Business community growth for Discovery Park
Three new tenants from widely different sectors
One of Europe’s leading science and technology parks has welcomed three new tenants to its growing community. New additions HOTcraze, Fresh House Cleaning and New Appointments Group are the latest businesses to join Discovery Park, based at Sandwich in Kent.
Specialising in the sales of cool gadgets and crazy gizmos, HOTcraze has consolidated its offices and now runs its whole business from the Park. A former employee of Pfizer, Jean-Francois Chodecki launched the company in 2007 and has since been running it along with his son Christian and wife Christina. The family business is continuously expanding its product range and services and following the move to Discovery Park, it has employed a Sales Executive, Stephanie Krysta. HOTcraze currently sells its unique gifts and unusual lifestyle products online across the UK, Europe and as afar afield as Australia.
'As our company is made up of ex-Pfizer employees, we knew the site really well and know that the Discovery Park brand and business is very strong,' said Chodecki. 'The facilities on the park are top of the range. It is a great, vibrant business community and it’s amazing to see how the site has developed and increased in tenants over the last year.
'By conducting market research and trend analysis of upcoming products on a weekly basis, we aim to increase our market share and we hope to double our team by the end of this year. This is a very exciting year for us and we are especially looking forward to the future and to see how the company progresses.'
Professional cleaning services firm Fresh House Cleaning moved its entire office to Discovery Park in the summer and is already planning to expand its business with the provision of a car valet and ironing service for tenants. Dan Smith, managing director, said: 'After hearing about the park from friends, and the growing interest in our previous office, Discovery Park was the ideal place to relocate to. The long-term plan the park hopes to achieve is fantastic and we instantly admired the potential it offered and felt that this could benefit Fresh House in our plans for the future, both commercially and domestically.
'We are excited about our offices and the potential this will give us to grow the commercial sector within and around the park. The atmosphere on site is phenomenal. Everyone is part of the community and all businesses are excited for the future as tenants on the park.'
For New Appointment Group (NAG), the office at Discovery Park is an extension of its operation and will add to its existing locations, which service clients throughout Kent. NAG has a longstanding association with the site as it previously supplied permanent and temporary staff to Pfizer and to the other pharmaceutical companies based on the park.
Amanda Cassell, NAG Managing Director, said: 'We saw the move to Discovery Park as particularly timely, as it fits in with our own development plans. We have a very solid base of clients in East Kent and saw the opening of Discovery Park as an ideal opportunity to focus on the development of those clients.
'Discovery Park presents a real opportunity for the development of new business and we are delighted to be able to work with the team to provide information on labour that is helpful for companies contemplating setting up operations here on the park. The whole atmosphere is new and exciting, and it’s fantastic to be part of this environment as the owners of Discovery Park are making great efforts to assist tenants to develop their businesses.'
Anna Stone, Leasing Manager, commented: 'We are delighted to bring on board a further three businesses and I would like to wish a very warm welcome to the new tenants on site. This further growth is another welcome boost for the park and for the whole East Kent region. Discovery Park is becoming more of a community every day and I am pleased to see the steady growth in business for all our tenants on site. The Park is now on its way to truly becoming an enterprise hub where businesses of all sectors can share, connect and engage.'
