If we use the last 18 months as a backdrop, this year has felt like some semblance of calm has returned to our market. The well documented changes to both legislation and HMRC behaviour threw a fair degree of uncertainty to those businesses and advisors who sought to make R&D claims in the previous period. The general consensus is that we have made it through the eye of the storm, where good quality innovation is now being more widely accepted by HMRC, with the caveat that the supporting narrative is well written and captures the key uncertainties in any project.

A large proportion of our clients are equity-backed by investors, be that venture capital, angels or private equity. The venture market in particular went through a major downturn last year thanks to a range of circumstances including a hike in interest rates, a reduction in valuations and a poor M&A market. Many businesses who are absolutely reliant on the next round of funding had to either take capital at a reduced valuation, take on venture debt or slow down in terms of their growth strategy. Fortunately, we have seen far more activity in terms of funding across our client base over the last 6 months, and a general feeling of more positivity across their management teams.