HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years

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1 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years November 2017

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3 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 1 Foreword As we celebrate its 10th birthday this November it is clear that in HS1 we have a world class high speed rail service with unrivalled efficiency and passenger satisfaction. The nation s first high speed railway is a catalyst for growth, generating economic, cultural and social value in the regions it serves and the UK more widely. We have undertaken a wide ranging programme of meetings and research projects this year to understand the extent to which HS1 has benefited Kent and the UK. From opening up Kent s visitor economy to supporting businesses of all sizes in their growth, the results we found are remarkable. Working in partnership with both international and domestic train operators, HS1 supports businesses across the Kent region and the country. This booklet presents real life examples of how HS1 has helped 10 of the most exciting businesses in Kent to grow and prosper. Citing the line s role in bringing both London and Europe closer, these businesses show how HS1 is increasing the regional talent pool and attracting spending and investment. This was also reflected in our business survey, which sought insights from a wider list of Kent based companies: 91 per cent stated that their business benefits from HS1 and 89 per cent said that the line has made Kent a more attractive place to set up a business. As custodians of HS1, it is our role to provide world class connectivity, to continually improve services and to increase the value HS1 generates. Kent is becoming an increasingly attractive place to set up a business, and companies established in the region are ambitious in their growth plans. With every survey respondent believing that HS1 will play an important role in the future growth of Kent, we must and we will ensure that the line can meet the ambition of the region over the next ten years and beyond. Dyan Crowther Chief Executive, HS1 Ltd

4 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 2 Foreword HS1 has had a major impact on the county over the past decade, driving well over 300m into the local visitor economy alone, and enabling Kent businesses to boast outstanding connectivity among their USPs. It s added a new dynamic to Kent, transforming the business community and opening the region up to new markets and audiences. Its connectivity has been crucial to individuals and businesses alike, providing accessibility to the capital without the considerable costs of being based there. Since the launch of HS1 Locate in Kent, the county s official investment promotions agency, has most definitely seen a boost in the number of new and established business moving into the county. Since 2007 Locate in Kent has helped 657 companies move to, set-up or expand in Kent, creating or retaining 35,583 jobs. In 2016 alone we helped 46 businesses commit to relocating or expanding in Kent, leading to the creation or retention of 3,042 jobs, with 678 as a result of investment from overseas. HS1 has played a key role over the past 10 years in supporting our success. Connectivity is a crucial part of any business and by providing easy access to London and Europe, as well as helping bring highly skilled talent into the county, companies in Kent are really benefitting from HS1. Kent is fortunate to have such an outstanding service - something unique that no other county has - and it s something we are very proud of. It s been a successful decade but the full potential of Kent s business community is yet to be realised. The future looks full of promise as we look towards the next 10 years and beyond. Paul Wookey Chief Executive, Locate in Kent

5 HS1 AT Businesses at 10 Years

6 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 4 Chapel Down Chapel Down is England s leading winemaker, sourcing all its fruit from the South-East of England. Over the past seven years, the company has enjoyed extraordinary success, with an annual compound growth of 25%. The company recently moved its headquarters to Ashford, noting that access to HS1 via Ashford International has brought London closer, increasing access to talent and the general interest in the business. Frazer Thompson, the company s Chief Executive, notes that the hires of Mark Harvey (former Director at LVMH) and Gareth Bath (former Managing Director of Brewdog) are a testament to the region s growing attractiveness to top talent. Chapel Down s winery in Tenterden has also seen more footfall due to HS1, with visitors encouraged to travel from London via HS1 to taste the fine wines on offer. In addition, the company recently announced that it will be opening a new stateof-the-art brewery and visitor attraction the Curious Brewery - in The brewery is set to be built right next to Ashford International Station to take full advantage of the transport connectivity for both visitors and employees. To maintain such impressive growth rates Chapel Down will continue to recruit more of the very best people to their winery, brewery, associated shops and restaurant as well as attracting thousands of new visitors to Kent.

