THE MAYOR of Maidstone has praised a local entrepreneur for choosing to stay in the "cool" borough.

Cllr Pat Marshall officially opened the new headquarters of PJJS Management Services close to the golf driving range at Langley Park, Sutton Road, Maidstone.

The company, run by Peter Smith, former county chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, moved from Warmlake Estate, Sutton Valence.

Cllr Marshall said: "I'm very pleased they have chosen to relocate within the borough and not outside. Maidstone now has a cool image and they have done the cool thing. It proves that the county town really is cool for business."

Mr Smith, a keen golfer, said he had looked at a number of possible locations but had plumped for Langley Park. "I'm delighted to carry on working here," he said. "It's a very dynamic and expanding area."

Mr Smith has taken a nine-year lease on the new HQ. His business specialises in property and telecommunications.

The letting side of the business was launched in the early 1990s and now has a portfolio of properties from Chatham to the Weald.