Wilmott Dixon
Expertise
Contracting, residential development and property support
Industry
Construction
Founded
1852
Annual Revenue
£1.2 billion
The vision: Building excellence through innovation
As the UK’s oldest Tier 1 construction and fit-out contractor, Willmott Dixon has long championed a progressive approach to building and business. With a workforce of nearly 3,000 employees and annual revenue exceeding £1.1 billion, the company plays a vital role in shaping the nation’s built environment – delivering schools, hospitals, civic centres, and sustainable housing that serve both purpose and community.
But beyond project delivery, Willmott Dixon has set its sights on something broader: embedding innovation as a driver of both operational excellence and long-term impact. In 2017, they engaged Ayming not only to help unlock value from R&D tax relief, but to build an approach that would align with their ambitions for innovation, sustainability, and business improvement.
From the beginning, our shared vision extended beyond compliance or claim cycles. This was about creating a culture where innovation could be consistently identified, supported, and ultimately scaled – driving benefits that go far beyond financial return.
The challenge: Making innovation visible in a complex delivery model
Willmott Dixon’s construction model is dynamic, fast-paced, and decentralised by nature. With many projects delivered each year across multiple regions, one of the key challenges was consistency: how to clearly and confidently distinguish routine project delivery from genuine R&D activity across such a large and varied portfolio.
Prior to partnering with Ayming, Willmott Dixon had worked with another provider but found the process transactional and lacking the depth and structure needed for a business of their scale. The leadership team recognised the growing complexity of HMRC’s expectations, and the need for a partner who could ensure that any claims submitted were not only valuable, but robust, accurate, and low risk.
This wasn’t simply about identifying qualifying work. It was about building internal capability, embedding better practices, and enabling project teams to contribute meaningfully to innovation reporting, without losing focus on delivery.
R&D Tax Credits
The process: From annual claims to year-round collaboration
Our relationship with Willmott Dixon has never been confined to the boundaries of annual R&D submissions. From the outset, Ayming implemented a structured programme of bi-weekly check-ins and rolling project pipeline reviews, designed to maintain a continuous dialogue around innovation. This ensured that qualifying work could be identified earlier, documented more accurately, and aligned with real-time project activity.
A central focus of our approach has been quality over quantity. In an increasingly scrutinised sector, we’ve worked hand-in-hand with Willmott Dixon to ensure that every claim submitted is defensible, evidence-based, and fully compliant with HMRC guidance. By maintaining a disciplined approach and focusing on the right kinds of activity – not just volume – we’ve helped reduce exposure to audit risk while supporting long-term confidence in the process.
Equally important has been our investment in training and enablement. Over the course of the engagement, Ayming has developed and delivered a series of tailored R&D workshops across regional teams, designed to upskill staff in identifying, understanding, and documenting qualifying work in real time. These sessions have empowered project managers, commercial teams, and operational leads to play a more active role in innovation capture – turning what was once a retrospective task into an embedded, forward-looking discipline.
This approach has paid clear dividends. Over the years, engagement across the business has deepened, with its regional construction offices now proactively tracking innovation throughout the project lifecycle. The language of R&D has become familiar across teams, supported by a culture that values rigour, compliance, and long-term learning.
Building a culture of innovation
Our partnership with Willmott Dixon showcases how a structured, collaborative approach to R&D can strengthen compliance, empower teams, and embed innovation at the heart of a leading construction business.
Embedding innovation
Turning R&D from a compliance exercise into a cultural driver of excellence, aligning innovation with sustainability and business improvement goals.
Overcoming complexity
Distinguishing genuine R&D from routine project work, ensuring consistency and compliance with HMRC standards.
Building a continuous, collaborative process
Through ongoing reviews, structured communication, and tailored workshops.
Sustained results and strategic partnership
The collaboration has produced high-quality, low-risk R&D claims while fostering a company-wide culture of innovation, trust, and long-term strategic growth.
total benefit received by our clients from HMRC
UK client retention rate
HMRC enquiry rate, vs an industry average of 20%
Our results and looking forward: A partnership built on trust
Over seven consecutive years, Ayming has supported Willmott Dixon in preparing high-quality R&D claims that reflect both the scale and integrity of their innovation efforts. Their largest year of qualifying expenditure to date came in 2021/22, reflecting the maturity of the process and the strength of the projects being delivered.
But the true impact of this partnership goes far beyond annual claim values. and a shared commitment to quality, we’ve helped Willmott Dixon embed innovation into the fabric of their business. Our role has evolved from advisor to trusted partner, supporting not just R&D compliance, but capability building, cultural change, and strategic insight.
As the construction sector continues to evolve – and as more large firms recognise the strategic value of innovation – Willmott Dixon stands as a leading example of what’s possible when R&D is treated as a business enabler, not a back-office task.
Looking ahead, Ayming will continue to support their journey. Together, we’re not only capturing innovation – we’re helping shape the way it’s delivered.