7 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 5 HS1 has been the catalyst for all the regeneration you see in Ashford today. The brewery is at the very heart of it. With a college, a brewery and proper railway station, Ashford is on its way to being a great town. Nearly a million people are now using HS1 for leisure, which is great for our business. Frazer Thompson, CEO at Chapel Down

8 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 6 Lall Property Group Lall Property Group is a property investment company, with a rented property portfolio worth 10 million across Kent. The company was founded in 2010 by Shahan Lall, a local resident who was born and grew up in Kent. He attributes the opening of HS1 as one of the main reasons for starting his business. Shahan says that he saw the opportunity that the new transport infrastructure provided for the region, especially for the property market which offered an alternative to those living in London, in addition to allowing residents in Kent better access to London. Shahan argues that HS1 s biggest impact on the region has been the rapid migration of people and businesses from London to Kent. Developers, clients, investors and residents have all looked more favourably on Kent due to its connectivity, leading to an increased demand and value in property within the region. This has led to Lall Property Group moving into new markets further into east Kent, such as Folkstone an area which Shahan explains has become more attractive due to its connection to London via HS1. Lall Property Group has grown from just 3 full-time staff to 18 in its first 7 years of operation. It has developed eight housing communities in Kent and provided office spaces for many growing businesses. In the next four years the company aims to reach its 150 million turnover target by increasing its expansion throughout Kent. This will move the business ever closer to its ten-year target of hitting a 1 billion turnover. To facilitate this growth, Shahan is looking at opening an office in Greenwich to support the business s connection to the London market and link with investors. However, passionate about driving Lall Property Group s success from his home county, Shahan reiterates that his business will always remain a Kent-based company.

9 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 7 I knew Kent was going to be a gamechanger as long as it had the right infrastructure and connections. I saw the change when High Speed 1 fully opened in 2007, with the connections going into London and to the coast making it the gateway to Europe. That was the reason I decided to start the company. Shahan Lall, CEO at Lall Property Group

10 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 8 Dovetail Games Dovetail Games is a British video game developer and publisher based in Chatham, Kent. Dovetail is the company behind games such as Train Simulator, and is using cutting edge techniques to explore virtual reality technology. Over the past 9 years the company has grown rapidly with annual turnover increasing 15 fold since In 2015, the success and growth at Dovetail drew the interest of the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, who visited the company s offices and praised their expansion and success in the Medway area. The company was originally based in Guildford, but Paul Jackson, Co-Founder and CEO of Dovetail Games, credits HS1 s connections to Stratford and central London as one of the drivers of the move to Chatham. Complementing the hugely successful Train Simulator, the organisation has even based a simulation game on HS1. Paul recounts how he and the team travelled on the Javelin trains during the game s production to make sure they could recreate every detail. The game went on to be one of Dovetail s most successful gaming products to date. Dovetail has had a strong impact on the Medway area, generating over 100 high value, high skilled jobs. The company is such a success that it has become a key part of the local government s efforts to attract future technology businesses to invest in the area. The company is on course to double in size in the next five years and is also hoping to expand through targeting new international product markets in India and China.

11 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 9 The introduction of HS1 to Kent was one of the drivers in moving our head office from Guildford to Chatham. Since our move, the high speed connections to and from London have been instrumental in helping our business grow. Paul Jackson, CEO and Co-Founder at Dovetail Games

12 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 10 Malcolm Hollis Malcolm Hollis is the largest and one of the longest established independent building surveying consultants, and has grown considerably over the last ten years. The firm has around 340 people working from 22 offices across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe. Part of Malcolm Hollis growth has involved the opening of new offices in key regional locations, of which one of these is Ashford. Malcolm Hollis has also grown the service lines they offer and has moved from being a traditional commercial building surveying firm, to offering a full suite of building consultancy services. The services provided by the Kent office include landlord and tenant matters, technical due diligence and refurbishments, topographical surveys and 3D laser scanning as part of the firm s measured surveys service. The proximity of the Malcolm Hollis Ashford office to HS1 has also been useful for when the firm has to travel to France to complete clients instructions, which previously needed to be serviced by the London office. The presence of their Ashford office has allowed the business to reduce travel time and build key client contacts in the region. Since Malcolm Hollis opened the Ashford office in March 2016, the team has doubled in size and the plan is to continue recruiting to meet their growing workload as they develop new and existing relationships with clients. HS1 was a significant influence on Malcolm Hollis decision to expand into Kent and set up the Ashford office. On the opening of the office, Mike Turner, Partner at Malcolm Hollis said: Ashford is a perfect location for Malcolm Hollis because it allows us to expand on the work we already do throughout Kent, but also gives us a base from which we can service parts of mainland Europe. Ashford s rail connectivity allows the team at Malcolm Hollis to reach a wide range of locations across Kent quickly and easily, and has strengthened the service the firm can provide while remaining only 37 minutes from the Capital. Additionally, HS1 has helped the team ensure it can bring the right people to the right projects more easily, with the rail line allowing specialists from around the country to meet with clients in and around the Kent region.

