Claiming R&D tax credits in the restaurant sector, can it be done?

Ask El Gato Negro, an award winning restaurant founded by Chef Patron Simon Shaw, were surprised not only by the fact that they were eligible to claim R&D tax credits, but more so with the amount they could actually claim back!

El Gato Negro, like any other restaurant in the UK, thought R&D tax credits was for businesses that operated in the science sector. To start with, they didn’t even know it was there to be claimed!

So like most businesses in this sector, when they were first approached they were instantly dismissive and thought they couldn’t qualify. How wrong they were.

El Gato Negro specialise in creating seasonally influenced dishes; combining modern and traditional Spanish flavours and techniques while taking inspiration from closer to home.

As Simon explains “R&D was something that had never crossed our minds. We had no idea that this was available to us until Recoup approached us.” It turned out to be a great source of cash into their business. Simon goes on, “We had no idea R&D could be claimed for the restaurant sector, although our knowledge of R&D in the first place was very poor, we didn’t really know how it could apply to us.”

The problem is, R&D isn’t widely publicised by the government and as such it’s very much under the radar. This is the first obstacle most businesses come across, a lack of education by the government.

Once Simon was onboard, he explained that the process is “fast, efficient and streamlined. The team at Recoup made the journey extremely easy for us, helping us throughout the process and doing most of the heavy lifting. This meant we were not getting bogged down with the paperwork and were free to continue to run the business.”

That is one of the major bonuses of getting an expert team involved, they do all the heavy lifting, so no matter who you use for your claim, the process is very smooth, with 90% of the heavy lifting being done by the people you use.

Simon explained how his R&D claim will help the businesses moving forward, he explains ‘We now understand what constitutes R&D and will gather the information on a monthly basis to ensure we do not miss any costs that could qualify.

As we can claim R&D every year moving forward and we now have the knowledge, the process will be a lot easier. The additional benefit to the business is the ongoing R&D claims, something that will continue to help the business as it grows.

The credits will assist cash flow and will certainly encourage us to carry out future R&D. As we come out of the pandemic, this extra boost of cash has definitely helped the business stabilise itself and put us in a strong position moving forward.’

The benefit to El Gato Negro for taking a plunge into the unknown paid off handsomely. Having been sceptical initially, once that barrier of ‘we aren’t eligible’ was overcome, the cash into the business has provided stability as they come out of the restrictions.

If you are in the restaurant sector and would also like to benefit from R&D tax credits, please get in touch with us today.