North East businesses get a Jumpstart with Clydesdale Bank

22nd May 2014

Dozens of Aberdeen’s most innovative businesses heard this week about how they could each be missing out on almost £100,000 of Research and Development (R&D) tax relief at an event hosted by Clydesdale Bank and Jumpstart.

The seminar, at Clydesdale Bank’s Business and Private Banking Centre in the city, was held as part of the Bank’s Business Week programme. Jumpstart’s expert team of scientists and engineers specialise in helping companies access R&D tax relief which can then be reinvested back in to the business.

Jumpstart has already supported Aberdeen-based businesses in receiving more than £2.8 million in R&D tax relief, with the average claim for companies in the city being £86,800. Attendees at the Clydesdale Bank event represented businesses from the construction, engineering, food and drink, oil and gas, and software development sectors.
Stephen Hepburn, Head of Clydesdale Bank’s Business and Private Banking Centre in Aberdeen, said: “For companies to grow and be successful, it is essential that they are not only innovative but also ensure their innovation receives the recognition and reward it deserves.

“The team at Jumpstart is set-up perfectly to help businesses do just that. We’re proud to have some of the most innovative companies in the world here in Aberdeen and we’re committed to supporting them in achieving their aims and going from strength to strength.”

Jumpstart, named ‘Scotland’s fastest growing small business of 2013’ and winner of the ‘Customer Focus’ accolade at the 2014 Scottish Business Awards, delivers a unique blend of technological and financial expertise. This helps to guide companies through the complexities of submitting claims to HMRC and access tax relief they may not realise they were eligible for.

Phill Gillespie, Company Analyst at Jumpstart, said: “Companies are becoming increasingly aware that R&D tax relief does not simply apply to blue-sky research, but to the groundbreaking systems, processes and efficiencies for which Aberdeen enterprises are justifiably renowned.

“Aberdeen-based businesses should now be thinking as innovatively about their funding mechanisms, with tax relief at the core of their strategy, as they are about innovations in their day-to-day activities.”

Clydesdale Bank’s Business Week ran from 12th-16th May and saw more than 250 customer-focused events staged at the Bank’s UK-wide network of Business and Private Banking Centres, including Aberdeen and Inverness.

Businesses from across the UK are being invited to meet with some of the UK’s leading financial experts to discuss their most pressing commercial issues such as planning and securing finance for growth, improving profitability, and succession planning.