Kent: Even better connected in 2009

Locate in Kent's expertise makes it the one stop shop for businesses looking to succeed in Kent. It offers companies a number of free corporate relocation services, giving businesses the opportunity to search for premises in every part of Kent and Medway

A year on from the launch of international rail services from Ebbsfleet International Station, and Kent is looking forward to 2009 – the year of the train – when it will be better connected than ever before. The county is seeing high levels of interest from foreign investors due to its improved links to Europe, and the new high speed domestic rail services between Kent and London starting later this year are bound to generate even further interest in the county from Europe, the rest of the UK and beyond. The services will reduce travel times to a number of locations across the UK and will mean Kent is just 17 minutes away from St Pancras International.

Many of Kent’s towns, including Gravesend, Canterbury, Ashford, Dover and Margate will benefit from reduced journey times to the capital, which in some cases, are cut by more than half - the journey from Ashford to London alone will be reduced from 83 minutes to 37.

The new services will also make the county much more accessible from key cities in the Midlands and the north, with Oxford and Nottingham via St Pancras International taking only about two hours, Birmingham two hours 30 minutes and Manchester just over three hours from Ebbsfleet International.

In the last 11 years, Locate in Kent, the investment promotion agency for Kent and Medway, has helped more than 500 companies expand or relocate to Kent. During the last five years many of the agency’s successes have been in the business services sector, followed by ICT companies and manufacturing firms. Companies in retail and wholesale have created the most jobs in the county – Aldi and Morrisons being the notable recent successes on The Isle of Sheppey and in Sittingbourne respectively. Food and agriculture also created a significant number of jobs in Kent, with Fresca Group alone creating 550 jobs in Thanet with the UK’s largest and most technologically-advanced glasshouse complex.


Locate in Kent predicted that 2008 had the potential to be the best year yet for investment into the county. The agency proved its point by meeting the challenge head-on, and according to its latest half-yearly figures, had already beaten its annual job target in the period April to September 2008. With a total of 4,901 jobs created and retained in the county, Locate in Kent more than doubled its six-monthly target of 2,250 jobs.

More than 80 percent of successes were from UK-based companies, but the first six months of the year saw investment from North America and Europe, each making up six percent of the total successes. With such good figures last year, and with the advent of fast-rail journeys into the financial centre of London, the agency hopes 2009 will bring more investors and further job creation to the county.

2008 also saw Kent develop and consolidate its position as a centre of excellence for energy, in particular wind. The county offers very good potential to meet the industry need for port services, construction and assembly facilities, manufacturing plant, operations and maintenance bases. A total of five offshore wind farms are already underway in Kent including the flagship London Array project, which will be the world’s first gigawatt scale offshore wind farm.

It seems this activity has not gone unnoticed, as Kent already has a good business reputation. According to a recent study commissioned by Locate in Kent ‘Perceptions of Kent as a Business Location 2008’ almost half the respondents - mainly from outside the county, rated Kent as a better business location than any other area in the UK. The survey also revealed that the Thames Gateway Kent remains a popular choice, with nearly a third believing the area to be the most favourable in the county.

The county’s property market is a good indication of how business in Kent is faring. In late 2008 Locate in Kent worked in partnership with Kent County Council and Cluttons to launch the Kent Property Market Report. Despite the current economic downturn, the findings of the report were favourable – with the Kent property market showing a steady performance in 2007/08. The average office rental value grew by 2 percent, industrial rental value rose by 1.7 percent, with retail rents increasing by 2.5 percent. Office take-up rates also improved in the last 12 months, with businesses taking advantage of lower rents compared to the rest of the UK.

The county’s business parks have been progressing well with various developments, which have included the Towergate building at Eclipse Park in Maidstone, the completion of 48,000 sq ft at Watermark Park in Sittingbourne and new office and speculative development at Eureka Park, Ashford.

Locate in Kent has ambitious plans for the county and will continue its work with its partners to harness Kent’s transport and infrastructure network to sustain high levels of investment. Locate in Kent has a solid pipeline of projects and enquiries which indicates that Kent is well-placed to cope with whatever the financial market may bring, with the county offering an excellent cost-effective solution to businesses feeling the credit squeeze.

For more information about Locate in Kent, call 01732 520700, email enquiries@locateinkent.com or visit www.locateinkent.com or call Lizzy Jerome at Tel: 01732 520724