West of England accountancy firm Bishop Fleming, which has a large office in Bath, has secured more than £53m in research and development tax credits for clients over the past year.
The tax credits were introduced 14 years ago but take-up had been slow until recently – a fact many blame on the misapprehension that they were only for firms undertaking laboratory-style research.
Bishop Fleming’s head of MTI (manufacturing, technology and innovation) Nigel Warren, pictured, said: “Qualifying for those tax benefits is not restricted to having white-coat scientists. Indeed, some accountancy firms are applying for R&D tax credits for their own investment in new technology systems. 
“It has taken 14 years for most businesses to recognise the potential to save thousands of pounds in tax by benefiting from the tax credits formula, but we are now helping hundreds of companies to grab that opportunity.
“Nationwide, there has been a 40% increase in small and medium-sized companies applying for the tax relief on their investments in research and development.”
Nigel Warren said he expected to see a similar late recognition of the Patent Box tax benefit that enables companies to reduce their tax on profits from patented products and services.
“Any business which has a patented product, process, or component should not wait that long to grab the huge tax-saving for which they may already qualify”, he said.
Bishop Fleming, which has been Britain’s fastest-growing Top 40 full-service accountancy firm for two years running, also has offices in Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay, Truro and Worcester.
