how to show links inside a block
You need to use the l() function in place of t() (which is a string translation function):

$url = Mage::getUrl($brand-&gt;getUrlPath()).'.html';
$link = l('Link Title', $url);


If the URL is external you'll also want to provide that information in the $options parameter:

$link = l('Link Title', $url, array('external' =&gt; TRUE));