Latest Technology

R&D Tax Relief: Claims rose by 38% in 2014-15. The latest data from HMRC indicates that there has been an increase in both the number of companies making R&D tax relief claims and also that companies are increasing their R&D spend. The fact that there are a significant number of companies making claims for the first time…

FRS102: How affects TechCo’s ? Accounting standard FRS102 is the biggest change in accounting rules for nearly a generation. It will influence how statutory accounts are presented, the terminology and how profit (and hence tax) is calculated. All SME companies must follow this standard for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2016, with earlier adoption encouraged. So…

Super Tax Reliefs: Claim both patent box and R&D relief? The answer to this question is yes and the combination of the two reliefs can be very valuable! We have a number of clients who are undertaking ongoing research and have already registered a patent on their earlier research. They are able to receive the…

P/E Ratios: Mind the Gap! If your business exit plan is a trade sale, then you will be interested in taking advantage of differential Price Earnings (P/E) ratios.  A P/E ratio is the multiple of future maintainable earnings (profits) used to value a business. The P/E ratio appropriate for valuing your tech business will depend…

Growth Shares: Incentivize & tie-in key managers. Attracting, motivating and retaining key staff  is a primary aim for most tech and other business owners. As part of their remuneration package, allowing such staff to invest in growth shares in the company is a useful tool to achieve this. Growth shares are a separate class of equity, with specific…

SME Cyber Security: £5k grants available. Small and micro-sized businesses can apply for government vouchers of up to £5,000 for specialist advice to boost their cyber security, and to protect new business ideas and intellectual property. The vouchers enable businesses to access services from the UK cyber security industry. This new scheme will also help…

Product Development Costs:  CapEx or OpEx ? Nowadays there are very few areas where accounting standards give you a big choice over what accounting treatment you can adopt. The costs of developing a new product (once it has passed its research phase) are one such area. Tech companies have the choice of accounting treatment –…

EMI Share Options: the tax advantages. Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) are a tax advantaged share option scheme that can be used to provide an incentive to key staff. The key tax advantage of EMI options in most cases is that no income tax or national insurance will be payable on the exercise of the option. The…

Santander: Now offering specialist growth finance for TechCo’s Santander have signalled their appetite to lend to the Technology sector by establishing a dedicated £200m growth capital fund, marketed under their ‘Breakthrough’ banner. This is specifically designated to bridge the funding gap faced by fast growing SME’s. Funds borrowed from this source must be used to finance…

EIS Relief: HMRC publish new procedures. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is introducing new processes to help manage applications for advance assurance and EIS compliance statements from companies for investments made on or after 6 April 2015 that fall outside certain limits. With immediate effect, HMRC will not process advance assurance applications in respect of…