R&D ‘bright sparks’ launch new business in the North East

There’s a new player in town aiming to shed some ‘light’ on the underutilised area of Research and Development (R&D) tax relief.

Lumo, based in County Durham, is a new business offering a fresh take on tax credit support to companies that make up the UK’s burgeoning R&D scene.

The experienced team behind the new brand is already working with numerous businesses across the North East and beyond to drive awareness of the possibilities across a number of key sectors including: Life Science, Science & Technology, Manufacturing & Engineering, and Food & Drink, which aren’t currently making the most of available opportunities.

Lumo is also looking to create partnerships with accountancy firms and other professional service organisations via its strategic partner programme – aiming to drive claims across multiple sectors, as well as sharing the latest best practice.

Stats from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that since 2016, over £22 billion has been spent on research and development nationally, with over 200,000 people directly employed full-time in the growing industry.

Despite government support, available through HMRC credits and relief, much remains unclaimed each year, due to a complicated application process. Lumo hopes to change this for the better in the near future, taking each claim from the initial enquiry stage to payment and closure.

Lumo Managing Director, Joanne Warren, said: “We are delighted to launch Lumo and look forward to providing expert assistance to a range of growing SMEs and organisations across the UK.

“Many businesses are unaware that they can even claim R&D money back. In the food and drink sector it’s estimated that only 1% of eligible tax credit claims have been paid out, due to misunderstandings around what exactly is eligible, which is such a missed opportunity for businesses.

“The R&D sector as a whole moves very quickly, with fresh innovations and developments occurring on a regular basis and its important that we are agile enough to keep up with the changes.”

The brand is already helping businesses save money – with over £15million recovered to date on behalf of clients.

In addition to helping organisations to claim tax credit, the ambitious company is also looking to extend into grant funding over the coming 12 months.

Joanne added: “We formed Lumo to help shine a focus on the expertise and help that exists for businesses, in the form of results-focused R&D tax specialists. We’re working to spread the word about how businesses can make use of R&D relief to help drive their company forward.

“If brands are looking to grow, we’d love for them to get in touch and see how our refreshing take on all things R&D can really help to give them a boost.”

For more information on Lumo visit https://lumo.tax.