| the south east
KENT MAKES BUSINESS SENSE T
he Kent business landscape is thriving. Locate in Kent, the official inward investment agency for Kent and Medway, states that last year alone 14,860 new companies were registered in the county, and believes infrastructure such as High Speed 1, operational cost savings and a strong skills base are major attractions. Here we highlight some of the companies enjoying success and find out why Kent makes business sense for them.
Excellent connectivity Mark Quinn, CEO of Quinn Estates, believes connectivity plays a significant part in the success of his business as well as Kent as a whole. Thanks to the High Speed 1 network, the mixed-use developer, has seen an increase in price per square foot in value, making schemes more viable and deliverable for developers, both commercial and residential. Many other companies such as Kent born search and social marketing agency, Sleeping Giant Media have seen huge benefits from HS1. Not only is access to clients in London quick and easy, Luke Quilter, CEO notes that the economic and cultural growth in the region catalysed by HS1 has made Kent a more attractive place to live. He has therefore been able to hire all but one of his staff from the local area – with the one other employee using the high speed line to commute to and from the office.
Folkestone harbour
deploys the Rapport range of software products which provides mobile clinical applications and health records for the NHS, care professionals and patients. Kent stood out because of the availability of high level IT skills, a range of graduate employment programmes from local universities, and a genuine enthusiasm from Kent County Council to attract high- tech businesses to the area with the support of the Expansion East Kent regional development fund.
The optimum quality of life AlgaeCytes develops next generation bioactive ingredients in Omega 3 oils and proteins for the nutraceutical and the pharmaceutical markets. Relocating to Discovery Park from the Czech Republic, the company saw the site’s facilities, enterprise zone status and quality of life as a major draw. Naz Bashir, CEO of AlgaeCytes, describes the Kent countryside as “fantastic” and the people “brilliant”. Boasting 1,500 square miles of glorious countryside and 350 miles of coastline, Kent is designated as an area of
outstanding natural beauty for good reason.
Significant costs savings
Sleeping Giant Media
Strong skills base With 1.8 million people, Kent is the largest county in England. Coupled with four top universities producing an estimated 10,000 graduates a year, the county has a highly skilled workforce and strong pipeline of talent coming through. It was this that attracted Shearwater Systems to Kent. Shearwater Systems designs, develops and
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Based in London for seven years, Purewhite Creative had been paying high rents and found
rising costs and lack of opportunity for growth fuelled their desire for change. With commercial property being 60% cheaper in Kent it meant the company could buy instead. Purewhite Creative are now working from a grand 1800’s chapel in
Dartford and are looking into renting out some of the space to smaller companies. The saving on cost continues to have a huge impact on the marketing agency as they plan to expand the team to help support their growing client base.
Strong support network Sittingbourne based, Nim’s Fruit Crisps is going from strength to strength. As well as being stocked in Co-op and Ocado, the firm recently signed a deal with Tesco, gaining further recognition on a national scale. The company previously ran its manufacturing plant in Europe but chose to relocate operations to access Kent’s fruit farmers and take advantage of the transports links between London and Europe. The company has also benefitted from Locate in Kent’s support, Nimisha Raja, CEO says “The team at Locate in Kent spent a good few months searching for the right premises for us, making sure they met all of our requirements. They also helped us secure funding that we didn’t realise we were entitled to.”
Nim’s Fruit Crisps Locate in Kent provides free and
confidential support to businesses setting up or relocating into Kent as well as supporting the growth of those already here. Visit
locateinkent.com or call 01732 520 700, to find out more.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2018
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