13 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 11 Ashford is a perfect location for Malcolm Hollis because HS1 allows us to expand on the work we already do throughout Kent, but also gives us a rapid link to mainland Europe so we can service parts of the Continent. Mike Turner, Partner at Malcolm Hollis

14 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 12 Ministry for Growth Ministry for Growth is a Business Management Consultancy firm based in Chatham, Kent. The firm was founded in October 2013, and now employs an executive team of five people, in addition to over thirty experts as part of its advisory panel. When it launched four years ago, the company focused 80% of business on Kentbased clients, but have now been able to expand its network in London due to the accessibility provided by HS1. Deb Sen, one of the founding members of Ministry for Growth, notes how his company has used the high speed line to travel to and from London over thirty-six times in the last nine months alone, using alternative routes only five times in comparison. He says that the route is their main point of access to The Office Group working space based in Pancras Square, where they host and conduct meetings with many of their London-based and international clients. Deb credits HS1 as having unlocked the company s networking capabilities. The rapid access to London and the Continent has been key in allowing employees to attend business events and roundtables, in addition to securing new business opportunities. Deb says that the future looks very bright for the company, and expects that it will have doubled its turnover by 2018.

15 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 13 HS1 has most definitely brought London much closer to us. We wanted to do more business in London, and we have achieved this. Den Sen, Director at Ministry for Growth

16 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 14 Zest the Agency Zest is a full-service integrated marketing agency based on the outskirts of Maidstone, with more than 20 years experience within the communications industry. The company delivers marketing, PR, digital, creative and social media services to a broad range of local, national and international clients. In the past 14 months, the business has more than doubled its employee base by attracting talent from London and the surrounding areas. HS1 has played a major role in this expansion and given greater access to talent, with many of the company s employees happy to use the service to commute to Kent. Belinda Collins, Group Managing Director of Zest The Agency, believes that the business s location in Kent has put them at an advantage over their London competitors. For example, her team can travel into London for client meetings in just over forty minutes (door to door) on the high speed service, while other agencies can struggle to travel across London in that time via the underground. Belinda says that in the coming years she hopes to expand the business by setting up a new satellite office in London, and then into other cities across the UK as Zest grows further. Despite these growth plans, she says that the business is committed to keeping its Head Office in Lords Wood, Kent. According to Belinda, the agency s rapid growth in recent years has only been made possible because of HS1. If the infrastructure wasn t available, she predicts that the Zest team would have had to set up in reverse, starting in London, and then expanding out to Kent at a later date.

17 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 15 The ease and speed at which we can get into London, and beyond, from the Kent office is fantastic. Gone are the days when a client meeting in the capital meant a large amount of time would be wasted travelling. With HS1 on our doorstep we re able to work more efficiently and be more flexible, making Zest an even more desirable agency for prospective and existing clients. Belinda Collins, Managing Director at Zest

18 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 16 AbBaltis AbBaltis is a biological technology company based in Sittingbourne, Kent. Founded seven years ago by the now Managing Director, Giedre Brandao, the company has rapidly grown from its establishment, where she worked alone, to today employing 7 people and producing annual sales worth 500m. The company s success was recently recognised with a Queen s Award for Enterprise (2015). Giedre says that HS1 has increased the business s connectivity to London, and with Eurostar, to the continent. In addition, many of Giedre s employees use the line to get to and from work. According to Giedre the line has also offered opportunities for convenient travel to London for training and events, in addition to expanding their market with clients in France all without the hassle of having to go to an airport. During its seven years as a business, AbBaltis has grown wholly organically with no outside investment or funding. In the near future, the business hopes to expand its offices and employ more skilled people to support growth. Giedre is also aiming to increase AbBaltis international trade, adding new markets such as Japan to its portfolio, as well as producing a range of new products.

