This month’s news and views on the business and professional world in Kent

Helping build Kent’s construction skills

Construction skills are to get an important boost following news that East Kent College has secured £1.36m from SELEP, the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, to extend its training facilities at its Folkestone campus.

The investment will see the campus’ existing construction training facilities extended, providing high-quality accommodation to train a new generation of construction professionals.

The new extension, giving an extra 1,089m² of training space will provide a base for teaching bricklaying, plastering and maintenance operations to students when it is fully operational in January 2017.

Planning permission is already in place at the site from Shepway District Council, and with the funding agreed by SELEP’s Accountability Board, construction is planned to begin this month.

The project is a joint investment by SELEP and East Kent College.

Cripps on top

For the third consecutive year, Cripps has been named one of the UK’s Top 25 law firms for its private client work.

The award is from eprivateclient, the leading website and news service for private client practitioners including lawyers, accountants, trustees and fee-based IFAs.

In addition to providing inclusive analysis around the issues and trends in this increasingly fast-moving marketplace, it provides an annual league table, sponsored by Jupiter Asset Management, of the Top 25 Private Client Law Firms.

Each year around 125 leading private client law firms are surveyed to draw up the Top 25 list.

The results reveal that in 2015 the Top 25 recorded a rise in fee income of over 17 per cent, whilst the number of partners and fee earners rose by over 10 per cent.

Cripps also recently won the Business of the Year Award (Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce).

Customer service hero

Following the launch of Kent chartered accountants Perrys’ Exceptional Awards back in February, the search now continues for the unsung heroes of customer service.

The awards aim to reward exceptional charities, businesses and individuals throughout Kent for their contribution to the community. This month Kent residents are being invited to nominate individuals or businesses who have gone the extra mile in order to deliver exceptional customer service.

Those shortlisted will be put to a public vote for the Kent community to choose who they feel is the most exceptional.

Finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony in November, when the winning individual will be unveiled and presented with a trophy.

Stewart Pope, ceo at Perrys, which has been operating in Kent since 1983, said: “We pride ourselves on providing personal, tailored advice to our clients, which we believe is exceptional; this is the inspiration behind our awards. We would like to encourage everyone to nominate an individual or business they feel has offered exceptional customer service.”

To make a nomination, email exceptionalawards@pmwcom.co.uk. Include a short description of the individual or company and why they deserve to win. Don’t forget to include your contact details. Deadline: 27 June 2016.

People on the move

Gold standard

A rising young star at law firm Furley Page has become a member of leading professional body the Chartered Institute of Taxation after gaining the highest level tax qualification in the UK.

Award-winning solicitor Alexandra Gordon, who specialises in long-term wealth planning and helping clients to safeguard their assets for future generations, has become a qualified Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) – nationally recognised as the gold standard for tax professionals.

Alexandra, who was named Kent Law Society Junior Lawyer of the Year in 2014, has a wealth of experience in inheritance tax and estate planning and specialises in drafting Wills and Trusts, administering clients’ estates, and preparing Lasting Powers of Attorney.

She is also a voluntary legal adviser for the Kent Law Clinic and mentors law students at the University of Kent.

Wealden chair

Tenterden-based lawyer and town councillor Justin Nelson, of Nelsons Commercial and Personal Law, has been elected chair of the Wealden Business Group.

The Group is a networking organisation for owner/managers of small and medium enterprises, meeting each week at The Little Silver Hotel, Tenterden for business referrals over breakfast, with regular guests speaking on business topics, external visits, and social occasions to raise funds for charity.

Justin has practised law in Tenterden for the past 32 years after gaining early legal experience in London and Brighton.

In addition to serving on Tenterden Town Council, he is also a governor of Tenterden primary schools.