business
development
23
Locate in Kent
Since it was established in 1997, Locate in Kent, the investment
promotion agency for Kent and Medway, has assisted more
than 400 companies in creating more than 20,000 jobs in
the county.
The agency has provided assistance
to a variety of global names in
numerous business sectors including
Abbott Laboratories, Lloyd’s of
London, The Woolwich, Hochiki,
Genzyme and The Telegraph Group.
Of the 72 investment projects Locate
in Kent helped to attract to the
county in 2006-7, the highest
proportion were in the retail and
wholesale sector, closely followed
by engineering, business services,
manufacturing and ICT. From these
projects, the local economy will
benefit from 1,665 new jobs and
2,075 retained jobs.
Improved Transport Links
Kent and Medway is perfectly placed
for business – positioned between
the markets of London and Europe,
the county is the closest UK location
to continental Europe, offering
access to more than 531 million
consumers within a 24-hour drive.
The county already benefits from
Eurostar services from Ashford
International Station to Continental
Europe, and the launch of the
new high speed line from the new
Ebbsfleet International Station
in North Kent has built on Kent’s
reputation as the gateway to Europe.
From 2009, new domestic train
services operated by Southeastern
will cut the journey time from
London St Pancras to Ebbsfleet
to just 17 minutes and reduce
travelling to Ashford to 37 minutes.
The speed of the services to London
will be essential to the success
of the 2012 Olympics and a
key-decision making factor for
companies relocating to Kent or
investing in the UK from overseas.
Cost-effective
Kent offers immediate access to
the leading international financial
centre of London – but its property
prices are up to 60% lower than in
the capital, making it the location
of choice for many national and
international companies. Kent has
a workforce of over 780,000 people,
with 5,000 skilled graduates moving
into industry from universities and
colleges every year, but again, its
salary rates and labour costs are
significantly lower than London’s.
Property
As well as being a cost-effective
location with unrivalled links to
London and European markets,
Kent has a wide variety of
commercial property on offer.
From business parks like Kings
Hill in West Malling - one of the
largest and most successful mixeduse
developments in Europe - and
science parks like Kent Science
Park in Sittingbourne, through to
enterprise hubs, industrial units
and individual offices, there is a
property solution to be found in
Kent for all types of business. ≥
There is a property
solution to be found
in Kent for all types
of business.
Crossways Business Park
Picture courtesy of Kent County Council
business
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Regeneration
Developments in the county’s
two government-identified ‘growth
areas’, Ashford and Thames
Gateway, are set to create further
opportunities for companies looking
to move into the county. Ashford is
expected to have 31,000 new homes
and 28,000 jobs by 2031, while North
Kent is set to benefit from 50,000
new homes and 80,000 jobs within
20 years. As well as offering a new
international and domestic station,
Ebbsfleet Valley’s 9m sq ft of office,
retail, leisure and community space
is likely to create some 20,000 new
jobs in the area.
Proposals for regeneration
projects in town centres and
several major investment projects
in the county have also been
announced, including the £300m
expansion plans for a new terminal,
four new berths and a new marina,
which have been unveiled by The
Port of Dover.
Future
With its multi-million pound
developments, regeneration projects
and investment in infrastructure,
transport and renewable energy,
Kent is looking forward to a bright
future - proving it really is the place
to do business.
Technological Development
• Just one of the new commercial
properties on offer in Kent and
Medway is the 30,000 sq ft stateof-
the-art innovation centre, The
Nucleus, which forms part of
the science and technology space
at The Bridge, Dartford, and is
operated by START International.
• Kent Science Park, near
Sittingbourne, is now home to
Kent Science Resource Centre,
Swale’s first higher education
facility specialising in degree level
courses and training opportunities
aimed at the biotech and
pharmaceutical sector in the
South East. This will further
boost the site, which is aimed at
attracting more knowledge-based
jobs to the area (which last year,
accounted for 32% of the total jobs
created in the Thames Gateway).
• Fresca Group, Britain’s foremost
fresh produce supplier, is
planning to develop the UK’s most
technically advanced greenhouse
complex in Thanet. The area
will be boosted by the long-term
investment and the creation of
more than 550 jobs. This will
strengthen Kent’s agricultural
sector and undoubtedly attract
attention from across the UK
and overseas.
