Tax man fuels diesel firm’s success after dragons’ offer rejected (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Tax man fuels diesel firm’s success after dragons’ offer rejected

12:30pm Friday 5th February 2010

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A Darlington company which turned down the offer of funding by two dragons from the BBC’s Dragon’s Den has received a cash boost from the taxman.

Diesel Do Nicely (DDN), of Darlington, has received £24,000 cash and an extra £8,000 tax relief as part of a research and development tax credit scheme.

The company has developed a device called the Fuel Angel which is fitted to diesel vehicles to prevent them being filled with petrol.

They appeared on Dragon’s Den but rejected an offer of £250,000 from dragons Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden who, in return, wanted a 25pc stake in the firm.

Instead, DDN found private investment and has gone on to sell the Fuel Angel across the world, mainly for company and emergency service vehicles.

Director Michael Cotton said they rejected the dragons’ offer as they would have lost too much control in the business.

Now he is delighted that Clive Owen & Co, the Darlingtonbased business advisory and accountancy specialists, have gained them money from the tax man.

He said: “We did find private investment but like any business in the recession, this has been a challenging time for us.

“Being able to get £32,000 back through this scheme is fantastic and has come at just the right time.”

Peter Hogan, tax partner at Clive Owen & Co, has now urged other businesses to check if they qualify for the Government scheme, which is designed to encourage and support greater investment in innovation.

He said: “A lot of businesses think that only people who do research and development in white coats in laboratories can qualify under this scheme, but DDN has shown it’s far wider ranging than it appears.

“Any businesses which are trying to refine a particular process or product, or developing a new product, may qualify – anything where there’s innovation.

“Under the scheme, a company’s tax bill can be reduced or, for some small or mediumsized companies such as DDN, a cash sum can be provided by HM Revenue & Customs.”

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