Locate in Kent has turned its expertise in finding businesses the perfect commercial property in the county to its own advantage after relocating to a new headquarters in Ashford.
The investment promotion agency, which has helped secure more than 60,000 jobs for the county over almost 20 years, moved its team of 11 from its previous base at Kings Hill to International House in Ashford at the end of July.
“Ashford is one of Kent’s best connected towns, with high speed rail links to London and the continent, and standard rail connections to Maidstone, Canterbury and West Kent,” said David Fitzsimmons, the new Chairman of Locate in Kent.
“These links can only improve following the recent good news about £2 million investment in new signalling at the station which means more international services can stop there.
“The town also lies alongside the M20 and has two motorway junctions and a third in the pipeline.”
David added that with further regeneration plans and growing office space to attract new clients, the town had an exciting future.
“While we are sad to be leaving Kings Hill, which has provided an excellent base for us over the years, having promoted Ashford’s credentials to many of our clients, it became self-evident that we would really benefit from being here ourselves,” he said.
International House was chosen because of the flexibility of the space available and its location close to both the International rail station and the town centre.
Cllr Gerry Clarkson, Leader of Ashford Borough Council, said: “We are delighted to welcome Kent and Medway’s investment promotion agency to the borough and look forward to strengthening our partnership by continuing to work closely with them to attract more companies to Ashford in the future.
“Locate in Kent’s relocation to International House, in the heart of the commercial quarter, follows Handlesbanken’s move in April and reinforces Ashford as a smart location for businesses to move, expand and prosper.
“It appears Locate in Kent has acted on its own research from its 2014 perception survey, which named Ashford as Kent’s No 1 business location.
“Ashford continues to be a big draw, with unrivalled connections to the capital and Europe, a talented workforce and attractive office rents. It’s clear – Ashford is the place to do business.”
David Fitzsimmons added: “We are looking forward to operating from our new Ashford office and continuing to attract investment to all areas of Kent and Medway in the coming years.”
