Digital and tech companies in Lancashire have been able to reinvest into their business, supporting the local digital economy thanks to savings made by working alongside ABGI-UK, tax incentive and innovation management advisors.
Often digital companies have not realised just how much research and development work they have been doing and there can be pockets of R&D happening across their company that, together, can add up to quite a significant saving.
Leon Calverley, Managing Director of Door4 in Burnley is an example of a company that were able to buffer the change within the business thanks to the saving.
“We’ve submitted claims for the past two years and in that time have altered our core business activity, working with a different set of clients. This could have felt risky, but the saving meant we had capital available to support the change and act as a buffer. We’re in a position now where we are achieving growth by attracting clients that match our value proposition and recently appointed Keeley Davies and Olivia Breckell who will work on a range of retained accounts and website projects.”
Two other Lancashire businesses who have made savings thanks to the support of ABGI-UK said that working with ABGI’s team of expert Innovation Funding Consultants meant they felt confident submitting a claim and reduced the risk of HMRC questioning what they had claimed for. Aidan Watt, Technical Director of Hotfoot Design and co-founder of Regalo Gifts valued the support given from the technical team at ABGI-UK as they developed a new product within their business;
“Launching a new product is always risk for any business as it is necessary to invest time and resources into bringing it to market. When at Hotfoot Design we developed and launched our innovative gift voucher platform Regalo we worked closely with ABGI-UK to identity which aspects of our research and development qualified for R&D tax credits and this has supported our growth.”
ABGI-UK are supporters of Digital Lancashire, a membership-based CIC set up to ‘accelerate the digital economy in Lancashire’. Their values are aligned and thanks to this partnership, savings are being made across the county and are being reinvested into the local digital economy. Companies such as Door4 have been able to alter their value proposition and attract new clients that are a good fit for their business without the change affecting their bottom line. Hotfoot Design have been able to bring new products to market whilst still achieving growth within the business. Duncan Sandford, Managing Director of Digital Lancashire said;
“We are pleased to be working with the ABGI-UK team who fully support the work we do at Digital Lancashire. They inform, help and support our Digital Lancashire members by explaining the benefits of R&D Tax Relief and giving a professional consultation for each members’ specific case. Wherever possible ABGI-UK investigates and then advises our members through a clear process, helping release valuable funding for business growth.”
