(in thousands)	December 31, 2021		December 31, 2020 *		December 15, 2020
Balance, beginning of period	$	3,306	$	3,053	$	4,688
Initial franchise fees received	290		278		413
Revenue recognized for stores open during period	(235)		(25)		(362)
Revenue recognized related to franchise agreement termination	(834)		—		(693)
Other deferred revenue	50		—		—
Balance, end of period	$	2,577	$	3,306	$	4,046
* Beginning balance for the Successor period is reflective of a fair value adjustment.

Presentation of Sales Taxes

The Company collects sales tax from customers and remits the entire amount to the respective states. The Company’s accounting policy is to exclude the tax collected and remitted from revenue and cost of sales. Sales tax payable amounted to approximately $1.1 million and $0.2 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and is presented in accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Advertising Expenses

Advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $0.9 million. Advertising expense for the Successor period from December 16, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and for the Predecessor period from January 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020 was $23,000 and $0.5 million, respectively.

Brand Development Royalties and Expenses

The Company’s franchise agreements provide for franchisee contributions of a percentage of gross restaurant sales, which are recognized as royalty income. Amounts collected are required to be used for advertising and related costs, including reasonable costs of administration. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company had brand development royalties of approximately $1.5 million and brand development expenses of approximately $1.7 million. For the Successor period from December 16, 2020 to December 31, 2020, and for the Predecessor period from January 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020, the Company had brand development royalties of approximately $55,000 and $1.2 million, respectively, and approximately $35,000 and $1.6 million of brand development expenses, respectively.

Advertising Co-Op Royalties and Expenses

Many of the Company's South Florida franchises contribute a percentage of gross restaurant sales, which are recognized as royalty income. Amounts collected are required to be used for local advertising and related costs, including reasonable costs of administration. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company had advertising co-op royalties of approximately $0.5 million and advertising co-op expenses of approximately $0.8 million. For the Successor period from December 16, 2020 to December 31, 2020, and for the Predecessor period from January 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020, the Company had advertising co-op royalties of approximately $19,000 and $0.3 million, respectively, and approximately $0 and $0.6 million of advertising co-op expenses, respectively.

Pre-opening Costs

The Company follows ASC Topic 720-15, “Start-up Costs,” which provides guidance on the financial reporting of start-up costs and organization costs. In accordance with this ASC Topic, costs of pre-opening activities and organization costs are expensed as incurred. Pre-opening costs include all expenses incurred by a restaurant prior to the restaurant's opening for business. These pre-opening costs include costs to relocate and reimburse restaurant management staff members, costs to recruit and train hourly restaurant staff members, wages, travel, and lodging costs for our training team and other support staff members, as well as rent expense. Pre-opening costs can fluctuate significantly from period to period based on the number and timing of restaurant openings and the specific pre-opening costs incurred for each restaurant.

Pre-opening costs expensed for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $1.9 million. Pre-opening costs expensed for the Successor period from December 16, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and for the Predecessor period from January 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020 were $48,000 and $0.2 million, respectively.

Deferred Rent

Rent expense on non-cancelable leases containing known future scheduled rent increases or free rent periods is recorded on a straight-line basis over the respective lease term. The lease term begins when the Company has the right to control the use of the leased property and includes the initial non-cancelable lease term plus any periods covered by renewal options that the Company is reasonably assured of exercising. The difference between rent expense and rent paid is accounted for as deferred rent and is amortized over the lease term.

Operating Leases

The Company leases restaurant locations that have terms expiring between May 2022 and February 2033. The initial obligation period is generally 10 years. The restaurant facilities primarily have renewal clauses for two 5-year periods or one 10-year period, exercisable at the option of the Company. The Company includes one 5-year renewal option in its lease term.

Certain lease agreements contain one or more of the following: tenant improvement allowances, rent holidays, rent escalation clauses and/or contingent rent provisions. The Company includes scheduled rent escalation clauses for the purpose of recognizing straight-line rent. Certain of these leases require the payment of contingent rentals based on a percentage of gross revenue, as defined in such leases, and certain other rent escalation clauses are based on the change in the Consumer Price Index. The Company received cash incentives from certain landlords for specified leasehold improvements which are deferred and accreted on a straight-line basis over the related lease term as a reduction of rent expense.

Business Combinations

The determination of the fair value of net assets acquired in a business combination requires estimates and judgments of future cash flow expectations for the acquired business and the related identifiable tangible and intangible assets. Fair values of net assets acquired are calculated using expected cash flows and industry-standard valuation techniques. For current assets and current liabilities, book value is generally assumed to equal fair value. Goodwill is the amount by which consideration paid exceeds the fair value of acquired net assets. A bargain purchase gain results when the fair value of an acquired business’ net assets exceeds its purchase price. Acquisition costs are expensed as incurred and are included within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.

