Industry sectors

Kent has a number of advantages which contribute to our success and investor offer:

Highly strategic location for quick access to London and Europe – through Channel Tunnel links running from Ebbsfleet and Ashford.

Cost competitive location - up to 60% lower property costs in some sectors than London, together with competitive salary costs result in significantly lower operating costs than London and the South East.

Home to over 400 foreign owned businesses - Kent offers all the business advantages that makes the UK the 4th most popular destination for investment globally.

Significant additional capacity in Kent - through major regeneration activities such as those at Ebbsfleet and Ashford.

Locate in Kent has identified seven key sectors for which Kent and Medway offers competitive advantages over other locations. They are: drug discovery, medical devices and technology, software infrastructure technologies, renewable energy (wind power), insurance operations, financial and business services, and production and media broadcasting. Click on sectors on right to see propositions.

In addition to the seven main sector propositions, Kent and Medway also have a strong business community representing the following industrial sectors: automotive, aviation, call centres, creative industry, financial services, food industry, hi-tech engineering, ICT, life sciences, manufacturing, railway transport and transport and distribution. Click on other sectors to see factsheets.