Wrightstyle, the Devizes based supplier of advanced glazing systems, says it has ‘raised concerns’ with the government on the ‘detrimental impact’ of insurance tax and on the possible consequences of Brexit on supplies of raw materials.
The company, which is a supplier of glazed systems to mitigate against fire or ballistic and bomb attack, raised its worries during a visit by Claire Perry MP for Devizes and Minister for Climate Change & Industry in the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department.
Her visit to Wrightstyle was prompted by the company’s concern about recent increases in Insurance Premium Tax which has increased considerably over the last couple of years, and which impacts significantly on overheads.
Claire Perry MP met the company’s managing director, Tim Kempster, and finance director, Jane Embury, before touring the warehouse and fabrication areas and meeting other members of the Wrightstyle team.
“Claire Perry hadn’t fully realised the high impact of this tax on SMEs and was interested to hear about it from our prospective. We also raised issues about Brexit, advising her of our concerns regarding the supply of raw materials from Europe,” said Jane Embury.
“We also made her aware that the type of high quality architectural steel that we use in our advanced systems is not available in the UK and certainly not in the Far East, where we have a significant export market,” she said.
Jane Embury added: “We also discussed R&D on new systems we are currently developing and the difficulties financing this type of work, especially the testing costs. Claire Perry will advise us on possible R&D funding and tax relief.”
During her tour, Claire Perry was delighted to see an order being packed for shipment for the Harvard Business School, where she obtained a Masters in Business Administration in 1990.
“It was a genuinely interesting discussion and I think we both gained some useful insights,” said Jane Embury.
