Close Menu
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing & Mental Health
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
Trending
  • How to become a High Growth SME
  • Hospitality industry risks collapse
  • Whistleblowing and the Cost of Silence: Why SMEs Must Have Policies in Place
  • Rewiring the UK’s investment landscape with AI
  • What Swedish SME Managers Can Teach UK Businesses About Remote Work
  • The 5 biggest VC negotiation mistakes and how to avoid them
  • Entrepreneurs Circle Makes £5M move with 15,000 sq ft HQ acquisition
  • An Interview with Noreena Hertz
X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • News
  • Home
  • In Profile
  • Finance
  • Legal
  • Technology
  • Events
  • Features
  • Wellbeing
  • Marketing
  • HR & Recruitment
SME Today
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Events Calendar
  • Business Wall
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • 0843 289 4634
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
You are at:Home»News»South Wales Architects Boost Business After Securing £16k for Innovation
RA Architects

South Wales Architects Boost Business After Securing £16k for Innovation

0
Posted By sme-admin on July 22, 2021 News

A Newport-based architectural practice has received £16,000 in research and development (R&D) tax credits, thanks to the innovation demonstrated in its sustainable projects.

RA Architects, based in Newport, Wales, formed in 2012 as a design-led architectural practice passionate about improving the quality of life for people within spaces. They provide services to commercial and domestic clients across the UK, delivering efficient creative buildings whilst helping people overcome planning constraints and introducing new sustainable energy-saving designs.

Innovation was evident in many of its projects, including the use of custom-built steel framing and sustainable products such as permeable tarmac, underfloor heating, energy exploration, sewerage farming onsite and specialist window/door design. For one client the practice researched different types of underfloor heating and had to undertake rigorous testing, alongside designing unique aesthetically pleasing windows that would also structurally support the roof timbers. For another client, a building had Grade II listed status so the architects had to ensure the historical value of the building was preserved, researching and making bespoke materials they could use to adhere to strict regulations.

Adopting a modern approach to their work, the practice received the cash payment from HMRC across two R&D claims, secured by the firm’s advisers R&D tax specialists Access2Funding, who identified all aspects of the business’ recent projects that qualified for research and development tax relief.

Richard Andrews, Principal Architect at RA Architects, said: “Access2Funding was fantastic at communicating with us and made the process very clear so we could understand what was needed from us for the claim.

“I was actually in talks with another R&D specialist at the same time as Access2Funding but they began categorising and normalising some of our projects – making us believe we were not being innovative – when in fact, each different project has its specialisms and essences of research and development. Access2Funding was able to drill down into this R&D, unlike the other provider, and I would not hesitate to recommend them because of this professionalism.”

RA Architects plan to invest the money claimed back into the business to provide licencing software for new staff.

Lee Ford, Regional Sales Manager at Access2Funding, said: “At different points of the design-build process in architecture, innovation is frequent. From material innovation to technology innovation and sustainability, this is a sector that relies on ambition – and where there is ambition often lies innovation. It was a pleasure assisting Richard with his claims and uncovering the R&D in the practice’s work.

“For a project to qualify as research and development, it needs to have encountered a scientific or technological problem along the way that was or was attempted to be solved using innovation, and many architectural projects will use modern technologies to problem-solve. The costs involved in attempting to overcome the uncertainties can qualify for research and development tax relief.”

R&D tax credits are an HMRC incentive to encourage UK businesses to continue to grow by innovating. The incentive being a reduction in corporation tax or a cash payment.

There are many architectural practices that are under-claiming or not claiming at all – because they don’t understand that what they do constitutes R&D and wrongly believe that any innovative solutions involved in projects are just part of their job.

If you’d like to find out if your business is eligible for R&D tax credits, visit the Access2Funding website.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Whistleblowing and the Cost of Silence: Why SMEs Must Have Policies in Place

Entrepreneurs Circle Makes £5M move with 15,000 sq ft HQ acquisition

The Importance of Being Liquid

Comments are closed.

Follow SME Today on Linkedin and share all the topics you find interesting
Get £100 of free trades - ii trading account

The Newsletter

Join our mailing list for the best SME stories, handpicked and delivered direct to your inbox every two weeks!

Sign Up
Events Calendar
    • Marketing
    June 5, 2025

    Why marketing budgets are wasted without sales alignment

    June 4, 2025

    Industry Shift at Royal Ascot 2025 Turns Hospitality into Serious Networking Ground

    • Finance
    June 13, 2025

    Rewiring the UK’s investment landscape with AI

    June 12, 2025

    The 5 biggest VC negotiation mistakes and how to avoid them

    • Health & Safety
    January 29, 2025

    UK takeaways guilty of shocking hygiene failures:

    December 18, 2024

    Comment on Covid Corruption Commissioner Investigation

    • Events
    May 27, 2025

    Jose Ucar Confirmed for Leadership Live 2025 Speaker Line-Up

    November 19, 2024

    Seventeenth Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW)

    • Community
    June 2, 2025

    National Charity Accelerates Children’s Reading Through New Corporate Partnership

    May 14, 2025

    Social care experts launch an online marketplace to disrupt a sector in crisis.

    • Food & Drink
    June 16, 2025

    Hospitality industry risks collapse

    June 4, 2025

    Creative Nature Launches Its First-Ever Kids’ Snack Bar Range in Tesco Nationwide

    • Books
    April 24, 2025

    Values-Driven Professionalism: A Path to Client Loyalty

    December 2, 2024

    Banish the banshee boss: how to lead without fear – addressing the issue of fear-based management and how NOT to be this manager

    About

    SME Today is published by the same team who deliver The Great British Expos’. We have been organising various corporate events for the last 10 years, with a strong track record of producing well managed and attended business events across the UK.

    Join Our Mailing List

    Receive the latest news and updates from SMEToday.
    Read our Latest Newsletter:


    Sign Up
    X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    Most Recent Posts
    June 16, 2025

    How to become a High Growth SME

    June 16, 2025

    Hospitality industry risks collapse

    June 13, 2025

    Whistleblowing and the Cost of Silence: Why SMEs Must Have Policies in Place

    June 13, 2025

    Rewiring the UK’s investment landscape with AI

    June 12, 2025

    What Swedish SME Managers Can Teach UK Businesses About Remote Work

    Categories
    • Books
    • Community & Charity
    • Education and Training
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Features
    • Finance
    • Food and Drink
    • Health & Safety
    • HR & Recruitment
    • In Profile
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • News
    • Property & Development
    • Sponsored Content
    • Technology
    • Transport & Tourism
    • Wellbeing & Mental Health

    Copyright © 2020 SME Today.

    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Privacy
    • Contact
    Copyright © 2025 SME Today.
    • ABOUT SME TODAY: THE GO TO RESOURCE FOR UK BUSINESSES
    • Privacy
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.