ForrestBrown, the UK’s leading R&D tax consultancy, has further strengthened its senior team with the appointment of David Byrne as Director.

David will lead ForrestBrown’s London office with a focus on supporting local, national and international companies. He will be based at Tower 42 in the heart of the City, strengthening the multidisciplinary team serving clients operating or headquartered in the capital.

After spending nearly 20 years as an IT professional, designing and developing global platforms and leading international teams within ‘blue chip’ financial services and media organisations, David helped establish EY’s R&D tax team before joining Deloitte as Innovation Tax Director. He joins ForrestBrown from global professional services firm, Alvarez and Marsal, where he created a new team, building a client base of high profile listed and private companies across multiple sectors.

David has worked on some of the UK’s largest R&D tax relief claims in sectors including software, media, telecoms and financial services, building a strong working relationship with HMRC in the process.

Commenting on David’s appointment, ForrestBrown’s Managing Director, Sara Brigden, said: “David’s appointment bolsters ForrestBrown’s capability to deliver robust R&D tax relief claims for large and complex companies. His strong focus on client service aligns with our ethos of developing bespoke methodologies to maximise the benefit of investment in innovation while protecting businesses from risk.”

Explaining what attracted him to the role, David said: “I am really excited to be joining ForrestBrown at such a pivotal time for R&D tax, both in terms of opportunities in the market and responding to government changes to better target reliefs and reduce fraud. ForrestBrown is perfectly positioned to play a leading role in shaping the future of the incentive and I look forward to adding to their passion for innovation with a strategic approach to helping clients navigate this changing landscape.”

The strengthening of ForrestBrown’s team in London follows the opening of an office in Scotland last October as well as continued growth at its Bristol headquarters.