How much should UK scale-ups invest in R&D: guidance for CFOs and founders
Alex Hannaway
September 24, 2025
The R&D Scheme
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The EmpowerRD Blog
Insights and ideas to enrich your innovation, navigate the complex funding landscape, and enhance the quality of your R&D tax credit claims.
R&D tax relief statistics 2025: claims fall 26% while innovation spend holds steady
HMRC’s latest R&D tax credit statistics for 2025 reveal a mixed picture. The total number of claims has dropped sharply, yet UK businesses are still spending heavily on R&D. The statistics cover the 2023-24 year, which marks the first full year impacted by the April 2023 rate reforms and the introduction of the Additional Information Form (AIF). These measures have strengthened compliance, but they’ve also raised new barriers for SMEs that innovate. Claim numbers continue to fall This is the ...
Elsbury v The Information Commissioner: Tribunal Orders HMRC to Reveal Its Use of AI
Stuart Millar
September 22, 2025
Recent R&D tax relief scheme changes require understanding to ensure future claims are successful.
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Investor insight: Why 92% say R&D is vital to growth
Alex Hannaway
September 18, 2025
R&D is no longer a back-office function. For UK startups and scale-ups, it is the frontline of growth, and investors know it. According to our
Why 1 in 4 scale-ups faced an HMRC enquiry last year
Alex Hannaway
September 17, 2025
1. R&D is vital, and scrutiny is rising R&D tax credits are one of the UK’s most important incentives for innovation. It supports growth in
The UK Innovation Report 2025 – 5 things every founder needs to know
Alex Hannaway
September 9, 2025
The UK innovation landscape is shifting fast. Despite economic pressures and global disruption, scale-ups are continuing to prioritise R&D, but regulatory complexity and HMRC scrutiny
HMRC’s R&D compliance efforts are working but what comes next?
Alex Hannaway
July 31, 2025
A new low for error and fraud: what does it mean for innovators? For the second consecutive year, HMRC’s annual report, published on the 17th
EmpowerRD appoints Stuart Millar as Head of Tax
Alex Hannaway
June 25, 2025
London – 23rd June 2025: EmpowerRD, the technology firm helping UK businesses navigate the complexities of R&D tax credit claims, has appointed R&D tax leader
Meet the Experts: Yasmin Lakin, R&D Financial Consultant
Alex Hannaway
May 29, 2025
We sat down with Yasmin Lakin, one of EmpowerRD’s R&D Financial Consultants to learn more about her approach to claim reviews, what drew her to