The French are not only doing well in the Olympic medal table, they are also leading the line-up of European firms looking to move to Kent.

Latest figures from Locate in Kent, the agency that promotes the county as a great place for business, show that enterprises from across the Channel are saying "Oui" to a Kentish address.

Over the past five years, 17 companies from France have either relocated to Kent or reaffirmed their commitment to the county, compared to 12 from Germany. The United States narrowly edged out the French for overall top spot with 18.

LiK expects another gold rush of French inward investment as President Francois Hollande upsets high earners and entrepreneurs with a proposed tax hike of 75% and scrapping tax breaks on overtime.

According to LiK, the UK is now seen as such an attractive destination for French people that the equivalent population of the sixth largest French city now live in London. Officials are determined to tap into this new-found amour for les rosbifs and woo them to Le Jardin d’Angleterre.

It has hired a French agency to promote the advantages of a Kentish location and generate leads for the Kings Hill-based organisation. It is also targeting shows across Europe with a focus on sector opportunities such as wind energy in German and Denmark, and life sciences in the US.

"There are many reasons for these very encouraging figures, not least that as an organisation we have been working hard to generate opportunities from northern Europe, and particularly France," said LiK chief executive Paul Wookey, pictured above left.

Over the past five years, LiK has seen growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) from 16% to 28%. In the last financial year, 21 overseas companies set up in Kent, or grew their existing business in the county, creating or retaining nearly 1,500 jobs, 46% of all jobs brought to the county by LiK. That was the highest number of jobs created by foreign investment for five years.

Recent successes include South African company Document Warehouse bringing 200 jobs to Ashford and a German distribution company creating 23 jobs in Medway.

LiK has also signed a deal with UK Trade and Investment, giving it access to the UK database of all overseas companies interested in coming to the country and enabling it to more precisely target those that might be suited to Kent and Medway.

"It is important that we continue to generate FDI projects and convert them into success, as figures show that on average they result in more jobs than UK-based companies investing in Kent," Mr Wookey added.