By political editor Paul Francis

Trading companies run by Kent County Council are set to make record profits this year, more than doubling the amount they made in a single year.

Unaudited accounts for the authority’s recruitment arm - Kent Top Temps and its commercial bus operator Kent Top Travel - indicate they are expected to make a profit after tax of £423,054 this year, compared with £248,069 in 2009.

The increased profit margin will be a fillip to the authority, which has developed a string of companies in different sectors as a way of raising money and contributing more than £6m each year to the council’s coffers.

However, some Kent businesses have expressed concern at the scale of the county council’s involvement in commercial trading through arms-length companies. Bus companies and recruitment agencies were particularly critical about what they regarded as unfair competition.

However, an independent auditors’ report published last year cleared KCC of claims that it was operating at an unfair advantage.

Now figures indicate that KCC’s presence in the commercial sector is bringing increased dividends for taxpayers.

In the case of Kent Top Temps, the company recorded a profit of £248,068 in 2009 on a turnover of £14.4m, which had been £7.3m in 2008.

Unaudited accounts for 2010 suggest an even bigger profit, with the company expected to record a profit of £423,054 on a turnover that has risen to £24.5m.

The increase in profit margins is being attributed to the development of "new industry sectors" in the recruitment field.

Cllr Roger Gough (Con), KCC cabinet member for corporate services, said the profits did not mean that Kent-based companies were being squeezed as much of the new business was being generated outside the county.

"We are getting an increased share of business from outside Kent and we are also contracting smaller businesses in Kent. We are performing at least as well as we expected and in some areas, we are performing exceptionally well," he said.