by business editor Trevor Sturgess

The South East and Kent are on their marks for a £1.6bn jobs and economic boost from the Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to a new report.

A study from the Lloyds Banking Group – a Tier One Games sponsor - suggests that construction and tourism are the main gainers, with building firms and their suppliers contributing £1.3bn by 2017.

Tourism is expected to generate £194m in gross value added (GVA) across the South East. The Games have supported, and will continue to support, around 37,000 years of employment across the region, the study says.

Nationally, the country is set for a total benefit of £16.5bn.

The Economic Impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games examines the overall impact that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are likely to have on the UK’s economy between 2005 - when London won the Games - and 2017.

While some Kent firms have complained that going for Olympic work has been too complex, the study shows that small and medium firms (SMEs) are contributing more than half (52 per cent) of the overall increase nationally.

Economic benefits for the south east have come from Olympic construction contracts and spending of wages by workers in the supply chain.

The net spending effect on tourism in the South East 2005 - 2017 is estimated at more than £110m, including £40m during the Games and £70m afterwards.

Phil Beales, area director for Lloyds TSB Commercial in Kent and East Sussex, said: “The London 2012 economic engine is being fuelled by thousands of small and medium sized businesses, many of whom are based outside London in towns and cities that might otherwise have assumed they had nothing to gain from the Games.”

He added: “The Games will present businesses with a number of tangible benefits - unprecedented opportunities for trade and a real competitive advantage in years to come; invaluable training and experience for employees; and an incredible contribution to economic activity across the UK.”

• See Kent Business - out this week with most KM Group paid-for newspapers - for more on business and the Games, including an exclusive article by Olympics minister Hugh Robertson, MP for Faversham and Mid Kent.