19 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 17 As an international business quick and easy access to Eurostar has enabled us to visit our customers on the Continent more often, helping the company to grow. HS1 has also broadened our potential talent pool, as we re able to attract employees from a wider area. Overall we believe that being within close proximity to HS1 has really benefited our business. Giedre Brandao, Managing Director at AbBaltis Ltd

20 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 18 Kent Science Park Kent Science Park is a science park based in Sittingbourne, Kent. The Park offers high specification laboratories to rent, as well as office and manufacturing space. The organisation has been running for over twenty years, and grown by 30% in terms of tenants in the past six months. Patrick Benham-Crosswell, the Site Director, credits much of this growth to HS1 which has enabled his organisation to compete with London counterparts in terms of quality, but at a fraction of the cost. Patrick explains how his team aim to market themselves by utilising their connectivity with London via the high speed service, luring new business to relocate to their Science Park from London, to the Medway towns. Internationally, connection to the high speed rail link is seen as a major attraction too. In turn, this has led to the Science Park becoming a notable employer in the area, especially for highly-skilled workers from science, technology, engineering and manufacturing (STEM) backgrounds. At present, the organisation is home to a workforce of around 1,800 people. In the next 3 years however, Kent Science Park plans to double the number of people working in the Park to 3,600, by expanding the space for businesses on the site by 100%.

21 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 19 HS1 has enabled Kent Science Park to compete with London locations; we offer higher quality but at a fraction of the cost. We are able to market ourselves both locally and internationally by showcasing our connection with the high speed rail link as it s seen as a major attraction to businesses. Crucially, HS1 provides a significant boost to Kent s economy and proves we really are a premier business location. Patrick Benham-Crosswell, Site Director at Kent Science Park

22 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 20 PageSuite PageSuite is a digital publishing company with offices based in Aldington and Smeeth in Kent, London and Boston, USA. The company was founded by Nathan Parrett in 2006, and now employs around 60 full-time staff across their four offices. Lucy Tozer, PageSuite s Senior Vice President of Marketing, notes that the opening of HS1 has proven pivotal in the growth and development of the organisation. The company makes full use of the high speed connection with one of its offices based just five minutes from St Pancras International station. She also notes the connectivity that the Eurostar service provides the business, with the PageSuite team and clients often using it to travel to and from the Continent for business. The company plays an active role in helping young people in the region gain skills and employment. For example, it recruits and mentors local university, college and secondary school students, and offers a placement programme for young people to gain experience in the publishing industry. In the near future, the company aims to open a larger office in central Ashford to support its growth and to benefit further from Ashford International Station and its high speed connections.

23 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 21 HS1 has benefited PageSuite in two vital ways. Firstly, it gives us the ability to be in central London within the hour meaning that we re able to maximise our time and meet clients easily and conveniently throughout the week. Secondly, it s also helped us to expand as a business due to the great connection into St Pancras. We made the decision to open an office close to the station and now our development staff are able to travel easily between Kent and London for internal meetings, training and company events. Lucy Tozer, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Pagesuite

24 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 22 Sleeping Giant Media Sleeping Giant Media is a Search and Social Marketing Agency based in Folkstone, Kent. The company was founded in 2008, and now has a full-time team of 40 employees. Luke Quilter, the company s CEO, says that HS1 has improved the region s connectivity, making travel much more convenient to and from London. He notes also that the economic and cultural growth in the region catalysed by HS1 has meant that Kent is a more attractive place to live. He has therefore been able to hire all but one of his staff from the local area with the one other employee using the high speed line to commute to and from the office. Sleeping Giant Media themselves note that HS1 has been a main factor in both starting and keeping their business in the Kent region, and firmly believe that the line will be integral to the future growth of the area. In the near future, the company aims to increase its staff size and double the size of its business in terms of growth.

25 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years 23 HS1 has brought our business closer to London, making our travel and operations in and out of the capital even more convenient and quick. HS1 has clearly been a catalyst for economic growth in the region, and has made Kent a much more attractive place to live. Luke Quilter, CEO at Sleeping Giant Media

26 HS1 AT 10 Celebrating 10 Businesses at 10 Years Businesses at 10 Years HS1 Ltd asked a cross section of businesses in Kent how HS1 has supported them in their growth: 91% said that their business has benefitted from HS1 89% said that HS1 has made Kent a more attractive place to set up a business Over one third said that HS1 was a factor when choosing to set up their business in Kent Over 80% said that HS1 has helped their business grow 100% said that HS1 will play an important role in the future growth of Kent Survey based on 33 leading companies and organisations in Kent

27 Contact HS1 Ltd Leonie Martin Tel:

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