700 companies used the Patent Box in its first year with a total value of £343 million, according to HMRC.

Figures show that 225 large companies claimed £327.2 million in relief in 2013/14, making up for 95.4% of the total claim.

The remaining relief was shared between 475 companies with 290 of them being SMEs or micro businesses.

Further findings:

• Manufacturing companies claimed 63.3% of the total relief
• IT, financial services and real estate companies claimed 17.1%
• 16.4% were in retail and transport
• Companies in London claimed the most relief (£196.8 million)
• Companies in the North East claimed the least (£1.6 million).

The Patent Box came into effect from 1 April 2013, applying a lower rate (10%) of corporation tax to profits from patents and intellectual property.

The relief has been phased in over a 5 year period with companies gaining the full benefit from 2017