Wales has seen another rise in R&D (research and development) tax credit claims, according to statistics released by HMRC.

The latest 2018-19 figures show companies here made a total of 2,000 claims, up from 1,530 made at this time last year. There were 1,795 successful R&D tax relief claims made by Welsh SMEs as well as additional claims secured through the RDEC scheme. This amounted to a total of £ 115m in R&D tax relief being secured by businesses across the principality.

Overall there were 59,265 R&D tax credit claims made across the UK in the 2018-19 period with Wales-based companies securing 2% of the £5.3bn of tax relief support that was claimed nationwide. This measure helped stimulate more than £35bn of R&D expenditure by British businesses.

This year’s R&D tax credit statistics show manufacturing companies along with those in ‘Professional, Scientific and Technical’, and ‘Information and Communication’ sectors continuing to have the greatest volume of claims. The three categories account for a combined total of 66% of claims and 71% of the total amount claimed in 2018-19.

Commenting on the new figures, Scott Henderson, CEO of ABGI UK, said:

“Wales has seen a steady rise in R&D tax relief claims compared to the HMRC figures released last year. While we are now facing some serious economic challenges this ongoing trend is welcome as it shows the Welsh business community has continued to invest in innovation at a time when this will be more critical than ever.

“The R&D tax credit scheme has a proven track record in delivering success, driving forward innovation and helping develop more world-class companies across the UK. Going forward we will continue to work with businesses across the parts of the UK to ensure they are securing maximum benefit when they invest in research and development.”

Since the launch of R&D tax credit schemes in 2000, over 300,000 claims have been made and £33.3bn in tax relief claimed.