Due to the time required to gather and analyze the necessary data for each acquisition, U.S. GAAP provides a “measurement period” of up to one year in which to finalize these fair value determinations. During the measurement period, preliminary fair value estimates may be revised if new information is obtained about the facts and circumstances existing as of the date of acquisition, or based on the final net assets and working capital of the acquired business, as prescribed in the applicable purchase agreement. Such adjustments may result in the recognition of, or an adjustment to the fair values of, acquisition-related assets and liabilities and/or consideration paid, and are referred to as “measurement period adjustments." Measurement period adjustments are recorded to goodwill. Other revisions to fair value estimates for acquisitions are reflected as income or expense, as appropriate.

Consideration paid generally consists of cash and, from time to time, shares, and potential future payments that are contingent upon the acquired business achieving certain levels of earnings in the future, also referred to as “acquisition-related contingent consideration” or “earn-outs.” Earn-out liabilities are measured at their estimated fair values as of the date of acquisition. Subsequent to the date of acquisition, if future Earn-out payments are expected to differ from Earn-out payments estimated as of the date of acquisition, any related fair value adjustments, including those related to finalization of completed earn-out arrangements, are recognized in the period that such expectation is considered probable. Changes in the fair value of Earn-out liabilities for the Company’s traditional earn-outs, other than those related to measurement period adjustments, as described above, are recorded within other income or expense in the consolidated statements of operations.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method. A deferred tax asset or liability is recognized whenever there are (1) future tax effects from temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and (2) operating loss, capital loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to the years in which those differences are expected to be recovered or settled.

Deferred tax assets are recognized to the extent the Company believes these assets will more likely than not be realized. In evaluating the realizability of deferred tax assets, the Company considers all available positive and negative evidence, including the interaction and the timing of future reversals of existing temporary differences, projected future taxable income, recent operating results and tax-planning strategies. When considered necessary, a valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the carrying amount of the deferred tax assets to their anticipated realizable value.

Prior to the BurgerFi acquisition, the Company, with the consent of its members, had elected to be taxed as a partnership under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and similar state provisions. Partnerships are generally not subject to federal and state income taxes; the partners reflect their respective share of the Company’s taxable income or loss on their individual tax returns. Therefore, there was no federal income tax recorded by the Company for the period from January 1, 2020 through December 15, 2020. In this period, there were neither liabilities nor deferred tax assets relating to uncertain income tax provisions taken or expected to be taken on the tax returns.

Income tax uncertainties

We measure income tax uncertainties in accordance with a two-step process of evaluating a tax position. We first determine if it is more likely than not that a tax position will be sustained upon examination based on the technical merits of the position. A tax position that meets the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold is then measured, for purposes of financial statement recognition, as the largest amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon effective settlement. We currently have no unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2021 or 2020.

We accrue interest related to uncertain tax positions in “Interest expense” and penalties in “General and administrative expenses.” At December 31, 2021 and 2020, we had no amounts accrued for interest and for penalties.

The statute of limitations for the Company’s state tax returns varies, but generally the Company’s federal and state income tax returns from its 2017 fiscal year forward remain subject to examination.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance which requires lessees to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months and disclose certain information about the leasing arrangements. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. The Company will elect the package of practical expedients, as well as the hindsight practical expedient, permitted under the new guidance, which includes allowing the Company to continue utilizing historical classification of leases. In preparation for the adoption, the Company has implemented new accounting systems, business processes and internal controls to assist in the application of the new guidance. As an emerging growth company, this guidance is effective for our fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021. The adoption of the standard will result in the recognition of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for operating leases which will result in additional assets and corresponding liabilities of approximately $60 million to $65 million on the consolidated balance sheet, with no material impact to its consolidated statement of operations, stockholders’ equity, or cash flows. Our assessment is ongoing and subject to finalization such that the actual impact may differ from the estimated range.

In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance which was subsequently amended by various standard updates. This guidance replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information when determining credit loss estimates and requires financial assets to be measured net of expected credit losses at the time of initial recognition. As an emerging growth company, this guidance will be effective for our fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of the new standard on the consolidated financial statements.

In July 2021, the FASB issued guidance that requires lessors to classify and account for a lease with variable lease payments that do not depend on a reference index or a rate as an operating lease if (a) the lease would have been classified as a sales-type lease or a direct financing lease in accordance with lease classification criteria and (b) the lessor would have otherwise recognized a day-one loss. As a public company, this amendment is effective for our fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, with early adoption permitted. This guidance may be applied either retrospectively to leases that commenced or were modified on or after the adoption of lease guidance we adopted in 2019 or prospectively to leases that commence or are modified on or after the date that this new guidance is applied. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adoption of the new standard on the consolidated financial statements.

In October 2021, the FASB issued guidance which requires entities to recognize contract assets and contract liabilities in a business combination. As a public company, this standard will be effective for our fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years and will be applied prospectively to business combinations occurring on or after the effective date of the amendments. Early adoption of the standard is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of the new standard on the consolidated financial statements.