Locate in Kent, the county’s investment promotion agency, helped create almost 200 jobs in Medway in the first half of 2013.
The agency worked with five companies that invested in Medway in the first half of the year, either through starting-up in the area, expanding an existing operation there or moving from another part of Kent. They created 196 jobs and ensured a further 60 were retained in the area.
In a major show of faith in Medway, three companies, including a large financial services operation, recommitted to the area by expanding their operations, two of them within Chatham Dockyard, Medway’s premier business park.
Over the same period, 21 new companies showed an interest in Medway, of which more than half were from outside the county and a quarter were start-ups. They came from a variety of sectors including the creative industries, manufacturing, ICT, life sciences as well as retail & wholesale.
At the start of the year, Locate in Kent was working with 126 companies actively interested in investing in Medway, of which 11 were based in the United States, seven in France, three in India and two in Italy.
Paul Wookey, Chief Executive of Locate in Kent, welcomed the figures saying they confirmed that there was sustained regeneration, growth and interest in the area.
“Medway is at the heart of the Thames Gateway and is one of the key regeneration areas in the South East,” said Paul. “Its attractiveness to companies looking to invest has been enhanced by the availability of Regional Growth Funds through the TIGER scheme.
“Coupled with a good supply of office and industrial space and excellent transport links to London, the rest of the UK and Europe, it’s not difficult to see why more and more companies are showing real interest in investing in Medway.
“The strength of the area is reflected in the fact that almost a quarter of all new jobs attracted by Locate in Kent in the first half of the year went to Medway.”
Cllr Jane Chitty, Portfolio Holder for Strategic Development and Economic Growth at Medway Council, said: “It is particularly pleasing to see that businesses already operating in the area are electing to grow here.
“It is a vote of confidence in the skills of the local workforce, the strength of the local economy and the high quality business space available at locations such as Chatham Dockyard that companies want to stay and prosper here.
“We will be working hard to support Locate in Kent in its work to convert the leads it is working on into more real jobs for the people of Medway.”
