The former Pfizer site in Sandwich has been sold for an undisclosed sum

by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Council and business chiefs have welcomed the sale of the Pfizer site amid hopes it will herald the gradual replacement of thousands of lost hi-tech jobs.

It was announced yesterday that Discovery Park, Sandwich, had been bought by a company set up for the purpose.

Trevor Cartner and Chris Musgrave teamed up with Palmer Capital to create Discovery Park Limited to buy the 297-acre site for an undisclosed sum.

They are directors of Wynyard Park, the former Samsung site in Billingham, Tees Valley, which has been transformed into a thriving business and conference centre.

Kent County Council leader Paul Carter said: "This is extremely welcome news and a major move forward for east Kent. We were set an enormous challenge by government to mitigate the withdrawal of Pfizer from its site in Sandwich.

"One of our key objectives was ensuring a bright future ahead for Sandwich – as a high-tech life sciences R&D facility – and the purchase by the Discovery Park Limited consortium builds on the foundations laid in the 18 months since Pfizer announced its decision to withdraw."

Charles Buchanan, chief executive of Manston Airport, said: "The sale sends a very strong message to the investor community that east Kent offers an opportunity for growth and commercial success. A reinvigorated scientific community at Discovery Park will be good news for the area, and for the long term prospects of the airport."

Paul Wookey, chief executive of Locate in Kent, the agency which promotes the county as a great place for business, added: "Now that there is certainty over the ownership of Discovery Park, it will strengthen the Kent proposition for companies looking to locate to a science park environment. The offering of Discovery Park is a very attractive one to life science companies and we look forward to working with the new owners to really make it a success."

Pfizer once employed more than 5,000 people on the site, and is retaining around 800.

Discovery Park is now home to just more than 1,000 jobs, but hopes are high that clusters of hi-tech businesses will decide to move into the area over the next few years, taking advantage of various financial incentives.