by business editor Trevor Sturgess

An accounting firm reckons it adds up to open a new office at the former Pfizer site in Sandwich.

Reeves - which already operates from offices in Chatham Maritime, Canterbury, London and Gatwick - believes it is important to be close to the heart of the Grow for It in east Kent campaign, which aims to boost the area over the next few years.

Now called Discovery Park, the hope is that some 3,000 jobs will be created over the next few years to replace the thousands lost by the drug giant's shock withdrawal.

Several companies are already based there, with a combined workforce of around 1,000, including several hundred employed by Pfizer which has retained a much-reduced presence on the site.

Under the Expansion East Kent scheme, up to £35million of interest-free loans from the Regional Growth Fund are on offer to ambitious companies with high-growth potential.

Reeves' new 400 sq ft office, spearheaded by partner Scott Miles (pictured right), opens in April.

A spokesman said: "We are working on some new products that will serve the forward-looking businesses on the park, new cloud-based initiatives that will make our core offering available in the most efficient way and enable them to make best use of their resources.

"Reeves is committed to the regeneration and development of the sectors that our clients operate in. We believe that our success is a direct reflection of the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of our clients, that is why we will be a valuable part of the Discovery Park community."

The award-winning firm founded more than a century ago employs around 300 people. It was named Large Firm of the Year in the Accountancy Age Awards 2009 and twice voted the UK’s best tax practice in the LexisNexis UK Tax Awards.