Manufacturing businesses in the Midlands were urged not to miss out on research and development tax relief, at a seminar held at Yorkshire Bank in Birmingham.

People attending the presentation at Yorkshire Bank's Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) in Temple Row heard it is a misconception that tax incentives for small and large companies investing in innovation were restricted to those involved in scientific research and technology.

But David Nolan and Peter Whitehead from Birmingham-based professional services firm RSM Tenon, who gave the talk, said tax relief is potentially available to a wide range of sectors including manufacturers, printers, distributors and software developers.

Paul Reeves, managing partner at Yorkshire Bank's FSC in Birmingham, said the seminar had given the manufacturing businesses who attended plenty to consider.

"The research and development tax credit system is set-up to reward businesses that invest in any research and development technology which has developed new products, devised software, made the company more competitive or quicker in their output or become leaders in their field," he said.

"Basically, anything which gives businesses a competitive edge in the market place could mean a claim is possible.

"One allowance is that capital expenditure, on items such as plant and machinery which is incurred for research and development, is eligible for 100 per cent tax relief through capital allowances in the year it is bought rather than the standard 20 per cent.

"The purpose of organising the event was to make sure Yorkshire Bank's current and prospective customers are aware of all the qualifying criteria before they apply.

"The 'Tax Incentives for Innovation' presentation proved to be such a success that we are in the planning stages of organising another one next month for those manufacturers who were not able to attend this event."