The Momentum Group, a leading UK Tax Credit Advisory firm based in Northern Ireland, has welcomed newly published statistics from HMRC that show the UK construction industry claimed a total of £80m in R&D Tax Credits.
Focused solely on R&D Tax Credits, the company works across most sectors of industry with expertise gained in the last decade working with over 500 companies throughout the UK.
The latest annual statistics from HMRC show there has been a slight decrease in companies from all regions of the UK claiming R&D Tax Credits, which are designed to drive innovation. Across the UK, London had the most claims with Northern Ireland businesses still significantly behind other regions. The construction industry accounted for only 3% of all claims submitted, highlighting that the industry hasn’t tapped into the potential of the initiative. The average received per R&D tax claim by construction companies was £58,000. This is slightly lower than the £85,000 average overall payment per claim across the industries surveyed.
Tom Verner, Group Managing Director, Momentum R&D commented: “While HMRC statistics show many industries in the UK are wakening up to the benefits of R&D Tax Credits, the potential is far greater. In our experience, there are still so many construction businesses that are either not aware of R&D Tax Credits, incorrectly think they do not qualify or feel they lack the necessary experience to submit a claim. In fact, many companies are not claiming their full legitimate entitlement. At Momentum, we helped a record number of companies with R&D Tax Credit claims in 2017. These are often highly innovative companies, who can reinvest these savings into technological innovation that bolsters their businesses, exports, employment and the local economy in the wake of Brexit.”
Momentum is calling on more construction businesses to act now on R&D Tax Credits, highlighting that the regional statistics could be much higher given the increasing investment in export here, with Verner adding:
“It is vital that the construction industry recognises the potential of this very accessible UK government incentive. While seeking in-depth advice is vital, with an increasing number of accountancy practices availing of our R&D expertise, we assist businesses every day that have benefitted from tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of pounds. Given the potential, we find it startling that more companies aren’t claiming, and we have made it our mission to highlight the incentive particularly on occasions like today when regional results show improvement from companies to claim their optimum benefit.”
Momentum has helped hundreds of highly competitive companies, from manufacturing to construction, food & drink to technology, to claim this UK government incentive. The
multi award-winning company assists in a range of areas, investing in understanding and optimising R&D expenditure. The team includes accountancy, business, commercial and ex-HMRC technical experts to ensure every claim gets the necessary expert scrutiny and is thoroughly investigated.
Founded in 2009, Momentum is one of the longest established R&D advisory companies in the UK. It is also the only R&D tax practice that focuses on providing advice on long-term R&D strategies, offering a complimentary annual review to its client enabling them to assess current and forward-plan future research and development projects.
Ron Gibson, Momentum’s Operations and Technical Director, who sits on HMRC’s R&D Consultative Committee, added: “In an unregulated area, involving often complex financial review, we find increasingly that owners, managing directors, financial controllers and their accountants are turning to the experts to navigate through this intricate R&D tax area.”
Momentum works with an increasing number of accountancy practices, business and financial consultants across the UK who partner with the specialist tax credit advisory firm to enhance their service to clients, reduce workload and grow their businesses.
For more information on Momentum visit www.momentumgroupni.com
