LocateinKent.com Announces That The French leads the way as Europeans look to Locate in Kent

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Local company in Kent.

(EstateNewsWire.com, August 08, 2012 ) London, England -- Figures from Locate in Kent, the county’s investment promotion agency charged with attracting and retaining jobs in Kent, show that over the past five years, 17 companies from France have either relocated to Kent or reaffirmed their commitment to the county, compared to 12 from Germany.

Only America saw more companies investing here in the same period with 18 successes.

With new President Francois Hollande proposing tax changes that would see his country’s highest earners facing a 75 per cent rate and scrapping tax breaks on overtime, Kent may be reaping the benefit of an exodus of French businesses.

The UK is now seen as such an attractive destination for disillusioned French citizens that their numbers in London make it the equivalent of the sixth largest city in France, and Locate in Kent is working hard to tap into that market.

“There are many reasons for these very encouraging figures, not least that as an organisation we have been working hard to generate opportunities from northern Europe, and particularly France,” said Paul Wookey, Chief Executive of Locate in Kent.

“We have formed a partnership with a French agency which assists us with lead generation in a particularly fruitful market, and we have targeted overseas trade exhibitions for sectors for which we believe Kent has a strong offer, such as wind energy in Germany and Denmark and life sciences in the US.”

Over the past five years, foreign direct investment (fdi) overall has grown from 16% of Locate in Kent’s successes to 28%.

In the last financial year, 21 overseas companies came to or expanded in Kent via Locate in Kent, creating or retaining 1,491 jobs, 46% of all those created or retained via the agency and the biggest number of fdi jobs for five years.

Paul added that Locate in Kent has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), which gives it access to UKTI’s database of companies interested in locating in the UK, allowing it to identify those for which Kent offers a compelling proposition and to approach them directly.

Locate in Kent’s efforts have resulted in successes such as South African company Document Warehouse bringing 200 jobs to Ashford through their first investment in the UK, as well as a German distribution company setting up in Medway with 23 jobs, while 25% of the projects in Locate in Kent’s pipeline of possible future successes are fdi, compared with 14% in 2007.

“It is important that we continue to generate fdi projects and convert them into success, as figures show that on average they result in more jobs than UK-based companies investing in Kent,” said Paul Wookey.

“Last year, the average number of jobs created by fdi projects was 56 compared to 18 for UK successes. Over the past five years that average is 73 jobs for fdi projects compared to 43 for UK projects.

“That is why we have put so much effort into developing our networks and contacts and are so encouraged by these latest figures.”

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, which includes access to its comprehensive UK Commercial Property Search – www.commercialpropertykent.com, giving businesses the opportunity to search for premises in every part of Kent and Medway.

About Company:

Established in 1997, Locate in Kent is funded and supported by Kent County Council, Medway Council, local councils, the Kent Developers Group - a partnership of the area's leading commercial property developers and partners from the private sector.

LocateinKent.com

Andy Rayfield

(173) - 252 - 0700

enquiries@locateinkent.com

Source: EmailWire.Com