Mid-Ulster companies top Northern Ireland R&D tax relief claims table

A total of 240 successful claims were made by Mid-Ulster companies (3.8% of all enterprises within the area), including SMEs and large businesses, for R&D tax relief in the latest 2017-18 figures which have just been released HMRC.

This puts Mid-Ulster at the top of an Innovation League Table for Northern Ireland produced by innovation funding specialists ABGI UK.

It shows the percentage of businesses making successful R&D tax claims in each of the province’s unitary authority areas.

The latest updated HMRC figures show that Northern Ireland companies secured a total of 1,310 R&D tax relief claims in the 2017-18 period.

A total of £75m in tax relief was claimed on the back of over £500m worth of innovation-focused investment made by companies in the province.

The league table shows Belfast as Northern Ireland’s second most active area with 3.10% of businesses securing successful R&D tax relief claims while Lisburn and Castlereagh ranked third with 2.65% of its businesses making a claim.

Commenting on the new figures, Ian Wolfendale, Innovation Funding Adviser at ABGI UK, said: “The HMRC figures form the basis of our Innovation League Table.

“It shows Mid-Ulster businesses leading the way in Northern Ireland in making successful R&D tax relief claims.

“A relatively high percentage of local companies in key sectors such as manufacturing, engineering and IT/software are driving its strong regional placement. Significant numbers of local businesses have been successful in securing R&D tax relief for their investment in innovation to improve operational processes and enhance competitiveness.

“At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is having such a detrimental impact on the UK economy, investment in innovation, with support in the form of R&D tax relief credits and other government incentive measures will be more essential than ever.”

Introduced in 2000, R&D tax credits are designed to drive competitiveness in British business by incentivising companies to invest in innovation.

* The figures are based on the most recent (2017-18) R&D tax relief claim statistics produced by HMRC in relation to the number of enterprises in each unitary authority area, based on UK Government statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/corporate-tax-research-and-development-tax-credit.

Mid-Ulster: 3.80%

Belfast: 3.10%

Lisburn and Castlereagh: 2.65%

Antrim and Newtownabbey: 2.07%

Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon: 1.94%

Mid and East Antrim: 1.94%

Newry, Mourne and Down: 1.51%

Derry and Strabane: 1.48%

Fermanagh and Omagh: 1.26%

Causeway Coast and Glens: 1.13%

Ards and North Down: 0.88%

Numbers of claims made are rounded to the nearest 5, in line with HMRC statistics.

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