WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURES : CHRIS BOOTH
To infinity and beyond
I
Finance group Infinity , whose name was inspired by Stockton ' s iconic Infinity Bridge , urges Tees firms to consider R & D tax credits
t ’ s a tax benefit some firms might not even think applies to them .
But Tony Insall , managing director of Infinity Finance Group , is urging businesses to look into research and development ( R & D ) tax credits because of the huge impact they can have – and before the goalposts move .
R & D tax credits are a government incentive designed to reward UK companies for investing in innovation . Yet the North-East has the lowest number of R & D claimants in England – and that ’ s something Tony wants to help address .
Middlesbrough-born and bred , former St David ’ s Secondary School pupil Tony studied sports science at Longlands College , played semi-pro football with Billingham Town as an 18-year-old and spent a year in America on a football scholarship .
For 18 years , he worked for the Ministry of Justice before taking early retirement , aged just 39 .
Eager to try something new , he found he had an aptitude for , and interest in , financial services .
And after building up a network of contacts , helped by the likes of Darlington Business Club , BNI and the North East of England Chamber of Commerce , he reached the stage where , two years ago this January , he decided to set up his own business and Infinity Finance Group was born .
Taking its name from the striking Stockton bridge , Infinity was until recently based on the
Teesdale site . It ’ s currently in Darlington but hopes to find a new office soon .
With a team of a financial director , four main consultants and 10 " introducers ", in just two years Infinity has built up quite a portfolio of clients . And Tony , who ’ s married to Susan and has children Amelia , 15 , and Alfie , 10 , admits it was “ a leap of faith ” to set up on his own – but the progress of the past two years has proved it was a risk worth taking .
He told Tees Business : “ We ’ ve grown exponentially as a business . In our first year , we turned over around £ 50k – in year two we are on target to surpass £ 1m .”
And Tony says R & D tax credits are a key service Infinity provides – from explaining what they are and who ’ s eligible to helping navigate the application process .
He said : “ They ’ re a tax benefit for companies that do some form of research and development . It could be overcoming a significant technical challenge , for example – it ’ s a very broad term .
“ Take someone in the food and drink sector – a gin manufacturer , say . They have their own distillery so they do a lot of research and development . They ’ re trying new products , researching new recipes , looking at new ways of brewing , finding ways to be more efficient ...
“ When you speak to businesses , the first
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