Chartered Accountants
Helping Our Food & Drink Clients Explore ‘Untapped’ Tax Savings
Research and Development (R&D) tax credits are a government incentive designed to reward UK companies for investing in innovation, and we urge food and drink businesses to explore the potentially significant tax savings often associated with manufacturing or scientific companies. Our Taxperts have claimed over £0.5M R&D tax savings for 13 food and drink clients within the last year, ranging from food producers and food packaging companies to companies involved in designing and manufacturing equipment for the food and drink industry.
As members of Scotland Food and Drink, which nurtures, supports and champions the people and products of Scotland’s food and drink industry, we are now encouraging other companies, from local producers to distillers and restaurants to get in touch to explore savings they may be entitled to.
Our R&D Taxperts handles over 65 R&D claims each year. During the last eight years, we have secured over £16M of tax savings for companies throughout Scotland.
Although R&D tax credits can potentially apply to any companies developing or creating new products, innovations or processes, our Taxperts believe many food and drink clients are oblivious to the savings they could be making.
David Morrison, Head of Taxation and EQ Food and Drink specialist commented;
“Despite growing awareness of R&D, many businesses think that R&D tax credits only apply to pure research but there are so many sectors who are entitled to make a claim, from agriculture, software and engineering to design.
“Food and drink companies also now make up a substantial proportion of our claims yet many are missing out, because they don’t associate their line of work with R&D tax credits, or think their practices are not ‘scientific’ enough. Scotland boasts a growing array of fantastic food and drink businesses, many of which are making a huge impact both here and abroad, but they need to innovate to stay ahead. As long as the company is seeking technological advances, they have a strong chance of qualifying. They can then plough the savings back into their business to drive future growth and innovation and to unlock new markets.”
One of the companies involved in the food and drink sector to benefit is Foodmek Limited. Based in Tayport, Fife, Foodmek are a premier supplier of processing equipment to, primarily, the food and drinks industry in the UK and overseas. With over 100 years of combined experience, their team specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of bespoke equipment, tailoring all plant machinery to meet the specific requirements of their customers.
Scot Kelly, Managing Director, commented;
“We engaged EQ to assess the company’s eligibility to make R&D claims and with their support we were able to identify a number of qualifying R&D projects. The company has benefitted by investing our R&D tax savings in new equipment and resources which will allow us to continue developing bespoke solutions for our customers.”
If you’d like more information, support or advice on R&D Tax Credits, please email our R&D Taxperts or contact one of our offices.
Alternatively, if you would like further support or advice with your food & drink business, please contact our EQ Food & Drink specialists.
