A FAST-GROWING financial business has opened new offices with space for 250 more people.

Cabot Financial unveiled 1 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, a £5million building, to guests and clients at a reception. It increases space from 19,000 sq ft in the former Kings Hill building to 44,000 sq ft.

The business has grown from small beginnings at Kings Hill in 1999 to a multi-million pound business employing 350 people.

Growth has come from its pioneering concept of buying debt from lending institutions.

Soaring debt levels among consumers, now as high as £3 billion, has placed Cabot Financial in the right place at the right time.

Banks and other lenders have been keen to offload their debt book to specialist companies like Cabot.

Ken Maynard, group chief executive, said he never thought the original offices would fill up but the debt for sale market had gone "into overdrive". Staff numbers had soared from 20 in 1999 to 350 today.

"Without changing its configuration, in this building we can grow to about 600 so it gives us a great opportunity to move forward," he said.

"We’ve now got a fantastic facility to continue to grow in what seems to be an ever-burgeoning debt sale market."

Cabot Financial was recently named South East Business of the Year and South East Employer of the Year in the National Business Awards. It was runner-up for the nUK award in both categories.