Budget benefits for designers

Design groups stand to benefit from Budget proposals outlined by Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Full tax relief on technology investments, tax breaks encouraging wider employee share ownership, and greater incentives for management share options, will benefit design groups, says Ticegroup chairman Ian Cochrane.

“It’s very good news for the design industry. I think we are going to see more start-ups and more share ownership as result. I also think we are going to see a lot of owners selling as a result of the tax incentives,” he says.

Design Council chief executive Andrew Summers says proposed regional innovation funds “will encourage clusters of companies to work together, to use new technologies [to come] up with brilliant new products and services.”