Don't miss annual investment allowance, warns Lombard

Lombard has warned that less than a third of respondents were aware of the increase, while only a fifth had made use of the allowance last year. However, 43% said that awareness of the increased allowance would have influenced their decision to invest. Richard Hemsley, managing director of Lombard, said, "We would encourage all SMEs to speak to their finance advisers to find out more about how they can make the most of this temporary increase in allowance which will be available until 31 December 2014. "Investment lies at the heart of getting our economy back to running at full strength and we are here to support our customers to achieve their goals and ultimately support our country's recovery. Capital investment remains a critical factor for UK companies to compete with other countries, particularly emerging economies where we are seeing increased focus on business investment." The temporary AIA increase to £250,000 per annum was announced in December 2012 and applies until 31 December 2014.