Hebden Bridge-based Urban Cottage Industries has secured £90,000 under the R&D tax credit scheme. The company is a bespoke manufacturer of high quality, retro and vintage style lighting equipment, aimed at professional designers, architects and engineers. CEO Stanley Wilson said the money had made a big difference to the firm, which invests heavily in innovation, at a time when tough market conditions made it a challenge to pay their day-to-day bills.
Stanley’s company, which now employs 28 people, turned to GovGrant for help. We sent in a team of technical specialists to find out what the business does, how they are being innovative, and what parts of their R&D programmes may qualify for tax relief. We then put together and submitted their claim.
“Identifying exactly what qualifies as R&D is not easy,” said Wilson. “We’d claimed ourselves twice before, but the experts almost doubled the value of what we received.”
“The rebate that GovGrant secured for us helped pay the bills – but what they did was actually worth more than just money,” said Wilson.
“The scheme exists because the UK economy needs more innovation. The day we spent with their innovation expert, at our own factory, helped us to understand our business from a professional R&D perspective.
“Factorylux [the company’s exclusive range of specialist and bespoke lighting] has been relentlessly copied over the years, mostly because we didn’t scale quickly enough, and it’s a form of flattery that harmed the business.
“This opportunity gave us the boost we needed and helped us to double down on R&D with a greater sense of focus. We now feel that a greater share of future risks and challenges are shared.”
Urban Cottage Industries have worked on high-profile projects including a Hollywood film for Martin Scorsese, and have clients throughout the UK, Europe and the US – including Marks and Spencer, Louis Vuitton and Lush Cosmetics.
And Wilson, who founded the in 2010 with his wife Sophie Gollop, urged other businesses to look into the HMRC scheme.
In the latest set of figures on the HMRC R&D tax credit scheme, published by the Government in September last year, Yorkshire and Humberside businesses received more than £100m tax relief for research and development.
The region came seventh out of 12 UK regions in terms of the number of claims under the scheme, with around 2600 claims, compared with around 4300 in the North West, and 7800 in London.
The total value of tax credits they received –just over £100m – put the region at ninth in the table, ahead of only the North East, Wales and Northern Ireland. North West businesses benefitted by more than £200m.
Luke Hamm, CEO of GovGrant, said too many businesses in Yorkshire were still not aware of what they’re entitled to.
“Securing tax credits can make a real difference to a business’s ability to invest in research and development, and therefore to build its success and make a contribution to the economy of the region,” he said.
Contact us today to find out if your business is eligible for the scheme.
