Grant Funding Specialist Joins ForrestBrown to Establish New Advisory Service

ForrestBrown, the UK’s leading specialist R&D tax consultancy, has appointed Karim Budabuss to establish its new grant advisory service, building on its experience supporting innovative businesses securing funding through R&D tax relief.

Budabuss joins as the Director for Grant Advisory and will be responsible for helping clients to access government funding for capital and innovation investments. Having previously led decarbonisation grant advisory services for a Big Four consultancy, Budabuss brings in-depth knowledge and a strong track record of securing funding for innovative businesses, helping them achieve their objectives by making the most efficient use of government grant opportunities.

As a chartered engineer with the UK Engineering Council, Budabuss has a vast amount of knowledge and has used this to inform his specialism in innovation incentives for the last five years. In doing so, he has helped companies unlock millions of pounds from grant funding bodies including Innovate UK, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and Scottish Enterprise.

Drawing on his technical expertise, and vast experience in grant advisory, Budabuss’ advice will be valuable for clients seeking funding support – particularly those looking for sustainability, innovation, and growth grants.

In his new role, Budabuss will adopt an agile approach, supporting ForrestBrown’s SME clients in identifying and securing more grant opportunities, while also assisting larger industrial firms in their decarbonisation and innovation efforts. His expertise, combined with ForrestBrown’s industry-leading R&D tax relief team, will help ForrestBrown’s clients stay ahead of the curve, and move quickly when assessing eligibility and managing applications.

The news follows the recent appointment of Peter Reynolds to support clients on capital allowances.

Sara Brigden, Managing Director at ForrestBrown said, “This is an exciting appointment for ForrestBrown. It is the natural next step in our journey as we continue our mission to help innovative businesses grow by providing exceptional advice on innovation incentives and focus on delivering the best possible service to our clients.

“We’ve spent the last decade honing our expertise as a leader in our field, but we recognise that our client’s needs now extend beyond R&D tax relief. We’re incredibly excited to be able to deepen our impact on UK innovation by helping businesses secure direct funding for relevant projects.”

Karim Budabuss, Director of Grant Advisory, at ForrestBrown, added, “I’m delighted to join ForrestBrown and spearhead grant advisory at a time when funding is increasingly in demand, especially following the fallout of the pandemic, the growing focus on national energy security, and the ongoing push for net zero. Grants are a key component of the wider innovation incentive landscape, and this is an important opportunity to help businesses unlock the funding they deserve, particularly with funds like the Industrial Transformation Fund reopening next year.”