‘We’ve been awarded significant tax credit and other funding’
Florensis is a plant breeding company that supplies starter material for professional growers. It specialises in annuals, perennials, pot plants, primroses, violets and cut flowers. In recent years, Subsidiefocus has helped the business secure WBSO R&D tax credit and other funding. “It requires specialist knowledge that we don't have.”
Research and Development Promotion Act (WBSO)
Florensis has been a Subsidiefocus client for three years. Financial manager Robert van Kints says ‘We worked with other funding advisors for some years. We heard from others in the industry that Subsidiefocus gets good results with WBSO (Wet Bevordering Speur- en Ontwikkelingswerk) grant applications for plant breeding activities. The WBSO fiscal incentives scheme is used by the Dutch government to pay part of the salary costs and other expenses involved in the development of new products, processes or research. Our previous advisor only gave us a very partial picture of the opportunities, so we decided to take our business elsewhere. Since we started working with Subsidiefocus, we have already received significant amounts in subsidies. We definitely missed out in previous years.’
Outsourcing grant applications saves time
The business decided long ago to outsource grant applications. Van Kints: ‘We do not have the kind of knowledge you need for that in house. You need specialist knowledge, and it takes a lot of time. As a business, you cannot just drop everything else for four weeks. It also looks more professional to the funding organisation if a recognised agency has worked on the application.’
Subsidiefocus took care of the WBSO applications for Florensis. Another application to the European Social Fund (ESF) is currently in progress. Van Kints: ‘We have also received an investment subsidy to improve employment conditions in our company.
Evaluation
How does this kind of application work? ‘It depends. Subsidiefocus regularly come up with proposals themselves. Sometimes we come across interesting opportunities in the Subsidiefocus newsletter. We are not aiming to just get our hands on as many subsidies as we can; the work does have to bear some relations to the amount of money and the likelihood of our actually being awarded it. We make that evaluation for every application and in discussion with the consultants of Subsidiefocus. Sometimes an application for a grant of € 1.000 for a small project can be worthwhile, just to see if there’s a chance of securing a grant for a larger project.’
More information
To find out more about Subsidiefocus, email Roy Hoven or call him on +31 (0)73 646 5475.
