New joiners add considerable claim experience and technical acumen to GrantTree’s R&D Tax offering.
I am delighted to announce that GrantTree has added four highly talented consultants to our R&D Tax Relief team, expanding our ability to help UK businesses navigate the scheme’s sweeping reforms and avoid HMRC’s compliance crackdown.
Dr Luke Britton, PhD, Dr Zakari Dakhli, PhD, and Emily Siddaway-Parmenter, MEng, have joined GrantTree’s team of R&D technical consultants. Led by Razia Chowdry, PhD, our R&D technical consultants are a group of engineers, academics, and industry veterans who employ their extensive technological and scientific knowledge to prove our clients’ projects qualify for R&D Tax Relief.
Following the introduction of the additional information form (AIF), all businesses must now submit detailed breakdowns of their projects, including what advances they were seeking, what baseline they were looking to build upon, and what uncertainties they encountered. Companies that want to avoid the frustrations and delays of an HMRC enquiry should have this information prepared by someone with a comprehensive understanding of the definition of R&D for tax purposes and the technical expertise to apply it to complex development work. This is exactly what our technical consultants offer.
Meanwhile, Gemma Davies, who boasts 15 years of experience in the R&D Tax space, has joined GrantTree as a senior financial consultant. Led by Zoi Georgakopoulou, MEng, GrantTree’s financial consultants work to uncover all of our clients’ qualifying R&D costs and apportion them accurately and compliantly to their project work.
With HMRC enquiries up 1900%, it has never been more important to seek out elite advice when preparing your R&D Tax claim. GrantTree’s newest team members will further improve our already excellent R&D Tax Relief service, which is designed to save you time, protect your funding, and minimise your chances of a compliance check by ensuring your claim is fully compliant with the latest legislation.
For expert support on your next R&D Tax claim, just get in touch.
Say hello to GrantTree’s newest team members
Dr Luke Britton, PhD
R&D Technical Consultant
Luke joins GrantTree from Evonetix, pioneers of a groundbreaking gene synthesis technology, where he was a member of the synthetic chemistry team.
He obtained a PhD in chemistry from the University of Edinburgh. His research explored whether Earth-abundant metal catalysts could be sustainable alternatives for rare and precious metals for industrial and research applications.
Luke’s prior research experiences also include the development of renewable materials such as PLA biodegradable plastics, and the real-time monitoring of pharmaceutical production processes whilst working at Sanofi.
Fun fact
Outside of work, Luke enjoys photography, hiking and most sports, namely football, basketball and F1.
Dr Zakari Dakhli, PhD
R&D Technical Consultant
Zak joins GrantTree from Cast Consultancy, where he was a Strategic Advisory Consultant focusing on offsite, digital, and net zero for the real estate, housing, and construction sectors.
Zak holds a PhD in civil engineering and construction management from École Centrale de Lille. After receiving his doctorate, he spent six years as an R&D project manager at Chaire Construction 4.0, a civil engineering firm, and the Rabot Dutilleul Group, a construction services organisation, both based in Lille.
He then transferred to the University of Cambridge, where he worked as a scientific researcher, providing R&D expertise to startups and established businesses.
Zak later gained an MBA at INSEAD, before moving into business consultancy.
Fun fact
Zak enjoys board games and cooking traditional food from around the world.
Gemma Davies
Senior Financial Consultant
Gemma brings tremendous experience to GrantTree’s financial consultant team, having spent the previous 15 years preparing compliant R&D Tax claims on behalf of her clients.
Eight of these years came at Randd UK and Innovation 4 Business, R&D Tax consultancies based in Derbyshire and Birmingham, respectively.
Gemma is passionate about her role assisting companies developing new technologies or products obtain tax savings to fund growth and further innovation. It’s what gets her out of bed in the morning!
Fun fact
Gemma is a keen Golfer who enjoys hacking her way around the course with a handicap of 17.
Emily Siddaway-Parmenter, MEng
R&D Technical Consultant
Emily joins GrantTree from Deloitte, where she spent four years as a Senior R&D Technical Consultant, helping clients large and small access R&D Tax Relief.
Before Deloitte, she spent two years as a research and development engineer and six years as a site engineer at Galliford Try, one of the UK’s leading construction firms. Her research and development role included conducting cutting-edge research alongside universities and preparing R&D Tax claims for the company’s development work.
Emily has a Master’s Degree in civil engineering with sustainability from Brunel University and has EngTech chartership status through the Institution of Civil Engineers.
Fun fact
In her spare time, Emily mentors female engineers through the Women in Brunel Engineering and Computing scheme. She is also fond of travelling with her husband (particularly in the USA, where they have covered 27 of the states and 24 of the national parks) and spending excessive amounts of time cuddling her two staffies, Cleo and Rolo.
Looking for expert help with your R&D Tax claim?
With HMRC enquiries at an all-time high, it’s never been more important to work with an R&D Tax Relief consultant with the experience and expertise to make sure you’re compliant.
Emily, Gemma, Luke, Zak, and the rest of our excellent R&D Tax team are standing by to help. With decades of combined experience and more than £400 million secured for our clients, GrantTree is the perfect partner for your next R&D Tax claim.
To find out more, just get in touch.
