The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on the economy – and businesses of all types have felt the strain.
In April 2020 alone, a quarter of UK companies closed and May saw the country enter its worst recession for many years.
Various levels of restrictions, ranging from lockdowns to the tier system, have resulted in businesses struggling to stay afloat.
However, one Manchester-based firm has set a mission to change all that: Areande.
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How Areande is making a difference
Areande helps businesses across Manchester and beyond to claim research and development tax credits.
This incentive – also known as innovation tax relief – was introduced by the government in 2000 to encourage companies to innovate.
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R&D tax credits allow businesses to claim a cash payment or a reduction in their tax bill for a variety of costs spent on innovative projects.
Founded during the pandemic, Areande’s singular goal is to “simplify the claims process and help as many firms as possible”.
As multiple sectors started being squeezed by the pandemic and social distancing measures, Areande was set up to provide innovating businesses with a “vital lifeline”.
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Spending money developing or improving new products, services, or processes qualifies you for tax relief – with many companies eligible for cash payments or tax bill reductions.
You can determine whether you’re eligible for tax relief for your innovation here.
Partnering with Areande
Scott Graham / Unsplash
Areande also runs a partnership programme for individuals and businesses searching for an additional source of income during a financially challenging time.
Areande offers a lucrative referral programme for their partners, allowing companies to make money for sending potential claimants their way.
Explaining the partnership programme, Areande stated: “We use a rigorous approach with a built-in quality assurance system, ensuring we uncover all eligible R&D costs. Our experts do all the hard work; partners need only send clients our way and wait for their reward.
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“As a partner, you’d also have access to a dashboard where you can monitor earnings in real-time and easily export data for reporting. You would also have the pleasure of seeing your clients power their businesses forward, achieving – and even exceeding – their growth plans by claiming Areande. Partnering with Areande could provide many benefits to both you and your clients.”
Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC), also known as above the line R&D tax credit, allows larger companies to reclaim tax for their innovation.
This incentive is worth 11p for every pound spent on qualifying R&D activities.
Areande saves its clients from having to deal with HMRC and pledges support for almost all industries; with members of its team from agriculture, pharmaceutical, medical supplies, research, property, construction, financial and technology backgrounds.
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The company stated: “We use a streamlined and technology-driven process that can take businesses from claim to cheque in a matter of weeks SMEs, whether they are profit or loss-making, can claim up to 33p for each £1 they’ve spent on innovation.
“We have helped thousands of businesses across the country claim back millions from HMRC, with an average claim value of £53,714 for SMEs and £600,977 for large companies. We have a streamlined process; we handle everything so you can focus on innovating.”
With the money received from Areande claims, businesses have managed to increase their incomes, expand their operations and recoup some of their COVID-19 losses.
In the current climate, local businesses need a boost – and Areande is providing exactly that.
You can apply for R&D tax credits online here.To learn more about what Areande are doing to support the local economy, visit their website. You can sign up and see if you’re eligible online.
Business
Parklife pumps more than £155,000 back into Greater Manchester community projects
Danny Jones
Parklife is once again proving why it’s such an important event for Greater Manchester, not just in terms of music and culture, but through the money it pumps back into the community through grassroots projects.
The annual music festival at Heaton Park raises significant funds for local initiatives with each edition via the official Parklife Community Fund.
Partnered with the Manchester, Bury, and Rochdale councils, the finances generated through those who attend not only Parklife but also other concerts held at the outdoor venue, such as the recent Oasis shows, help local groups that make a positive, tangible difference in their neighbourhoods.
This year alone, the total includes £55,000 raised from guest list donations by festival attendees, as well as a further £100k generated from other events held in Heaton Park, making 2025 one of, if not the biggest, years for donations to date.
Distributed by the City Council and the local authorities in Bury and Rochdale throughout the respective boroughs, the aim is not only to give back but to enhance local life, through everything from important youth programmes to community wellbeing and improvement schemes.
Launched back in 2017, the festival fund is approaching nearly half a million pounds raised on behalf of local causes, strengthening its connection with the nearby communities surrounding its host site.
The region’s vast and stunning green space is a huge tourist attraction in itself, meaning literal grassroots causes like the woodland management group are vital to maintaining that beauty and status.
Other projects include an astronomy group, as well as fitness drives like ‘RockFit’ (seen above), which now meets at Heaton Park regularly to promote exercise for both physical and mental health.
It’s also worth noting that the fund covers surrounding areas like Higher Blackley and Crumpsall; Sedgley, Holyrood, St Mary’s and even South Middleton.
You can see more examples of the charitable community work in action down below.
Credit: Supplied
Sam Kandel, founder of Parklife Festival, said of the fund: “Parklife is proud to call Heaton Park home, and it’s really important to us that the festival has a lasting, positive impact on the local community.
“The Community Fund is our way of saying thank you to residents and supporting the brilliant grassroots projects that make Manchester, Bury, and Rochdale such special places to live.”
Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon (Exec Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods) added: “Parklife brings people from Manchester and beyond to our wonderful Heaton Park, and it is right that the communities living close by benefit from the event through reinvestment in local initiatives that will leave a legacy for all.
“The Parklife community fund means that local communities choose what’s important to them and they have the opportunity to bid for funds to invest in projects that enhance local amenities, strengthen community connections and wellbeing for the benefit of everyone.”
Those looking to benefit from the fund can apply online now and you can find out more information by contacting the relevant councils’ neighbourhood pages.
Work finally begins on Greater Manchester’s new ‘innovation hub’ in Atom Valley creating 20,000 jobs
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… work has finally begun on the first major development in Atom Valley.
If you’re not familiar with Atom Valley, this new project is set to be a unique innovation ‘cluster’ – plans of which were approved by local leaders all the way back in summer 2022 – with the potential to create up to 20,000 new jobs in Greater Manchester once it’s complete.
Greater Manchester wants Atom Valley to become a ‘springboard’ for new and emerging companies and researchers, giving them the support and the opportunities they need to trial and commercialise their innovations right here in our region.
The new development which ground has now been broken on is a Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC) – which is set to become a thriving hub of innovation.
Today is a big day for GM.
We break ground on a new research centre at Atom Valley – our emerging world-class cluster in advanced materials and manufacturing.
Here, start-ups and emerging companies will be able to pioneer new technologies and scale up their ambitions, all while creating jobs and driving growth across the region in the process.
Located next to the Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale, it will offer 30,000 sq ft of new laboratory space, workshops, and design studios, as well as a lecture theatre, meeting rooms, office space, and flexible workspace for start-ups.
With the ‘right’ support, local leaders say the SMMC will also be a vital link between Atom Valley and the Oxford Road Corridor, ultimately forging a pathway for new companies and projects to expand from the city centre out into the wider city region.
Work has finally begun on Greater Manchester’s new ‘innovation hub’ in Atom Valley / Credit: DLA Architecture
Mayor Andy Burnham says this is the ‘most ambitious development’ in Atom Valley so far
“It will help unleash the untapped potential of the world-leading research taking place across our city region, bridging that crucial gap from invention to bringing those new innovations to the market,” he explained. “And it will create a new hi-tech corridor from the out to the north of Greater Manchester, creating jobs and new opportunities for start-ups to scale up their ambitions.
“This is integrated, well-connected development in action, and a clear sign of our mission to spread the benefits of growth right across our city region.”
The Manc -
25th January 2021 
