Developers and investors across the UK are being invited to attend an exclusive event in London this week  to find out how they can benefit from investment opportunities in Ashford.

The breakfast briefing, ‘Ashford: On the Right Track’, will be hosted by Ashford’s Future, the agency overseeing the town’s development, and aims to show what Ashford has to offer in terms of financial growth and return on investment.

Judith Armitt, managing director of Ashford’s Future, says: “The event is a must for property developers, surveyors, investors, or anyone else who wants to turn an opportunity into a project and reap the benefits of Ashford’s growing success as a major business hub.

“Those attending will learn first-hand why so many businesses are locating to Ashford, how investment capital is being allocated, why Ashford offers such a good ROI in a difficult financial environment, and how they can become involved in the Ashford success story.”

Such is the investment potential in Ashford that companies are locating there at twice the rate of any other South Eastern town. That trend is expected to continue as Ashford gears up for the launch of high-speed domestic rail services in 2009, which will cut the journey time to London to just 37 minutes.

“The domestic high-speed rail service will make a huge difference,” says Judith Armitt. “Location is critical to Ashford’s success, with excellent rail, road, air and sea links providing businesses with easy access to 360 million consumers across Europe.

"The new fast link between Kent and St Pancras will further strengthen Ashford’s attractiveness as a business location and a great place to live.

“The decision to reintroduce a direct daily service between Brussels-Midi and Ashford will also bring excellent opportunities for tourism and trading links between Ashford’s business community and Northern Europe, reinforcing Ashford’s reputation as the place to do business on an international scale.”

Ashford is pursuing an ambitious £2.5bn development strategy, including the creation of 28,000 jobs, the building of 31,000 homes, and development of 2 million square feet of commercial space.

Ashford is already home to 5,000 companies across a wide range of business sectors, from food processing, manufacturing and engineering to business services industries.

They include Brakes, the UK’s top food service supplier; Givaudan, the world’s largest fragrance company; and Hitachi Rail Maintenance, which opened its state-of-the-art train maintenance centre in Ashford last October.

‘Ashford: On the Right Track’ will be held from 8 to 9.30am on Thursday, 25 September 2008, at The British Library Conference Centre, St Pancras, London.

Speakers will include Cllr Paul Clokie, Ashford Borough Council leader and chairman of Ashford’s Future Partnership Board; Judith Armitt, managing director of Ashford’s Future; Robyn Pyle, chairman of Ashford’s Future and head of Urban Community Development with Land Securities Group; Paul Wookey, chief executive of Locate in Kent; and Emma Goodford, partner, National Offices at Knight Frank.

To attend the briefing, which is free and includes a complimentary breakfast, register now.

Media Release 0212/08

03/09/2008