Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is in negotiations with a potential buyer for its operation in Kent.

The drugs company has confirmed it is meeting with a consortium about the future of its base in Sandwich.

The firm announced nearly a year ago it would be closing its Kent site, which employed 2,400 people.

Pfizer has now confirmed it is in talks with a consortium called London and Metropolitan about buying the campus, called the Discovery Park.

A Pfizer spokesman said: "Following a structured selection process, Pfizer has entered into a period of legal exclusivity with a consortium led by London & Metropolitan and financed by a major European institutional real estate investor, which could lead to the sale of the Discovery Park campus in Sandwich, Kent.

"This announcement is a positive milestone in the transition of the Discovery Park to becoming a multiple-use campus with Enterprise Zone status."

It announced in November that 650 jobs would remain at the Pfizer site.