Kent has been named one of Europe’s top future regions and rated "business-friendly."

Two accolades were bestowed on the county by FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) magazine, part of the Financial Times, at a ceremony in the South of France.

The UK swept the awards this year, with London scooping seven out of the 13 prizes.

But Kent made two appearance in the awards. It came fourth in the 25 Top European Regions, headed only by Scotland, Flanders and Northern Ireland.

It beat off competition from major areas such as Southern Poland, Western France, Valencia, the Swiss city of Basle, Lancashire and the French Riviera’s Cote d’Azur.

Kent also came 10th in the top 10 most business friendly regions.

Locate in Kent, the inward investment agency, entered the awards marked by a panel of independent judges against seven criteria - best economic potential, most business friendly, quality of life, human resources, cost effectiveness, infrastructure and most attractive for foreign investment.

Cllr Alex King, deputy leader of Kent County Council, was presented with the award by magazine editor Courtney Fingar during the MIPIM property and development expo held in Cannes.

He said it was a prestigious award that would be used to promote the county. Paul Wookey, chief executive of Locate in Kent, the inward investment agency, was already in Cannes and celebrated the award.

"Kent’s propostiion for overseas businesses really speaks for itself," he said. "WE have assisted companies from the United States, German, France, the Netherlands, South Africa and Ireland create in excess of 1,000 new jobs in the county just this year, a considerable increase on last year."

Full report on MIPIM in the next issue of Kent Business.