Locate in Kent is to forge closer links with larger employers after being caught unawares by the Pfizer closure, it can be revealed.

Although few were told in advance about the drug giant's decision to pull out of Sandwich with the loss of thousands of jobs, it bypassed the inward investment agency's roll to safeguard employment.

That role was mainly funded by the South-East England Development Agency but SEEDA is to be axed and the cash has dried up.

Paul Wookey, LiK chief executive said the Pfizer situation had highlighted that "we have to ramp up after-care".

He would be asking the LiK board to back plans for an injection of more resources. "Not that we could probably have done anything about the Pfizer situation but there will be other instances. I would like to think we can anticipate situations better."

He added: "Part of our approach is to work a lot closer with key companies, to understand their business and the things that are driving their commercial decisions, particularly those that have global parentage."

Meanwhile, LiK will come close to achieving its target of creating 3,100 jobs in the past year. Mr Wookey said: "I think it's brilliant that we have managed to do that in what has been probably been the hardest 12 months I have ever experienced. The guys have had to work really hard."