Fortus merges with Copper Tax

Business advisory and accountancy firm Fortus has announced its merger with R&D tax credit specialist, Copper Tax.

As a result, founder and director of Copper Tax, Claire Upton, has joined Fortus as its new head of R&D Tax Credits.

Upton has spent the vast majority of her 20-year career providing strategic advice and independent opinion on R&D tax credit claims for successful business owners.

Having originally qualified as a chartered tax advisor at a ‘Big Four’ firm, where she spent seven years within their national R&D tax credit team, she then went on to form Copper Tax in 2012, and now brings her wealth of experience to Fortus.

Upton’s appointment as head of R&D Tax Credits comes after the company made other appointments this year, including the hiring of Dom Marley as head of wealth management and Frances Howard as head of audit.

She said: “I’m very much looking forward to collaborating with the wider teams and client base at Fortus to deliver on our mandate of excellence when it comes to the R&D tax credits service to our clients.

“This is a terrific opportunity to cement an unwavering commitment to a best-in-class service that provides clear and considered advice to our clients amidst the shake up and fall out of service providers in this industry”.

Craig Herbert, group CEO of Fortus, added: “Claire’s a fantastic addition to the business. She’s bringing with her more than two decades of expertise to help business owners operating in many industry sectors with R&D tax credit claims and advice.

“Innovation and business tend to go together, so having Claire on board is a natural addition to our fast-growing team of experts. With Claire in our team, we can play our part in boosting the UK’s competitive advantage and fuel economic growth.”