Kent is looking
forward to a bright
future - proving it
really is the place
to do business
Picture courtesy of London Continental Railways &Troika
Picture courtesy of Kent County Council
Margate Old Town
≥ Locate in Kent continued...
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Overseas Investment
• Locate in Kent also focuses
its efforts on attracting
businesses from overseas to
invest in the county. Another
company to benefit from its
assistance is US-based Solace
Pharmaceuticals. With its
American office in Boston, Solace
Pharmaceuticals is a privatelyowned
organisation which
researches and develops
innovative pain relief treatments.
The company approached Locate
in Kent for assistance in finding
suitable commercial property
and subsequently moved four
employees to The Denne
Hill Business Centre, near
Canterbury. The company expects
to create seven further jobs in
the county within three years.
• Lille-based Mediama, creator
and manufacturer of indoor and
outdoor billboard products, chose
Tonbridge, Kent, as the location
for its UK operations. Mediama
was the first success from one
of the Locate in Kent’s French
investment seminars, held in
Lille in 2007. Mediama’s Kent
branch will provide a centre of
operations for all product and
service sales in the UK. The
company works on both small
and large-scale projects and
has ambitious plans to grow
its UK operations over the
next three years.
• PARTEC, a German company which
specialises in measuring devices
for the life sciences industry, has
opened an office in Kent, with the
help of Locate in Kent, SEEDA and
UK Trade & Investment Germany.
The company based in Munster,
Germany, signed the deal in June
2007 but is already open for
business, providing technical,
scientific and sales support for
PARTEC Flow Cytometers from
its new office in Canterbury.
PARTEC’s Flow Cytometry
technology is being successfully
used in many biotechnology
sectors including human
healthcare, microbiology, industrial
applications, food quality control,
agrosciences and aquaculture.
Financial Assistance
New criteria announced recently
by the Department for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
(BERR) for a business grant scheme
to be delivered by SEEDA in the
South East region, could benefit
many Kent and Medway businesses
looking for financial assistance
to help fund expansion plans.
Key changes to the Selective Finance
for Investment in England (SFIE)
grant scheme mean that small
companies could be eligible for
grants of up to £2.5m and mediumsized
companies could qualify for up
to £1.25m – rather than the previous
limit of £100,000. ≥
Locate in Kent
also focuses its
efforts on attracting
businesses from
overseas to invest
in the county
Folkestone Harbour
business
development
29 companies
in Kent and Medway
have been awarded
over £4.9m in
financial aid since
April 2004
All grants are awarded on a
discretionary basis and the level
of potential assistance depends
upon company size, location, eligible
project expenditure, number of
skilled jobs created or safeguarded
and project quality. Grants of up to
15% of project costs are available
for small-sized companies and up
to 7.5% for medium companies
rising to 35% and 25% respectively
in the 23 wards of Thanet and three
wards in Dover (Eastry, Sandwich and
Whitfield) where large corporates
are also eligible to apply for up to
15% of eligible costs.
Figures from the South East
England Development Agency
(SEEDA) show that 29 companies
in Kent and Medway have been
awarded over £4.9m in financial
aid since April 2004 under the
Enterprise Grants and Selective
Finance for Investment in England
(SFIE) schemes.
Of the companies awarded grants
between April 2004 and January
2008, 26* were advised by the South
East Grant Advisory Service (Se-gas),
which offers free grant advice and
assistance to companies looking
to relocate to, or expand in, Kent
and Medway. Se-gas funding is
managed by Locate in Kent.
* Figures supplied by SEEDA
Locational advantages
of Kent and Medway:
• Although Kent is only a 60-
minute drive from the capital,
commercial property and labour
costs are nearly 60% less.
• Kent is home to many worldclass
companies such as Pfizer,
Kimberly-Clark, BAE Systems,
Saga, Lloyd’s of London, AXA PPP
and Fidelity International, with
others moving in all the time.
• The area around Ebbsfleet
International station which
is being developed by Land
Securities, will contain up
to 10,000 new homes as
well as offices, shops and
community facilities.
• Kent has more land available for
development than any other area
in the South East of England.
• Kent has a population of 1.6
million people, the largest of any
county in the UK, and a workforce
of over 780,000.
• Kent has over 1000 miles2 of
glorious countryside, 360 miles
of unspoilt coastline to explore,
and more historic homes and
castles than any other county.
26
Picture courtesy of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce
Fremlin Walk, Maidstone
≥ Locate in Kent continued...