UK businesses driving innovation and development will be helped through the coronavirus outbreak with a £1.25 billion Government support package, the Chancellor announced today, 20 April.
The funding has been set up to ensure firms in some of the most dynamic sectors of the UK economy – ranging from tech to life sciences – are protected through the crisis so they can continue to develop innovative new products and help power UK growth.
The comprehensive package includes:
– A new £500 million loan scheme for high-growth firms, called the Future Fund
Delivered in partnership with the British Business Bank and launching in May, the fund will provide UK-based companies with between £125,000 and £5 million from the government, with private investors at least matching the government commitment. These loans will automatically convert into equity on the company’s next qualifying funding round, or at the end of the loan if they are not repaid. To be eligible, a business must be an unlisted UK registered company that has previously raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third party investors in the last five years. The government is committing an initial £250 million in funding towards the scheme, which will initially be open until the end of September.
If you or a client are considering applying to this Government loan scheme to support your business, please contact your usual Beavis Morgan Client Partner or get in touch with John Weeden or at Cadence Advisory for advice and assistance.
– £750 million of targeted support for small and medium sized businesses focusing on research and development (R&D)
Innovate UK, the national innovation agency, will accelerate up to £200 million of grant and loan payments for its 2,500 existing Innovate UK customers on an opt-in basis. An extra £550 million will also be made available to increase support for existing customers and £175,000 of support will be offered to around 1,200 firms not currently in receipt of Innovate UK funding. The first payments will be made by mid-May.
The R&D tax reliefs can be extremely beneficial for those engaged in qualifying R&D, and Beavis Morgan can help your company maximise the benefits of the reliefs by:
- Ascertaining whether you are eligible to qualify
- Preparing a robust report for submission to HMRC
- Identifying and capturing expenditure on qualifying activities
- Being prepared for and managing an audit by HMRC
For further information or to arrange for a no obligation preliminary discussion on how your company could qualify under this Government business support scheme, please contact Steve Govey or your usual Beavis Morgan Client Partner. Also, visit Beavis Morgan R&D to find out more.
The UK is the tech capital of Europe and this funding is set up to “protect high growth businesses and enable the unicorns of tomorrow to thrive so that tech is in pole position to drive our post COVID recovery”, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, says.