Financial services innovation funding: R&D tax and Patent Box relief

Luke has been a leader in tech innovations since the early 2000s. After studying mathematics, computing and education at the Universities of Oxford and Bath he taught maths and IT for several years before embarking on a career in software engineering.

Luke has worked for several start-ups, some of which have gone on to become successful enterprises. He has amassed experience in the HealthTech and FinTech sectors, developing systems used nationally by the NHS and working on an innovative Tax Pooling platform used in New Zealand.

In many of his roles, Luke has been the ‘Competent Professional’, submitting many R&D tax claims for his innovative, ground-breaking work. A recent position saw Luke leading development on a number of high profile projects for Google, Meta and The Home Office.

Luke is always striving to stay ahead of the game with the latest advances in the field of software engineering and technology. He has worked with most of the major tech stacks and cloud computing providers and takes a great interest in blockchain, quantum computing and AI.

Luke joined us from JP Morgan where he worked on the unification of their internal management platforms, which handle millions of requests a week from over 300,000 employees. He is a certified ScrumMaster and appreciates the benefits of using agile practices like Test Driven Development and Continuous Integration/Deployment to facilitate the bringing of new R&D projects to market.

Ben is a digital expert at the forefront of tech trends. A digital sector specialist at ForrestBrown, his extensive knowledge is invaluable to our clients who are pushing the boundaries of innovation.

He began his career as a law and philosophy graduate in publishing, but quickly developed a keen interest in web development and software engineering. At the time he was working for family law publisher, Jordan Publishing, but subsequently moved from there into the world of digital agencies.

Since then, Ben has amassed more than 15 years of digital agency experience, some at general agencies; others specialising in sectors such as travel and product development. These include 3Sixty, Bray Leino, Cognizant and AKQA.

With experience as a full-stack developer and technology director, Ben has mastered a wide range of development frameworks and tools. He has worked extensively with content management systems, modern web technologies, and responsive design principles.

Ben has also developed expertise in cloud platforms and infrastructure as these technologies have emerged. In his senior roles he has led teams of developers and been involved in wider business management.

His extensive experience at agencies has led him to work across many sectors, including legal, transport infrastructure, entertainment, homebuilding and ecommerce.

Ben’s expertise is tremendously valuable to our clients at the cutting edge of digital innovation. He works directly with them and our R&D tax practice to uncover all qualifying innovations for robust R&D tax credit claims.

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.

Jayne is an experienced chartered accountant with Big Four experience, who has worked in both the UK and Middle East. She is a senior adviser in FB Consulting, ForrestBrown’s specialist tax advisory service, as well as leading on the delivery of Patent Box claims for clients.

Jayne joined ForrestBrown in 2020 and brings a wealth of experience in leading complex tax advisory projects, which helps her provide invaluable advice to our clients. She also plays a key role in assessing and managing tax risks and leading client relationships with HMRC.

Drawing on her science background, she takes particular interest in the pharmaceutical and medical sectors. In her role with ForrestBrown, Jayne is focused on developing our advisory services to help more businesses across the UK benefit from R&D tax relief. This includes working with clients and accountants to create robust claims and providing strategic advice or specialist support should HMRC open an enquiry.

After completing a Master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Sheffield, Jayne began her career with Deloitte in 2006. She was based in the entrepreneurial business tax practice and studied for her ACA qualification.

In 2010, she moved to Dubai to help establish Deloitte’s international tax practice for the Middle East region. She managed a diverse portfolio of clients including large multinationals, owner-managed companies and startups.

James leads our tax advisory practice, FB Consulting, providing award-winning R&D tax relief expertise to businesses and accountants. This can include modelling and forecasting, risk profiling and benchmarking, and advice on compliance and methodology for large corporates.

With a legal background and extensive experience dealing with HMRC, James brings incisive insights to tax disputes, developing strategies to achieve the best possible outcome for clients. For example, he successfully led ForrestBrown’s support for Quinn (London) Limited in a 2021 landmark tribunal case challenging the interpretation of subsidised R&D expenditure.

James and the FB Consulting team provide specialist advice, working alongside a company’s general advisers, including due diligence relating to R&D tax relief pre and post transactions and R&D in complex, international groups.

A solicitor who specialises in tax advice for corporates and individuals, with a focus on cross-border and international issues, James trained and qualified at a top London law firm before relocating to Geneva to help set up the firm’s Swiss office. On returning to the UK James worked in the tax team of a leading Bristol and London-based law firm, before joining ForrestBrown in 2019.

James has contributed commentary on R&D tax relief and tax disputes to publications including Bloomberg Law and International Tax Review.

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.