News | Page 20

Housebuilding and construction group Galliford Try has managed to secure the £38m contract for the Kent County Council’s ‘Excellent Homes for All’ scheme, a news report in the local media has revealed. Approximately 240 houses are expected to be built by Galliford Try’s Partnerships business under the terms of the deal.

Gatwick Airport’s railway station is set to undergo a £50m redevelopment process as a part of an ample infrastructure development plan in the area, a news report in the local business media has revealed. The scheme will run over the next 20 years, will also confirm an agreed UK guarantee the £1bn Northern Line extension to Battersea in London.

East Kent College has managed to secure £9.7m of government funding in order to help it develop its Broadstairs campus, a brand new report in the local media has revealed.

The Kent & Medway Economic Partnership, a high level public and private sector group led by Kent and Medway business leaders, is drawing up a very ambitious, short and medium-term plan to support economic growth in Kent over the next six years, a news report in the local business media has revealed.

The UK government has just revealed the new City Deal for Portsmouth and Southampton yesterday, under which it will will provide £953m of investment into the areas, create 17,000 jobs and set up the new £5.8m Solent Jobs Pilot, a joint investment proposal to help 1,000 long-term unemployed people.

The 299-acre former Betteshanger Colliery near Dover is set to be transformed into an impressive business park, as part of a regeneration scheme worth £100m, a news report in the local business media has revealed.

RM plc, a school management software company based in Abingdon, in rural Oxfordshire, has just revealed plans to make up to 300 of its staff members redundant, as part of a major reorganisation process designed to cut losses.

Chinese technology giant Huawei has recently revealed plans to build a brand-new £124.8m research and development centre in the UK, a news report in the business media has revealed. The move is a part of the company’s $2bn investment commitment to the UK and, as a part of this project, Huawei plans to bolster its ranks from 80 to 300 members of staff in the UK by 2017, the majority of which will be actively involved in the research and development activities.

Small innovative businesses across the South East have been invited to bid for cash from a £37.5m fund, led by experienced tech investor Dr Simon Murdoch, a news report in the local business media has revealed. The scheme, called Episode 1, is the 14th Enterprise Capital Fund, a government scheme to support fund managers who invest in small, high growth businesses, and has already attracted £12.5m of private investment, alongside £25m from the government.

Plans for building a 38,000 sq ft logistics complex on Imperial Way, 1km from Junction 11 of the M4, have been submitted by Slough-based property developer Segro to the Reading Borough Council, a news report in the local business media has revealed.

Recent figures released by Bibby Financial Services have revealed that around 72% of the SMEs in the South East region have not sought out external funding support. As a news report in the local media informs us, most of the companies participating in the survey would rather rely on existing sources of income, rather than seeking out external ones.

The planning committee at East Hampshire District Council gave developers the green light for creating a business park with 59,202 sq ft of commercial property space on land at Buckmore Farm in Petersfield.