Clean energy grants & innovation funding opportunities

Karim works with large businesses, exploring all elements of the innovation toolkit, from R&D tax relief to grant funding. He takes a forward-looking approach, identifying opportunities which align with client projects and objectives.

Having previously led decarbonisation grant advisory for a Big Four firm in the UK, Karim joined ForrestBrown in 2023. His in-depth knowledge of grants provides further support for the innovative businesses we work with, enabling them to explore a wide range of funding opportunities.

Karim is a chartered engineer and gained more than five years’ experience as an engineering consultant and project manager for major infrastructure clients before specialising in innovation incentives. He has subsequently helped companies access millions of pounds from grant funding bodies such as Innovate UK, the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, and Scottish Enterprise in sectors including aerospace, energy and manufacturing.

Through this combination of technical and finance expertise, Karim is well placed to advise businesses on their eligibility for innovation funding and the most appropriate projects for which to seek funding support, at the same time contributing to meeting some our biggest societal challenges.

At ForrestBrown, Karim has also supported multinational companies seeking to invest and create jobs in the UK, for example securing government support for the location of new manufacturing facilities.

Beginning her career with a Big Four firm and gaining experience across a range of auditing and tax roles, Katy has specialised in R&D tax relief since joining ForrestBrown in 2019.

During a time of unprecedented change, Katy has led ForrestBrown’s approach to key policy developments including restrictions on overseas R&D activities and HMRC’s introduction of an additional information form. This has included liaising with HMRC, delivering internal training and providing insights to clients.

Clients working with Katy benefit from her commercial mindset and deep knowledge of R&D tax relief, including how it can work alongside other innovation incentives. She works with a range of established SMEs and large businesses in sectors including manufacturing, financial services and aerospace, where she is a trusted adviser on the RDEC incentive.

Katy co-authored the Tolley’s Tax Digest on R&D tax relief and has contributed articles to publications including Taxation and The CFO.

Peter’s experience ranges from getting a PhD and MSci in Chemistry and improving confectionery shelf-life to the invention of a patented elastomeric material for improved radiation stability.

His career started with a role as a chocolate scientist at Mars. That was followed by a move to the defence sector, where he finished a nine-year stint as a Senior Materials Scientist at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

During that period, he authored numerous scientific papers and spoke at international conferences on the synthesis and characterisation of novel polymers and materials. With ForrestBrown, Peter has also been published in The Manufacturer, The Medicine Maker, Interplas Insights, and the Confectionery Production publications.

That scientific and technical capability allows him to quickly understand, challenge and assess clients’ work against the R&D tax credit guidelines. And, it’s seeing the projects companies are able to fund due to the value of their claims – and the excitement they have – that’s driving him.

At ForrestBrown, Peter provides expert peer-to-peer communication for our clients on their technical projects, helping to translate their work into reports for HMRC. Examples of his work include reviewing a claim prepared by a Big Four accountancy firm – and significantly increasing the value of R&D tax relief to their business.

Pete works with our network of associations in the food and drink sector, using his background at Mars as a chocolate scientist to help businesses identify their hidden R&D in this industry. Supporting the activities of our partnerships team, Pete speaks at events, networks with businesses and hosts webinars with industry partners to raise awareness of the value of working with ForrestBrown’s expert multi-disciplinary team to access this valuable incentive.

With an infectious passion for all things science and materials, you can talk to Peter about pharma, food and drink, materials (adhesives, polymers and manufacturing) and engineering sectors.

Tom is an ATT qualified tax professional who trained at a Big Four firm and brings more than a decade of experience to the team. He leads client-facing teams in ForrestBrown’s R&D tax practice. 

Before joining us in 2016, Tom was part of the global mobility team at PwC where he worked with a range of clients from fast-growth SMEs to large multinationals. He also helped organisations manage tax and compliance risks when sending staff overseas or into the UK. 

Tom originally joined us as a tax manager, before progressing to director in 2022. One of the first people to graduate from the ForrestBrown Learning Lab, Tom now leads teams that support companies in preparing robust R&D tax relief claims to achieve the full benefit in line with HMRC’s compliance measures.

As well as leading a team of qualified tax advisers and accountants, Tom can also call on sector specialists with industry experience to ensure effective project descriptions are provided.

Tom builds long-term relationships with clients to understand their innovation and how it contributes to business objectives. This enables him to provide clear, practical and timely advice to clients, optimising R&D investment while reducing financial risk.

Ryan is an expert geophysicist and, in 2019, joined ForrestBrown’s sector specialist team. Here, he helps clients to understand how their R&D meets the criteria for claims and translates their highly technical scientific R&D activity into reports for HMRC.

He brings with him a wealth of geophysics experience and expertise, as well as an integrated master’s degree (MSci) in Geology from the University of Southampton, where his research explored the link between palaeoclimate change and volcanic activity.

His geophysicist industry experience includes both offshore and onshore survey work. Offshore, he has conducted surveys for large-scale energy infrastructure projects, including Hornsea wind farm, a UK to Europe sub-sea power cable route and various engineering projects for offshore oil and gas decommissioning.

Onshore, his work includes geological investigations for national infrastructure projects, detection of unexploded ordnance in Kuwait and other varied surveys such as archaeological, utility and subsidence/sink hole risk detection. Ryan applies learnings from his industry experience across a range of sectors and client work.

Ryan has developed an interest in automation and AI technologies, having worked on both internal projects and client engagements in these fields. He has also contributed to a recent paper published in Nature Geoscience: “Transient mobilization of subcrustal carbon coincident with Palaeocene-Eocene thermal maximum” (2024).

Peter specialises in capital allowances and leads ForrestBrown’s support for clients who buy, sell or incur expenditure refurbishing commercial property to optimise the tax reliefs available.

Previously a tax partner with a top 10 accountancy firm, Peter joined ForrestBrown in 2023. His in-depth knowledge of capital allowances provides further support for the innovative businesses we work with, helping to ensure they are fully rewarded for their investments.

Having started his career in the construction sector where he managed high profile projects throughout the UK and Europe, Peter combines a wealth of industry experience with technical tax knowledge to deliver pragmatic advice backed up by a deep understanding of how buildings are put together.

This mix of direct industry experience and technical tax expertise also enables Peter to structure fixed asset programmes that translate effectively for tax and accounting purposes. His approach delivers consistent, accurate information to financial teams, removing the risk of misinterpretation.

Peter draws on his experience working with FTSE100 and multinational companies across sectors including hospitality, retail, engineering and manufacturing to support ForrestBrown clients with tax reliefs relating to their investment in commercial property. Working alongside our grant advisory team, he also supports multinational businesses considering inward investment in the UK.