Discovery Park now home to a further three tenants

Published: 15-Aug-2013

Latest additions demonstrate diversity of accommodation available


Europe’s largest science, technology and business park, Discovery Park, has further increased its tenant base as Morgan Jones, Composite Resin Developments and Wilkins Kennedy move to the 220-acre site in Sandwich, Kent. The latest additions to the Park demonstrate the diversity of the site and prove that there are different types of accommodation available for businesses of all natures.

New to the Park is recruitment consultancy Morgan Jones, which has provided recruitment solutions for more than 14 years to businesses in the South East and London from established offices in Broadstairs and London Victoria. The company recruits permanent and temporary staff for a variety of organisations in multi-sector business areas including admin/clerical, pharmaceutical, engineering, sales and marketing, IT, finance, law and accountancy.

Jonathan Clarke, Managing Director, Morgan Jones, said: 'Discovery Park will provide an extension to our operation and utilise the services that are currently available to existing clients. Discovery Park represents a very exciting prospect for business in the East Kent area and we are very pleased to be part of it. We provide recruitment solutions to many businesses locally, including Pfizer Ltd, and we therefore have extensive knowledge of the geographical area, the Sandwich site specifically and the people it attracts.

'Our aim is to be at the forefront of recruitment solutions, providing an unrivalled service and attracting the very best candidates to work for the diverse and innovative businesses which are being attracted to the fabulous facilities that Discovery Park has to offer.

We have a number of plans that will benefit our overall business for the next three years. Primarily, we will continue to develop our services, integrate new experienced staff into the business to support our on-going apprenticeship scheme and expand our already thriving London operation.

As an accredited business with a significant number of temporary and contract staff along, of course with our permanent employees, we will continue to supply superb candidates to businesses throughout the South East and provide an unparalleled service.'

Composite Resin Developments, which creates innovative composite solutions, is moving its entire factory space from Margate to Discovery Park as a result of business expansion and was scheduled to commence manufacturing in September 2013.

Mike Jackson, Managing Director, CRD said: 'Relocating to a facility that offers 8,000ft2 of quality manufacturing space has enabled us to expand the company and our product range, with a focus on exporting goods. We currently employ five people but hope to expand this to 10 within the next 12 months. The facilities, location and quality of the buildings are superb at Discovery Park and we look forward to increasing business opportunities in the future.'

Wilkins Kennedy, which provides accounting and business advisory services across the UK and abroad, has opened its third site in Kent, alongside offices in Ashford and Orpington, bringing its total to 12 regional workplaces across the South East. The base at Discovery Park will act as regional office for Ashford, to ensure the whole county is adequately serviced across the company’s regional network.

A variety of initiatives, which are bringing significant investment into the area, coupled with the ongoing development at Discovery Park, attracted Wilkins Kennedy to further expand in this area of the south east.

Derek Read, Associate Manager at Wilkins Kennedy, said: 'Following the investment in the Turner Contemporary Centre, alongside central and regional government regeneration initiatives, a significant level of research has been undertaken and there are several initiatives bringing investment into the area, such as the Portas Pilot Pop Up Scheme, the Grow For It In Kent campaign and the East Kent Expansion Fund loans. These initiatives, coupled with the development of Discovery Park and Manston Airport, make the region an exciting place to be doing business and we were attracted to the site because of its potential and the potential of the surrounding areas.

'As a top 20 UK growing chartered accountancy and business advisory firm with 60 partners and more than 400 members of staff, we are thrilled to be opening our third office in Kent. The contemporary offices at Discovery Park offer world class facilities and we look forward to connect with our new clients in the region.

'The plan for the practice is to develop a regional office space capable of providing professional advice to a wide range of clients. We have a specialist department dealing in research and development tax credit claims and this could be of interest to other companies that have already relocated to Discovery Park and to those that are considering a move to the Park or East Kent.'

Anna Stone, Leasing Manager, Discovery Park, said: 'We are delighted to bring on board a further three businesses and this is another welcome boost for the park and for the East Kent region. Over the course of the last nine months we have introduced 36 new organisations to the site covering a diverse range of industries in a variety of work spaces from offices to warehouses and laboratories to manufacturing facilities. As such, the Park is now on its way to becoming an enterprise hub where businesses of all sectors can share, connect and engage.'

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