Investment pillars

Finding the right location isn’t just about discovering the right office, factory site or team. The Kent and Medway region of England is the perfect place to live too.

The closest part of the United Kingdom to mainland Europe and on the doorstep of London, Kent and Medway has all the benefits of the capital but with more space to breathe, think and inspire. Live here and the first question is where? The creative coastal scene, growing university cities, prosperous market towns or historic weatherboarded villages. With new garden villages and towns on the way, the choice is growing

Finding the right location isn’t just about locating the right office or factory site with space to grow. The Kent and Medway region of England will help you find the right team to deliver success too.

From the next generation of digital innovators to pioneering life scientists, young professionals to logistics experts, this is a place with all the talent to meet your needs. Kent and Medway is a place where companies can tap into a growing population of 1.8 million and the advantages of being on the doorstep of London.

Kent’s working age population is set to increase by 15% by 2039, adding to a highly skilled workforce supporting well established sectors including food and drink, life sciences, creative and digital, manufacturing and construction.

The right location is about more than the space you occupy. Being able to reach your customers and get your products to market is vital too.

Kent and Medway is one of the best connected locations in the United Kingdom and the only one with direct links by car, rail and ferry to mainland Europe through the Channel Tunnel Le Shuttle or across the English Channel.

This is a place that is just 17 minutes at its closest point from central London on what remains the country’s first and only high-speed rail line. Coastal Kent is no more than an hour away, perfect for exploring and connecting with creatives based in Margate or Folkestone or enjoying lunch at one of our world leading science parks.

When it comes to easy access there’s no place like Kent.

The right location for your business isn’t just about the office or factory site with space to grow. Across Kent and Medway, you’ll also discover existing networks of expertise to support you and your success.

From creative and digital to manufacturing; life sciences to food and drink; construction to distribution, this is a place where businesses like yours are already established building strength in numbers.

Kent and Medway is also a place where the support you will need from marketing to legal support and all the stops along the supply chain are easy to find. An ecosystem of success built for getting things done.

Finding a place for sustainable growth is as vital as the location for your business. The Kent and Medway region of England is the perfect place to protect the planet too.

This well-connected part of the United Kingdom is integrated into a transport network linking London and mainland Europe that allows people to drive less, if they choose, with hydrogen fuelled buses and the UK’s only high-speed train network among the options.

For businesses, Kent and Medway is full of opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovators to embrace the green economy with a greater reliance on renewable energy sources backed up with ground breaking research that is taking place right here.

Helping businesses to find the right location for their office or production space can be a complex business. At Invest Kent we aim to remove the hassle and make your move here a smooth one.

Invest Kent is the official inward investment agency for Kent and Medway.
Part of Kent County Council and Medway Council, our mission has always been to drive job creation in the region through supporting investment in economic growth, especially inward investment.

Kent offers a highly competitive proposition for distribution and fulfilment operations, underpinned by its strategic location at the UK’s primary gateway to Europe. With immediate access to the Port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel, businesses can move goods quickly and efficiently between the UK and continental markets. This proximity significantly reduces transit times and costs, making Kent an ideal base for national distribution centres, international logistics hubs, and time-sensitive supply chains.

The county also benefits from excellent connectivity to London and the wider UK via the M20, M2 and national motorway network, enabling seamless onward distribution. A strong pipeline of logistics parks and warehousing developments, particularly in locations such as Ashford and Dartford, provides modern, scalable space designed to meet the needs of contemporary distribution operations.

In addition, Kent’s established logistics ecosystem and skilled workforce support efficient and reliable operations. Businesses locating in the county benefit from access to experienced supply chain professionals, competitive operating costs, and a collaborative business environment. Together, these strengths position Kent as one of the UK’s most attractive locations for distribution and fulfilment investment.

Finding the right location for your business all starts with finding the place that will best connect you to your customer base within the UK and overseas.

Kent and Medway, located on the doorstep of London and the only part of England directly connected to Europe is an outward focused place with all the right connections to build your business success.

The region alone has a growing population of 1.8 million but locating here brings you within easy reach of major urban centres across Britain all contributing to the success of the world’s sixth largest economy.

With four motorways it easy to get your products and components transported through the UK’s busiest international ferry port at Dover or through the Channel Tunnel aboard Eurotunnel Le Shuttle. Gatwick and Heathrow Airport, City and Stansted all within easy reach.

Kent and Medway has the right environment, the best talent and the most extensive networks, it’s a region where brilliant ideas are today realising their potential and returning on investment.

From new crops able to withstand a changing climate to globally important life science research and sustainable green technology development – it’s a place where the exploration of exciting innovations is happening every day.

Across Kent and Medway an ecosystem of research and development that brings together industry with the region’s leading scientists and academics, has long been established, and it’s growing.

Our existing science parks have plans to double in size. More laboratory, production and manufacturing space are on the way across the region adding to a health and life science sector that is already booming with the number of
jobs growing by almost a fifth in five years.

The Golden Triangle is taking on a new shape. With exciting clusters and incubators such as those managed through Growing Kent and Medway, and the new Barclays Eagle Labs at Discovery Park, there is a buzz about the region right now. From food and drink production and increased automation to hydrogen fuel to power public transport, Kent is embracing innovation, encouraging start-ups and helping businesses to scale up success.